Christ Church Upper Armley Church of England Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 19 January 2023

Leaders have established a supportive and caring learning community. Pupils treat each other with kindness. They welcome new pupils to school and help them to settle in quickly. An ethos of inclusion and respect runs throughout the school. Leaders help parents and carers feel welcome and listened to. The recent introduction of 'Warm Wednesday' provides parents with an opportunity to meet other parents and staff in a warm and supportive environment. Teachers and pupils understand and follow the clear system for promoting good behaviour. There is a strong culture of positive rewards and recognition. Staff have high expectations of all pupils. Most pupils behave well in lessons and at social times. In a small number of lessons, where the learning is less engaging, some pupils lose focus. Pupils understand what bullying means and how to report it. They are confident that bullying happens rarely in their school. Staff deal quickly and sensitively with any incidents that do arise. Leaders, including members of the trust, are taking positive action to improve pupils' attendance levels. Despite this, some younger children in Reception remain on part- time attendance for extended periods of time. In addition, too many pupils arrive late to school each day. These pupils miss important learning opportunities.

What the school should improve

• Some pupils in the early stages of learning to read struggle to access the teaching of phonics. These pupils do not make the same progress as their peers. Leaders should ensure that teachers provide all pupils with the necessary support for them to make rapid progress in phonics.
• The curriculum for some foundation subjects is not aligned well with the early years curriculum. This means that adults in Reception miss opportunities to introduce children to the subject vocabulary they will develop further in key stage 1. Leaders should ensure that the early years curriculum includes explicit opportunities to introduce children to this early subject knowledge and vocabulary.
• Too many pupils arrive late to school each day. This means pupils miss out on essential learning and fall behind their peers. Leaders should continue to help parents and their children develop positive attitudes to school attendance from the very start of Reception through to Year 6.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)