Christ The King Catholic Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 2 June 2026

Pupils are happy at this school. They know that staff listen to them if they have any worries. Pupils feel safe. Relationships, on the whole, are warm. Pupils are kind to each other and build strong friendships. When bullying happens, staff deal with it well. Pupils' behaviour is typically calm and orderly. The majority of pupils are enthusiastic about learning new things. Pupils especially enjoy computing lessons where they learn how to code. However, there is a mixed picture of teaching and learning in across the school. Staffing and leadership instability has meant that leaders' actions have not been rapid enough. There is variability between how well pupils learn in different classes. In some classes, pupils learn well and thrive. However, in others, work is not always well matched to pupils’ starting points or not adapted well enough to help pupils overcome barriers. When this happens, these pupils become disengaged and do not learn as well as they should. The senior leadership team are ambitious for this to improve and have put appropriate improvement plans in place. Overtime, disadvantaged pupils have achieved in line with disadvantaged pupils nationally. Currently, there is more of a mixed picture, due to variability in teaching. This is particularly evident in early years, where children are not always as ready for Year 1 as they should be. Despite leaders best efforts, attendance remains stubbornly low. Too many pupils still miss school. Pupils benefit from some enrichment activities, including clubs such as yoga and chess. They enjoy taking on leadership responsibilities, for example as house captains or members of the eco-club. Pupils are proud of supporting their community and beyond through activities such as food collections and the Christmas shoebox appeal. Through these opportunities, pupils make a positive contribution to the lives of others.

What the school should improve

• Leaders should ensure that teaching across all year groups is effective, misconceptions are addressed, gaps are closed quickly and purposeful adaptations are in place, so that pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, achieve more highly.
• Leaders should ensure that there is greater focus on pupils securing foundational knowledge and skills, particularly in writing.
• Leaders should ensure that all staff in the early years are supported to teach the curriculum well, including engaging in consistently high-quality interactions that develop children’s language and vocabulary so that children are ready for the demands of Year 1.
• Leaders should ensure that behaviour expectations and approaches to behaviour management are consistently applied by all staff so that pupils concentrate well .
• Leaders should continue their work in supporting pupils and families, to improve pupils’ levels of attendance over time, including the pupils who are persistently absent.
• Governors and leaders should ensure that the pupil premium strategy is implemented and monitored effectively.
• Leaders should improve the effectiveness of their personal development programme to ensure that pupils learn all that they should, in readiness for life in modern Britain.

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