Christchurch Church of England Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 24 March 2026

Pupils arrive at school in the morning happy to start the day. Caring staff greet pupils with a warm smile and help them to settle into the classroom. Pupils enjoy learning. They like finding out more about the different periods of history they study. Pupils are beginning to benefit from some of the recent improvements that have been made. However, over time, pupils have experienced inconsistencies in the quality of the curriculum and teaching. This hampers how well they achieve and includes disadvantaged pupils. This means some pupils leave for secondary school not as well prepared for their future learning as they need to be. The school has introduced more precise systems to identify any barriers to learning and wellbeing that pupils may face. Appropriate support is typically put in place to help overcome these barriers. Help for those pupils who struggle to attend to school regularly is effective. Pupils are increasingly proud of their school. They enjoy representing the school as members of the football team. School councillors and eco-warriors wear their badges proudly. They learn the importance of being responsible through these roles. Pupils generally live the values leaders want them to show. They understand how to be respectful and show this when listening to the different views and beliefs that others hold. Pupils are positive about the improvements leaders have made to behaviour. They enjoy being together in the dining hall and on the school playground. They play well together when skipping, playing ball games or settling down quietly to a game of cards. Should bullying happen, staff deal with it promptly and fairly. Behaviour has improved within lessons. Pupils want to work hard and they show the positive attitudes that staff expect of them.

What the school should improve

• Leaders need to ensure that staff understand how to use checks on pupils' learning to adapt the curriculum to close pupils' gaps in knowledge.
• Leaders need to ensure that there is a consistent and effective approach to the teaching of writing.
• Leaders need to ensure that they develop staff's subject knowledge, so they are more consistently able to help pupils make connections between existing and new knowledge.
• Leaders, including those responsible for governance, need to ensure that they evaluate the impact of newly introduced initiatives, so they can identify where to target future school improvement priorities.
• Leaders need to ensure that they develop and improve their approaches to communicating with parents.

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