Christ's College

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 17 October 2023

There have been significant improvements at Christ's College of late. Pupils benefit from a caring and nurturing environment. Staff know pupils well. Relationships between staff and pupils are caring, warm and courteous. From the early years, children are welcomed into the school and get off to a flying start with their education, particularly in early reading. There is a calm and purposeful atmosphere in both the primary and secondary provision. In the vast majority of lessons, pupils behave well. However, in some secondary lessons, there are instances of low-level disruption. These instances are dealt with swiftly. The school is focusing on ensuring that all staff manage behaviour in a consistent way. The school has developed a curriculum based on high aspirations for all pupils. Many more pupils who are eligible for the pupil premium now study the English Baccalaureate suite of subjects. Pupils can access various clubs and activities including debate club, coding and sporting activities. Pupils can also hold leadership positions including head boy and head girl, house captains and anti-bullying ambassadors. The house captains help to organise house matches, such as tug of war, which many pupils enjoy.

What the school should improve

• Some pupils, particularly some disadvantaged pupils, do not attend school as often as they should. This means that they miss out on essential learning and do not achieve as highly. Leaders should accelerate their plans to improve the attendance of these pupils, improving rates of attendance for all pupil groups.
• In some lessons, teachers do not always use their knowledge of what pupils know to move the learning swiftly on. This limits pupils' knowledge and understanding. The school should ensure that checks on pupils' knowledge are used purposefully so that pupils can move on to new content.
• There is not enough analysis of behavioural patterns and trends. This means that leaders are not fully aware of which groups of pupils are involved in different types of incidents. Leaders should ensure that they have robust, analytical systems in place to support further improvements in behaviour, ensuring that all pupils behave well in school.

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