Christ Church (Erith) CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their inclusive school.

They value learning about different cultures and beliefs. For example, pupils celebrate belonging and cultural diversity through heritage projects and the annual food festival. Those who join the school at different points in the school year feel welcomed and settle in quickly.

The school has a strong understanding of pupils' needs. Pupils across the school achieve well as learning is carefully matched to individual needs. Pupils demonstrate an excellent understanding of their learning and can recall and apply their knowledge confidently.

The school has high expectations for pupils' behaviour and learning. Typically..., pupils engage in their learning, and behaviour in lessons is calm and purposeful. Pupils feel confident to share any concerns with adults, which makes them feel safe and happy.

Although issues around bullying are addressed, they are not always resolved.

The school provides a wealth of opportunities for pupils. For instance, anti-bullying ambassadors provide support to their peers.

Members of the pupil parliament are proud of their recent work liaising with school caterers to change the menu. Pupils enjoy school trips and the learning from them.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has made rapid progress to develop the curriculum.

School leaders, governors and trustees share the same high ambition for the education of all pupils. They continually strive to develop the school, accurately identifying priority areas. Staff are proud to work at the school, where their well-being and workload are supported.

They value the professional learning opportunities and the support they receive from leaders.

The school provides a highly ambitious curriculum which identifies the key knowledge, skills and vocabulary that pupils will learn. The school places a high priority on ensuring that pupils have strong language and communication skills.

Pupils learn key vocabulary which they apply successfully in their independent learning. Children in Reception receive a very strong start with a rich language environment. Staff model the use of vocabulary and support children to develop their language skills exceptionally well.

Teachers have very strong subject knowledge, which they use to support pupils with precision. Staff encourage pupils to make connections between their learning. For example, in history, Year 3 demonstrated a strong understanding of Roman settlements, based on their prior learning about invasions.

Teachers use questioning skilfully to check on pupils' learning to accurately identify what pupils know. When there are gaps in pupils' learning, teachers are swift to provide support. In Reception, staff develop children's number skills and mathematical skills expertly.

For instance, when encouraging children to count and share objects. Older pupils apply this strong foundation of number to accurately problem solve.

The school provides a high level of support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

The new leadership team has been proactive in ensuring that pupils' needs are identified swiftly. Precise targets are in place to support pupils' individual needs and careful adaptations ensure that pupils successfully learn the curriculum. For instance, staff provide visual representation of words so pupils can understand new vocabulary.

The nurture provision provides a rich learning environment tailored to pupils' individual needs.

Reading is a high priority across the school. Pupils make rapid progress towards becoming accurate and fluent readers.

They successfully apply their phonics knowledge to their writing. All pupils with SEND receive bespoke support to develop their phonics knowledge. Pupils across the school share their love of reading.

They are provided with a rich variety of books to read in class. These texts develop pupils' understanding of society and celebrate pupils' heritage.

Typically, pupils behave well across the school.

However, the behaviour of some pupils is not reflective of the school's expectations or rules. This results in some pupils not respecting their peers or teachers. The school provides staff with training to help support pupils' individual behaviour needs.

However, these approaches are not consistently applied across the school. In early years, staff ensure that children develop excellent routines so that they are fully ready for learning. Attendance is positive and the school is tenacious in ensuring that pupils attend school and are on time.

The school offers many enrichment opportunities. Lunchtime clubs support pupils with SEND to enjoy their playtime. A range of after-school clubs enable pupils to develop their wider skills, for example leadership, sporting, gardening and bible clubs.

The choir enjoys performing at local community events, including at the local church and care home. Attendance ambassadors take their responsibilities seriously to encourage pupils to be in school on time.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• There are occasions when some pupils' behaviour or bullying concerns are not dealt with effectively and issues remain unresolved. As a result, some pupils do not behave as well as they could. The school should ensure that there is a consistent approach to implementing the behaviour policy and supporting pupils' individual behaviour needs.

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