Christ Church Bentinck CofE Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Strengthen the progress that the most able pupils make in writing.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• The headteacher and deputy headteacher provide excellent leadership of the school and work well as a team. They have enabled significant progress to be made since the recent inspection. Key stage 2 pupils’ progress in writing has increased, for example. Leaders remember past achievements but prioritise continued improvement. Leaders’ determination is continuing to improve outcomes for pupils even further.
• The literacy and numeracy leaders are improving pupils’ progress. Writing has been strengthened through ‘talk homework’, which allows pupils to discuss a topic or item before writing about it. Training for support staff to deliver high-quality mathematics interventions has also improved progress significantly.
• Parents have a very positive view of the school. They highly value the training leaders have provided to them to keep their children safe online. Parents give examples of the progress their children have made since joining the school. They say that the school’s events, such as the international evening, give them a sense of belonging. A parent commented, ‘You know you’re not alone.’ Parents appreciate the weekly meetings the school holds to listen and support them. They say that the school has signposted them to effective community support. When asked through Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, whether they would recommend the school to another parent, 100% strongly agreed that they would.
• Leaders support and motivate teachers to improve their work. Staff agree that leaders use professional development well.
• Additional funding is used exceptionally well. Leaders have a deep and accurate understanding of the barriers to educational achievement which some pupils face. The school often overcomes these barriers through close and effective collaboration with parents. Leaders support parents to help pupils with their learning and deliver a curriculum which provides pupils with a broad understanding of the world. Additional teaching staff support disadvantaged pupils to learn well. The school uses the primary sport funding effectively to support pupils and develop teachers’ skills. Pupils are regularly involved in competitive sport and have been consistently successful in the yearly Westminster netball competition.
• The school has built a curriculum which promotes SMSC development and fundamental British values extremely well. Pupils said, ‘We studied Martin Luther King and how he stopped racism.’ Information from pupils and the work in their books demonstrate that they have learned about a variety of religions. Year 6 pupils have learned how Buddhists believe they reach Nirvana.
• The curriculum is enriched by interesting educational visits. Pupils remember when they held the Premier League trophy. The curriculum has improved further because leaders have strengthened learning in foundation subjects without compromising progress in English and mathematics. For instance, in science, pupils wrote extensively about the circulatory system from the perspective of a red blood cell.
• The impact that school leaders are having on pupils’ progress and personal development is fully appreciated by parents, one of whom commented: ‘My daughter used to be shy and timid when she joined the school in Reception. However, after more than two years in the nurturing school environment, she’s now flourishing in Year 2. She has become very confident and articulate, and made great progress academically. The teachers set tailored work and make sure that each child is challenged properly.’ This view was typical of those held by parents.

Governance of the school

• The highly effective work to engage pupils’ families has been driven by governors and leaders. Governors are clear that successful collaboration with parents is enabling potential barriers to achievement, such as disadvantage, to be overcome.
• Governors have a detailed knowledge of the progress that has been made in the areas leaders and governors have identified for improvement. They give examples of improvements in writing and how these improvements were secured.
• Governors ensure that pupil premium funding is spent well and that progress meetings support teaching to have a strong impact on the learning of disadvantaged pupils.
• Governors monitor actions relating to safeguarding concerns and recognise effective practice, such as taking urgent action when required. They check the school is adhering to the government’s most recent statutory guidance on keeping children safe in education.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders’ actions to keep pupils safe when concerns arise are effective and timely. The school works well with outside agencies.
• Staff safeguarding training is strong and includes yearly training, the induction of new staff and updates through staff briefings and newsletters.
• Pupils and parents have received online safety training, delivered by the school. As a result, pupils know how to stay safe online and parents know how to ensure that they can keep their child safe.
• Pupils feel safe and happy at school. All parents who completed the online survey say their child feels safe at school.
• Staff and volunteers are subject to the appropriate checks to ensure that they are safe to work with children. The school’s single central record is fully compliant.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• High expectations of what pupils can achieve, learning which captivates pupils and skilled and intelligent questioning enable pupils to learn exceptionally well. For example, a session on Florence Nightingale saw pupils spellbound.
• Staff also have high expectations of the quality of pupils’ speech and help pupils correct their words and sentences. For instance, a teacher enabled a pupil to identify that he needed to say ‘put’ rather than ‘putted’. Over time, pupils therefore learn to speak accurately.
• High-quality learning takes place across the whole school day. For instance, pupils wrote a prayer for assembly at breakfast club. In lessons, pupils take real pride in the quality and presentation of their work across subjects, writing cursively and extensively in a range of subjects. Subject-specific knowledge grows, while reading, writing and communication are fully developed across the curriculum.
• Teachers ensure that pupils develop a love of reading. Pupils can name their favourite authors and books. They spend time reading at school. Pupils’ answers to teachers’ questions about the books they have read outside school are used to develop and check pupils’ comprehension. Pupils use an internet search to find the meaning of a word they do not know, which means that they independently develop their vocabulary.
• Pupils’ learning in mathematics is very strong. The effective use of counting equipment and other mathematical resources drives learning. Staff set learning tasks which very quickly change when accurate assessment shows that pupils need harder or easier challenges. Pupils, including the most able pupils, learn to explain their answers. For example, pupils correctly interpreted the meaning of pie charts with justification.
• The teaching of pupils with SEND is highly effective. Learning is well matched to their wide-ranging abilities and strategies to support learning.
• The most able pupils’ writing does not develop quickly enough. Too often, these pupils write in small worksheet boxes, which can limit their thinking because they can only write a certain amount. They are asked to plan their writing, even though previous work shows that they can structure pieces of writing appropriately.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils are confident. They are aware of how to learn successfully because they speak of the importance of keeping going, even when the learning is hard. Older pupils understand the meaning of words such as ‘perseverance’ and ‘resilience’.
• Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe and healthy. They say they have learned about good drugs and bad drugs. For example, pupils spoke about how some good drugs can be used in a bad way.
• Pupils learn to turn their negative emotions into positive emotions, for example saying, ‘We can calm down by closing our eyes and breathing slower.’
• Pupils refer positively to the ‘voice box’. They know that staff they trust will help them with their concerns when they speak to them or leave a message in the voice box.
• Pupils fully enjoy school and understand and value each other’s differences. They have a strong and deep understanding of British values. For example, they refer to voting for student council members as an example of democracy.
• Pupils are very articulate speakers and reasoned thinkers.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• During activities across the day, pupils are polite and kind to each other. Incidents of poor behaviour and bullying are rare and well managed by adults. There have been no exclusions for some years.
• Due to receiving teaching which fascinates, pupils’ behaviour is excellent. The school uses ‘active listening’ and ‘our golden rules’ approaches. Pupils understand and follow this guidance. They learn and behave exceptionally well.
• Pupils’ attendance is in line with the national average. Leaders ensure that no group is disadvantaged by poor attendance and very few pupils are persistently absent.

Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

• Pupils make exceptionally strong progress throughout the school and achieve extremely well by the end of Year 6. For the previous three years, the progress of pupils in key stage 2 has almost always been significantly above average in reading, writing and mathematics. The proportion of Year 6 pupils who reached at least the expected standard in 2018 was above the national average.
• Current pupils’ progress, as seen through their work so far this academic year, is also very strong. This is because of high expectations, learning which fascinates and superb questioning that deepens pupils’ understanding.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND make strong progress from their starting points compared to other pupils nationally. For example, in 2018, disadvantaged pupils’ progress was well above average in reading, writing and mathematics. This is because additional funding is used precisely and powerfully.
• Pupils progress very well across all the subjects that they study. This is clear because of the learning in their books and their depth of knowledge, for example their ability to describe how to make an electrical circuit in science.
• Pupils are very securely prepared for the next stage of their education. This is because their academic achievements, their grasp of British values, their SMSC development and their ability to keep themselves safe and heathy in mind and body are so strong.

Early years provision Outstanding

• Outstanding teaching and learning both enable children to progress very well. Expectations of learning and behaviour are made clear to children through modelling, praise and, when needed, advice and guidance. Children are highly motivated to learn well. Indeed, they are often engrossed in varied and exciting activities. As a result, they are fully primed for Year 1.
• Children make excellent progress overall in the areas of learning. The proportion of children achieving a good level of development is above the national average. Children make especially substantial progress with their communication, language and literacy skills.
• Leadership of the early years is strong because a range of leaders work effectively together to ensure that children progress and develop well. Leaders have high aspirations for children’s achievement. They use accurate assessment to ensure that children receive the right help to learn, should they require it.
• Children enjoy improving their writing skills because they write for a purpose. For example, they make marks in the foam that they use to clean windows and write short phrases within guidelines. Some Reception children can use basic punctuation. They quickly develop their writing skills.
• Adults’ assessment is accurate and teaching resources often fascinate children. For example, staff observed that children were curious about how sea creatures breathe under water. The next day, they used real-life examples and questioning to deepen children’s learning and extend their vocabulary. Children duly learned new language, such as ‘pincer’ and ‘gill’.
• Support for children with SEND is effective. For example, staff successfully use visual aids to help children to access learning. Staff provide parents with the right guidance in order that they can support the learning of children at home.
• Leaders use additional funding well to fully support the progress of disadvantaged children. Further support for disadvantaged children is very effective. This is because adults know children well and are quick to respond to their needs.
• Parents of all children are invited to meet with the early years staff each week. As the result of close collaboration between home and school, children learn exceptionally well.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 101147 Westminster 10058839 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Voluntary aided 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 213 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Samantha Spring Sandra Tyrrell 020 3351 4135 www.ccbprimary.co.uk office@ccbprimary.co.uk Date of previous inspection 27 March 2018

Information about this school

• The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is well above average.
• The proportion of pupils who are from minority ethnic groups is well above average.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English an additional language is well above average.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in all classes and examined work in pupils’ books. Most observations were conducted jointly with the headteacher or deputy headteacher.
• Inspectors met with groups of pupils, talked to pupils about their learning and listened to some pupils read. They observed pupils in the playground at lunchtime and as they moved between lessons.
• Discussions were held with governors, the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the early years leader, the numeracy leader and the literacy leader.
• Telephone conversations were held with the local authority adviser and the diocesan adviser.
• Inspectors examined a wide range of documents, including information on pupils’ progress and records relating to attendance, behaviour and safeguarding.
• Inspectors considered the 64 responses to Parent View. Inspectors also spoke to some parents at the start of the day. Inspectors took account of 17 responses to the staff survey.
• Inspectors reviewed the checks made on staff and volunteers about their suitability to work with pupils.

Inspection team

Barney Geen, lead inspector Rani Karim Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector