Christ The King Catholic High School and Sixth Form Centre

Overview

The report describes a “welcoming school” where pupils feel “happy, safe and valued” within a “calm and respectful environment.” Leaders and staff are “immensely proud” of recent improvements, with governors providing effective challenge and support. While the overall effectiveness is judged as Good, the sixth-form provision is assessed as Requires improvement due to curriculum and assessment issues.

Strengths

• Pupils benefit from a “broad and varied curriculum” with content that is “logically ordered” to build on prior learning.
• Staff effectively support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, ensuring they are “included in all aspects of school life.”
• Behaviour is consistently positive, with pupils embodying the ethos to “be the best version of themselves.”
• The school offers a “vast array of extra-curricular activities” and an “effective careers programme” that prepares pupils for future steps.
• Reading is prioritised, with staff providing “targeted support” to help struggling readers “catch up swiftly.”

Areas to improve

• Assessment strategies in some subjects are “underdeveloped,” meaning teachers are unsure of pupils’ misunderstandings and gaps in knowledge go unaddressed.
• Sixth-form curriculums lack careful organisation and depth, resulting in some students not achieving as well as they should.
• Attendance levels are “not high enough,” with persistent absence preventing some pupils from accessing essential learning.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective.”