The St Christopher School

Overview

The St Christopher School is judged to be ‘Good’ overall, with ‘Outstanding’ ratings for behaviour, personal development, leadership, early years, and sixth-form provision. Pupils ‘love attending this school’, benefiting from a ‘strong sense of community’ and ‘incredibly positive relationships’ with staff. The school effectively supports pupils with complex needs through a refined curriculum and extensive wider opportunities.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate ‘exceptional attitudes towards their learning’ and use their ‘learning powers’ to achieve well.
• Staff are ‘experts at understanding the needs of children’, particularly in supporting communication from the Reception Year.
• The sixth form offers an ‘exceptional offer’ with a ‘rich curriculum’ and high-quality careers advice.
• Trustees and governors are ‘highly effective at holding school and trust leaders to account’.
• The school ‘engages incredibly well with parents’, who value the positive impact on their families.

Areas to improve

• Ensure staff ‘fully understand and implement the curriculum as leaders intend’ in areas where new approaches are not yet securely embedded.
• Prevent lessons from focusing more on ‘activities than specific learning’ so pupils secure understanding of important knowledge.
• Embed new reading strategies, including the new phonics scheme, which are currently ‘in their infancy’.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.