Christ The King Catholic Primary School

Christ The King Catholic Primary School is a welcoming, inclusive school with a strong Catholic ethos, and pupils are happy, safe and behave well. Leaders have an accurate view of the school and, with trust support, have overhauled the curriculum so it is now broad, ambitious and better organised, with raised expectations. However, this work is at an early stage and the quality of education is not yet good. The main weaknesses are in curriculum implementation and assessment. Some subjects are not taught consistently well because leaders lack sufficient oversight and staff do not always have the subject and pedagogical knowledge required. Assessment does not reliably show what pupils know, so gaps are not addressed and some pupils do not deepen their learning. Early years provision also lacks enough deliberately planned opportunities for children to build knowledge and skills. Early reading is effective, but later reading teaching does not develop wider reading knowledge and skills, and published key stage 2 outcomes are disappointing. Pupils with SEND are accurately identified and well supported, but they are affected by the same curriculum weaknesses. Behaviour, personal development and pastoral care are strengths. Pupils benefit from enrichment, clubs and civic opportunities, and they develop responsibility. Attendance remains below national averages but has improved notably, and safeguarding is effective. The school has experienced staffing turbulence, which is beginning to stabilise, and the trust and local governors provide effective support and challenge while recognising that further improvement is needed.

Strengths

• A welcoming, inclusive Catholic ethos built on nurture and respect
• Pupils are happy, safe and behave well
• Personal development and pastoral support are strengths
• Early reading is strong, with phonics-matched books and precise catch-up support
• Pupils with SEND are accurately identified and well supported
• The curriculum has been strengthened and is now broad and well organised
• Leaders and the trust have an accurate view of the school and drive improvement
• Enrichment, clubs, visits and civic activities bring learning to life
• Attendance is improving notably through innovative strategies
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent in some subjects
• Assessment does not reliably identify pupils' knowledge gaps or inform next steps
• Staff do not always have the subject and pedagogical knowledge to deliver the curriculum securely
• Leaders lack sufficient oversight of some curriculum responsibilities
• Early years lacks deliberately planned opportunities to build children's knowledge and skills
• Later reading teaching does not develop pupils' wider reading knowledge and skills
• Published key stage 2 reading outcomes are disappointing
• Pupils with SEND are affected by the same curriculum deficiencies as their peers
• Attendance remains below national averages

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Christ The King Catholic Primary School attended 94.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.8% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.6% of pupils at Christ The King Catholic Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Christ The King Catholic Primary School had 26.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 35.3% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 12.6% of pupils at Christ The King Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 8.3% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Christ The King Catholic Primary School received £7,605 and spent £8,106 for each of its 333 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,129,000 (£3,389 per pupil).

Across all 34 schools of Plymouth Cast, income was £8,158 and spending £8,000 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Bournemouth · Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole local authority: places and applications

Christ The King Catholic Primary School is part of Plymouth Cast, which runs 34 schools. The nearest others:

• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Poole Poole
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Poole Poole
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Swanage Swanage
• St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Wareham
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Marnhull Sturminster Newton
• St Mary's Catholic First School, Dorchester Dorchester
• St Augustine's Catholic Primary School, Weymouth Weymouth
• St Catherine's Roman Catholic School Bridport
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Axminster Axminster
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Exmouth Exmouth

What is Christ The King Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Christ The King Catholic Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Christ The King Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Christ The King Catholic Primary School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Christ The King Catholic Primary School have?

Christ The King Catholic Primary School has 302 pupils on roll.

What age range does Christ The King Catholic Primary School cover?

Christ The King Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Christ The King Catholic Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 15% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Christ The King Catholic Primary School?

Christ The King Catholic Primary School is at Durdells Avenue, Kinson, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH11 9EH.