St Christopher's school Canterbury

[OhHullitsOnlyMeYoni]

Does anyone have any experience of this school please?
Looking at local options for DD and this is closest to our house...

Any opinions welcome, OFSTED report is 2010 so a little out of date! Will be viewing in a month or so, so any questions that may be relevant would be good to have a heads up for too.
TIA!

Take a look at the 2015 ofsted! School rated 4 inadequate in many areas.

My daughter goes to this school. The Ofsted is utter tripe - all the issues raised have now been resolved. It was a case of hoop jumping. The Ofsted inspector was highly unprofessional. I am a deputy head of a primary school and so am speaking from much experience.
St Christopher's is not flashy. It nutures yhr most delightlful, well rounded children I have ever come across. I just can't speak highly enough of the school. My daughter has EXCELLED since she started here - bear in mind that they usually get 90-100% children into the top rated grammar schools in the area. It is a wonderful. Contact me if you want any more info!!

We got the impression it was all geared to getting children into the Grammar schools without having to pay for tutors not much else. As that wasn't our aim it didn't suit our dc's -

11+ factory.

And what do you mean "top rated grammar schools"? Until very recently, none of the grammar schools in the area were super selective- a pass at 11+ would get you a place. And if a selective primary school geared to passing that test did not get most of its pupils through there would be something badly wrong.

St Christopher's is not a selective primary school - there is no selection process at all and the school takes pupils of all abilities. It is a fantastic school that develops children across all aspects of life and learning. My two children are very happy here and are making great progress both academically and creatively. The school is small and has a family feel about it.

The school follows a traditional approach to learning. Maths, English & reading form a big part of school life. In the mornings the children study maths, English and read to an adult - this happens every day of the week. The afternoons are spent on a wide range of other subjects. The children also read to someone at home every night. A piece of maths or English homework is also given every night based on that day's learning. But that's it, there is no magic wand; but this approach means that by the time the children leave St Christopher's they are well prepared for their next school.

The current Oftsed reports gives a completely inaccurate & false impression of the school. Sadly, all the things that ought to matter like teacher happiness, pupil happiness, levels of creativity, great teaching and great progress are either not measured or count for very little....

I took my son out of an ‘outstanding’ primary school in January of year 5 and enrolled him at St Christophers. (His year 4 sister insisted on moving as well). It was the best thing we could have done, for him although perhaps less so for his sister. Quite aside from the bullying at the ‘outstanding’ school, the work and lacklustre teaching were not challenging him. We were concerned that he would not pass the Kent Test although we knew that he was capable.

At St Christophers his mood changed and his work improved immeasurably. He loved the school and the staff and looked forward to going to school each day (whereas previously we had tears every Sunday evening). St Christophers has extraordinary high standards in reading and mathematics, and because they don’t have to do SATS they are able to offer a very wide curriculum – far wider that was available in their previous primary school. All of the children well behaved and polite and there is absolutely zero bullying.

Our son passed the Kent Test at the super selective rate demanded by the boys’ Langton at the time and his sister passed at a very high rate and is in the Girls Langton. St Christopher’s is non-selective at entry, so they have pupils of all abilities and from a wide range of ethnic and social backgrounds but every year, St Christophers manages to produce Kent Test pass rates of well over 90% against an average for all schools of around 25%. They turn out happy, well rounded, confident pupils and imbue them with a love of learning that sets them up for their ongoing educational career. I cannot speak highly enough of the school.

David Evans, the head teacher is kindly, loved by the children, and passionate about doing the best for the children. He doesn’t do well on ofsted, but this is a great school and has given our children everything we would want for them.

Sadly St Christopher's is just too far from our home to consider but do any of you have any views on St Faiths at Ash? A similar sort of school?

Absolutely brilliant school in all respects. I am an experienced prep school teacher who was head of department for many years at a well-respected London prep school before 'retiring' to full time mummy. I have never met such a dedicated head who goes above and beyond to ensure the children have a very exciting broad and balanced education. My two daughters have excelled here in record time. Their reading progress was simply amazing, in a matter of weeks my 3 year old started reading sentences in books independently while my 5 year old discussed stories with more enthusiasm than I'd ever witnessed before. When I collect them from school, they are full of excitement about what they have done that day; just this afternoon, composing their own music with a specialist music teacher and completing exciting challenges during their swimming lessons at the local grammar school (all included in the fees). Last term, giant eggs were 'hatching dinosaurs' just outside the classroom and over the weekend the girls were over the moon to receive a royal invitation to the wedding in the post to which they could not wait to reply. They both speak to me confidently in basic French and Spanish. Perhaps most importantly of all, I can clearly see that they mimic our values at home to nurture kindness, consideration for others, manners and a love of learning, life and imagination. We cannot wait for our 2 year to attend and we are so grateful that this lovely, homely school is in Canterbury.

They've just received an awful Ofsted - it highlights worries about safeguarding and leadership!?

www.stchristopherscanterbury.org.uk/parents/ofsted-inspections

I thoroughly believe that reading between the lines the ofsted report above focussed on one issue which is not a serious cause for concern. It highlights a procedural mistake. It fails to highlight the positive ethos of this school. No one sees past this fact to notice the lack of bullying and good teaching and learning. The polite well mannered children and how this is commented on across all contexts. My children attend this school and have never been happier. Coming from a state school where my son was bullied so appallingly that he was too scared to attend his previous ‘outstanding’ school, arriving here changed his life. The nurturing and caring ethos has allowed him to regain his sense safety at school and develop into a well rounded individual. I have no cause for concern regarding the report or his safety. In fact I know that st. Christopher’s School and staff will do their very best for him and that he will succeed in life based on his developed resilience and growth mindset encouraged by the School. I do not care if he passes the 11+. I want him to be happy which is why I chose st. Christopher’s School for him.

Which do you think I care more about: whether Ofsted are happy with having all their over the top paperwork checkboxes crossed in the 21st century climate of bureaucratic nonsense or whether my children run excitedly into school everyday and excel WELL past their age expected levels in every subject?

Unfortunately, my 10-year old daughter will forever bear the scars - both physical and emotional - after the nine and a half months she spent at this horrible, horrible place. Not only was she subjected to racist comments (our family is originally from Eastern Europe) and called, among other things 'a filthy rat', not only was I, as her mother, threatened by some incredibly arrogant and rude parents on school premises, but the staff and the (then) headmaster Mr Evans turned their backs and didn't move a finger to support her, or try to change the situation - even when her front tooth was knocked out. As this was not a baby tooth, she will need dental care for this fracture AS LONG AS SHE IS ALIVE. NO ONE bothered to offer any compenastion or indeed, any apology... I spoke many times to the headmaster and the Deputy, I wrote letters and filed a complaint... and nothing. Eventually, I was forced to transfer her at the very end of the school year (in the beginning of June, 2018) to another school. I think I also developed anxiety and was deeply traumatised by the lack of support from the staff and the teachers who appeared negligent and disinterested (for £10, 000 a year). I would like to warn well-educated people, especially foreigners who work hard and want their children to be taken care of - TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS and check what is the pastoral care, offered at the school, what is the complaint procedure and is the school inclusive only on paper, or for real. To paraphrase Orwell, the pupils at this school (at least during my daughter's stay) were treated "equally" but obviously, some were considered more equal than others. Apart from the racist comments, my daughter also noticed and informed me of the very sexist attitude from her class teacher (e.g., 'can some of THE GIRLS clean the bookshelves'). I do hope this institution is or will be shut for good.