Holy Trinity Church of England Primary Academy and Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love coming to Holy Trinity school. They are happy, confident, and kind to each other. They enjoy all the extra responsibilities that the school creates for them.

These responsibilities include acting as reading buddies and worship leads. Pupils learn how to make the right choices, so that they can keep themselves safe outside of school. They know what bullying is.

The school is vigilant in spotting any signs of bullying and takes swift action if it happens. As a result, this school is a calm and supportive place, where pupils enjoy learning.

The school value of 'hope' is at the heart of everything this school does.

The curriculum ensures pupi...ls develop a strong sense of what hope might mean. For example, pupils say, 'They hope to do well in school and hope for everyone to be safe.'

The school has an ambitious and engaging curriculum that pupils enjoy.

There is a strong focus on ensuring pupils learn to read and become confident readers. Most pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well and develop high aspirations for their future.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Everyone at the school is committed to helping pupils achieve the very best possible outcomes.

The school knows what they want pupils to learn and the order in which they want them to learn topics. This means teachers know what to teach and when, including in the early years foundation stage. The school regularly checks what pupils are learning and remembering.

Teachers are good at spotting when pupils are stuck or have misunderstood something. When this happens, teachers quickly give pupils the help they need.

The early years environment is well organised and resourced to help children to access the curriculum.

However, occasionally staff do not have high enough expectations of what children can achieve. This means that some children are not as well prepared as they could be for some aspects of the Year 1 curriculum.

Pupils in key stage 2 achieve well.

Different strategies, resources, and clear instructions help pupils understand new information and how to complete work well. However, this is not always the case in classes with younger pupils. Some teachers' explanations are not always clear.

This slows pupils learning.

Helping pupils to learn to read is a high priority in the school. Staff get the training and support they need to deliver high-quality phonics lessons to pupils.

Pupils receive timely support if they are at risk of falling behind with phonics. As a result, nearly all pupils become confident readers. Pupils of all ages in this school love reading.

They have a very good knowledge of different authors and genres, which they use to select books they like to read.

The school has an effective process for identifying pupils with SEND. They regularly monitor the progress of SEND pupils, so that they know how well they are doing.

Carefully planned adaptations ensure that all pupils with SEND learn the same curriculum as their peers. The school provides additional support to help pupils who need it. All of this means that pupils with SEND become increasingly confident and independent.

Behaviour is good in this school. Pupils are keen to do well and listen to staff in lessons. There are a few pupils who do not come to school regularly.

The school works closely with the families of these pupils. This is working well and having a positive impact on improving pupils' attendance over time.

Leaders prioritise pupils' personal development.

The rich curriculum helps pupils to become confident and resilient learners. They learn about the different cultures and religions in their community through assemblies, the curriculum, and opportunities in school. The school has clear plans to teach the pupils the skills they need to live within the community.

For example, pupils learn about democracy by taking part in voting within school.

Leaders make regular and thorough checks on aspects of the school's work. As a result, leaders have a strong understanding of what is working well and what steps to take to improve the school further.

Staff value the extensive training opportunities that they have. They say leaders do all they can to help them manage their workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Teachers' explanations, particularly in key stage 1, are not always clear. When this happens, it slows pupils' learning. Leaders should ensure teachers have the support they need to implement the curriculum well.

• On occasion, adults' expectations of what children in the early years can achieve are too low. This means that children do not always learn content in sufficient depth and, therefore, are not well prepared for some aspects of the Year 1 curriculum. Leaders should ensure that all staff have consistently high expectations of what children can achieve.