Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

The values 'Love, Adventure, Grow' permeate every aspect of Holy Trinity. Pupils' well-being and care are at the forefront of everything that happens here.

Leaders have high ambitions for every pupil, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and want all to be the best they can be.

Children at this school are a delight. They are courteous, welcoming and friendly.

They enjoy learning and coming to school. The warm and respectful relationships between adults and pupils are a joy to observe. Pu...pils' behaviour is excellent.

They say that everyone is welcome at their school and that bullying is very rare. If it ever happens, pupils know that all staff would deal with it quickly.

Leaders have placed great emphasis on pupils' personal development.

Pupils benefit from an extensive range of activities that develop their personalities and further their interests. The many activities include leadership roles, visitors, trips, residentials and after-school clubs. Pupils speak with passion about their roles as worship leaders or pupil governors, for example.

Leaders ensure that pupils with SEND have opportunities to develop their independence skills. For example, pupils have life skills sessions which they value and enjoy.

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

Leaders have created an ambitious curriculum that is centred around adventures.

In each adventure, pupils learn a wide range of subjects. These include writing, mathematics, geography and history, for example. Subject leaders have planned the exact learning pupils need to cover in each subject over time.

On the whole, this works well. Some leaders are still at the early stages of this process. As a result, in a few subjects, learning is not as well sequenced as it could be.

This results in some inconsistent messages for teachers about what exactly pupils should learn and when. Leaders are aware of this, and work has begun to support the subject leaders with this.Pupils with SEND are exceptionally well supported.

They receive bespoke support at every level. This includes their lessons, through interventions or through life skills sessions. All staff know the pupils with SEND and their needs very well.

Leaders have ensured that relationships with parents of pupils with SEND are strong and that the support they provide extends to the whole family. As a result, pupils with SEND flourish and do well.

Leaders have prioritised reading.

All pupils enjoy daily story time. Pupils read often and choose from many interesting and exciting texts in the new jungle-themed library. The reading curriculum is sequenced effectively to focus on developing pupils' phonics abilities.

Staff quickly spot pupils who may need extra help. Interventions are swift and ensure that pupils catch up quickly. Over time, pupils become fluent readers.

Teachers use assessments effectively to check on what pupils can do and what gaps in knowledge and skills persist. They quickly adapt their teaching to address these and/or put effective support in place. Pupils receive work that is matched to their needs, including pupils with SEND.

Nursery and Reception children settle well in school. Children are safe and happy. They enjoy learning and playing in classrooms and in the outside spaces.

Children learn about the link between letters and sounds as soon as they start school. Staff help children to have the skills they need to begin early reading. Children are curious and enjoy their number-rich environment.

For example, they learn about days of the week and months of the year through the daily calendar, which helps them to learn about now, before and after. Because of this, children in Reception are more fluent in numbers up to 10. Children make good progress.

Leaders use the school's Christian ethos very effectively to support pupils' personal development. This work is further underpinned by excellent relationships and the school's personal, social and health curriculum. Pupils have many varied opportunities to grow as people.

For example, they act as leaders in school, support in the library or take part in the many activities to extend their learning beyond the classroom. Pupils understand about different faiths and cultures and say that everyone is equal. They are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

Senior leaders are unapologetic about their drive for excellence. They correctly identify any issues that fall short of their high expectations and address them. All staff are proud to work at the school.

They believe that leaders care about their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure that all staff are highly trained to spot any signs that pupils may be at risk of harm.

Staff act quickly and refer any concerns they have to the well-trained safeguarding team. Relationships with families are strong and are used effectively to support not only the child but the whole family. Leaders take appropriate actions and consult with external agencies when needed.

They ensure that children swiftly receive the help and support they need. All staff work together to make sure that every pupil at the school is safe and well.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The knowledge and skills pupils need to learn are not as clearly sequenced as they could be in a few foundation subjects.

This means that there are some inconsistencies in the information teachers receive and learning is not as well sequenced as it could be. Leaders need to ensure that all staff receive consistent messages about what to teach and in what order for every subject.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in July 2013.