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?

Pupils enjoy attending this busy school. They are happily engaged in learning from the start of each day.

Pupils are proud of the accomplishments of their school, including successes in competitions and a range of charitable fundraising.

The school has high expectations for the achievement of all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils display positive attitudes to their learning, and they achieve well.

Pupils' behaviour across the school is exemplary. Pupils are kind to their peers, and they work wel...l together. This begins in the early years where children are keen to share and involve each other in their activities.

Pupils hold a range of positions of responsibility, which they carry out with pride. For example, older pupils act as 'buddies' for younger pupils to help them to settle into school.

The school provides an abundance of opportunities to build the interests and talents of pupils.

For example, pupils take part in a variety of sports, such as netball, lacrosse and swimming. Many pupils play a wide range of musical instruments. There are also many other clubs on offer to pupils, for instance, cookery, sewing and art.

Pupils' learning is enhanced through regular visits, including opportunities to travel abroad.

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

All pupils, including those with SEND, follow the same ambitious curriculum. Starting from the early years, the school has carefully considered what pupils should learn and when this content should be taught.

In most subjects, the curriculum has been well organised to build on pupils' prior learning. By the end of Year 6, pupils develop a rich body of knowledge. In these subjects, pupils achieve well.

In the main, teachers present information clearly, and they have a strong subject knowledge. Staff are skilled in designing activities that help pupils to build and consolidate their learning. In the majority of subjects, teachers identify and address pupils' misconceptions as they arise.

In a small number of subjects, curriculums have recently been updated. In these subjects, due to weaknesses in the previous curriculums, some older pupils do not have the prior knowledge required to fully access new learning. This is because the school has not identified the gaps in knowledge that these pupils have swiftly enough.

At times, in these subjects, some pupils do not learn in sufficient depth.

Pupils across the school enjoy reading. This enthusiasm begins in the Reception class where children establish a strong foundation in letters and sounds.

Skilled staff implement the phonics programme consistently well, and they carefully monitor pupils' progress in early reading. If pupils find reading difficult, expert staff support them to catch up quickly. Across the school, pupils value the range of genres and different authors that are available for them to explore.

Most pupils become confident and fluent readers.

The school provides staff with the information that they need to identify and support most pupils with SEND effectively. For example, the school ensures that information is shared with parents and carers and that the needs of pupils with SEND are regularly reviewed.

For the most part, staff are skilled in making adaptations to the delivery of the curriculum when necessary so that pupils with SEND can fully access their learning. However, the school does not check sufficiently well on the effectiveness of staff's adaptations to meet individual pupils' SEND. Occasionally, this means that a few pupils with SEND do not receive the most effective support in the first instance.

Most pupils attend school regularly. The school is a hive of activity before lessons start and many pupils told inspectors that they arrive early to take part in extra-curricular clubs. The school monitors pupils' rates of attendance carefully and provides effective support for those pupils who do not attend school as often as they should.

Pupils spoke enthusiastically about the rewards that they receive for their positive attitudes to school life.

The school ensures that pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils learn about democracy, and this is put into practice through the active student council.

Pupils acquire a range of knowledge that helps them to keep safe and healthy, build positive relationships and make valuable contributions to the community.

The school provides carefully designed wider opportunities for pupils to build confidence and independence. Pupils also benefit from chances to learn beyond the classroom, for example, speaking Spanish with their penfriends when they visit them in Barcelona.

Governors know the school well. They fully understand their roles and carry out their duties effectively to provide appropriate support and challenge for the school. However, the school has not ensured that it monitors the implementation of some policies and curriculums as rigorously as it could.

Occasionally, this hinders the school from having sufficiently detailed oversight of the quality of education that it provides, including for pupils with SEND.

Staff were overwhelmingly positive about working at the school. The school takes thoughtful action to support staff to manage their workload, for example, staff are allocated additional time to complete training.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects, the school has not identified the gaps in some older pupils' knowledge from weaknesses in the previous curriculum. On occasion, this hinders how deeply some pupils learn.

The school should ensure that teachers are well equipped to fully address the gaps in pupils' knowledge left by the previous curriculum designs. This is so that pupils, including those with SEND, can benefit fully from strengthened subject curriculums. ? The school does not monitor the effectiveness of its policies and curriculums as well as it could.

As a result, the school does not have a deep enough understanding of the impact of the quality of education that it provides, including adaptations for pupils with SEND. The school should ensure that it has sufficient oversight of the implementation of polices and curriculums so that it can address any inconsistencies in the quality of education as they occur.

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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in December 2018.

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