Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils try hard to live out the school's vision of 'Aim high, let your light shine'. They enjoy the praise and recognition they get when adults notice them 'letting their lights shine'. Hot chocolate Friday in the headteacher's office is a popular reward.

Relationships throughout the school are rooted in respect. Bullying is not tolerated and any unkind behaviour is dealt with quickly. Pupils are happy to come to school to learn, play and to socialise with friends in a safe environment.

Adults have high expectations and pupils are keen to meet them.

Older pupils develop leadership skills through a variety of roles. They can be house captains, members of the s...chool council, young chaplains, or buddies for Reception children.

They say these opportunities give them the sense of responsibility that they will need when they move on to secondary school.

Pupils love the trips that enrich their learning and life experiences. Year 2 pupils, for example, visited the Tower of London and the Golden Hind, while Year 5 pupils tried canoeing and white-water rafting at a local water park.

Carefully chosen visitors, such as an inspirational media personality, teach pupils important messages about aiming high and never giving up on your dreams.

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

Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum. It is sequenced effectively across the provision, starting in the early years.

The curriculum builds pupils' learning progressively, so that they have the knowledge and skills they need by the end of each stage of their education.

Curriculum leaders share senior leaders' ambitious vision. In most cases, subjects are led effectively.

Curriculum quality is checked, with support provided to help teachers to deliver content precisely and adapt plans if necessary. As a result, pupils secure their knowledge and skills well in most subjects. However, in a few subjects, new curriculum leaders are in post.

They have not had enough time yet to have a consistently positive impact on pupils' learning in their areas of responsibility.

Pupils develop a love of reading and learn to appreciate a range of authors and genres as they move through year groups. Children start learning the sounds they will need to become fluent readers as soon as they join Reception.

They take home books that match the sounds that they have learned. Adults deliver phonics sessions skilfully. They spot any pupils who are not keeping up and put rapid support in place, so that these pupils can catch up.

Teachers know their subjects well. They explain new learning clearly and revisit what has been learned before often. They use a range of questions, quizzes, and practical activities to check how well pupils are learning.

If teachers see pupils are finding something tricky, they adapt their teaching to enable pupils to succeed. Pupils remember what they have learned well.

Across the curriculum, pupils learn the vocabulary they need for each subject.

In the Reception class, children learn new words through choral chanting and repetition. They practise these words in context. Children learned the word 'migrate', for example.

Then they learned about where in the world butterflies migrate to. Finally, they released the butterflies they had watched grow from caterpillars and discussed where they may travel to.

Pupils behave well in lessons.

Well-established routines and occasional gentle reminders help them to meet adults' expectations. Classrooms are purposeful spaces, where learning is valued. Pupils often celebrate each other's achievements.

Any pupils who struggle to meet the expectations of good behaviour get the help they need to improve.

The school supports pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) effectively. These pupils' needs are identified quickly.

With some adaptations, they access the curriculum and achieve well. The school has its own specialists to provide support for pupils with SEND. These include speech and language therapy and well-being activities.

There is a carefully thought-out programme of personal development. Pupils learn about different world religions, many of which are represented in the school's community. Diversity is well understood and celebrated throughout the school.

Many pupils enjoy taking part in a variety of extra-curricular sports clubs. Leaders ensure that these are accessed by pupils with SEND and those who are disadvantaged. The school choir sings for elderly residents at a nearby care home and at events hosted by the local secondary school.

Pupils often fundraise for charities, such as Lupus UK and Cancer Research.

Governors have established a system for monitoring how well the school's strategic vision is realised. They provide the right amount of challenge and support to leaders.

Staff feel valued, thanks to the training that they are offered and the efforts leaders make to manage their workload. Staff describe the school as 'one big family'.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff and governors know the potential safeguarding risks in their community. They are alert to any signs that a pupil may be at risk and know what to do if they have a concern. Leaders act quickly when concerns are reported.

They liaise with external agencies for advice and support when these are needed. There are rigorous systems for checking that adults who join the school are safe to work with children.

Pupils learn about keeping themselves safe.

They know they can talk to a trusted adult if they have any worries. They are knowledgeable about ways of staying safe online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• There have been changes in the leadership of a small number of curriculum areas.

In these areas, leaders' plans for the curriculum have not been fully realised. Consequently, pupils are not as well prepared for the next stage of their learning as they could be in these subjects. Leaders must support curriculum leaders who are new to the role and continue to focus sharply on securing the programme of curriculum improvements they have planned.

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