Holy Trinity and Saint Silas CofE Primary School, NW1

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a good school where staff work hard to help all pupils to achieve well. Typically, pupils behave well.

They told inspectors that they feel safe and happy at the school. Should any bullying occur, staff take it seriously and put things right.

Displays of pupils' work celebrate their learning and show how leaders encourage pupils to appreciate human creativity and achievement.

Parents and carers speak highly of the sporting and cultural opportunities which enrich the school's planned curriculum, providing many opportunities for their children to grow in confidence.

Pupils are eager to get to school each day and to get on with their learning. Th...ey rarely miss a day of school and arrive on time.

Parents and pupils spoke fondly of the school. They value the work of leaders and staff who make this an inclusive, safe and supportive school in the heart of Camden.

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

Teaching staff get to know their pupils well.

They frequently check what pupils have learned and use this information to identify and fill any gaps in pupils' knowledge. Teaching builds on what pupils already know and can do, and supports pupils to achieve highly. Pupils are well prepared for secondary school.

In the early years, adults help children to be independent. Consistent routines support children who are new to the school to choose activities confidently and select the equipment they need. Across the school, pupils' attitudes in lessons are positive, they cooperate well and are keen learners.

They engage well with the curriculum on offer and teaching proceeds uninterrupted.

Leaders are ambitious for every pupil to develop a love of reading. They have invested in resources to support the consistent teaching of early reading.

Phonics teaching starts right from the beginning of the Reception Year. Children who find phonics difficult receive the help they need to help them catch up. Books are carefully chosen so pupils practise reading using the sounds they know.

Pupils achieve well in reading. This is because leaders make sure all staff, from Reception to Year 6, have training in how to teach phonics. Teachers read to pupils daily.

Pupils benefit from access to weekly 'storytelling' sessions and a rich diet of carefully chosen books and stories. Teachers' choices of books broaden pupils' knowledge and vocabulary.

Leaders make sure teaching staff are trained to support the needs of all pupils.

Teaching staff successfully adapt the curriculum for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils with SEND are fully included in all that the school has to offer. Adults provide the support all pupils need to learn to read fluently.

The school's wide range of spiritual, moral, social and cultural opportunities is a strength. Pupils are taught a great deal through the school's rich curriculum offer. For example, they are taught about cultures and beliefs other than their own and the importance of the school's character virtues of care, courage and cooperation.

Pupils enjoy the range of clubs that are on offer, including art, games, running, French, jazz and choir.

Leaders reviewed the whole-school curriculum so that programmes of work are typically well sequenced, and pupils achieve well across subjects. Pupils study the full range of national curriculum subjects.

Curriculum leaders have thought hard about the school's curriculum and how learning in the early years can prepare children for Years 1 and 2. In some subjects, planning lacks details about what pupils need to know and remember in the long term to build up and deepen their learning over time. Some subject planning lacks sharply detailed content and sequencing that builds on what children learn in the early years.

The headteacher and governors want all pupils to do even better at the school. They have plans in place to improve the curriculum further. Their intentions, outlined in the school's development plan, support this purpose well.

Governors measure how far the school has implemented the plan. They use their collective expertise to make sure funding is allocated where it is needed most, supporting all pupils to keep up with their learning since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders make sure that the school acts consistently to protect pupils from harm. Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe, including online, and to understand the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships in an age-appropriate way. Staff know how and when to report any concerns.

They are aware of the potential threats to pupils' safety in the local area. Policies and procedures are thorough and well established. Leaders ensure all staff undertake regular safeguarding training and know the latest statutory guidance.

Appropriate joint working with other professionals and agencies is swift and effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Although leaders have thought about how the early years curriculum prepares children for key stage 1, some curriculum leaders are still in the process of bringing this about in their subject plans. Leaders need to ensure curricular planning is sufficiently detailed in all subjects to build on learning in the early years.

The school's curriculum is not yet sufficiently well planned and sequenced in some subjects. However, it is clear that leaders have already taken action to plan next year's curriculum and to train staff in how to deliver it. For this reason, the transitional arrangements have been applied.