Trinity Church School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Trinity Church School continues to be a good school.

The executive headteacher of the school is Michelle Parsons. This school is part of The Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school.

The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Alun Williams, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Tony Wells.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love attending Trinity Church School. The school is friendly and inclusive.

Pupils 'learn, grow and believe together' in a culture where everyone is respected. The sculpture at the entrance to the school represents acceptance. This captu...res the ethos of the school where pupils are welcoming and celebrate difference.

The school has high expectations of what all pupils can achieve. Pupils work hard and listen attentively to their teachers and to each other. They sustain high levels of concentration in their lessons.

Pupils at Trinity Church School value their education.

Pupils enjoy the calm and nurturing atmosphere. Staff care well for them.

Pupils feel safe to express their own opinions and views. This helps them to feel happy. Pupils treat others with kindness and respect.

Their behaviour and conduct are exemplary.

Pupils develop strong relationships with staff. They know that the adults in school look after them well to keep them emotionally healthy and physically safe.

Pupils benefit from a wealth of experiences to develop their character and resilience. They describe the importance of 'making a difference' to the wider community. Pupils raise money for charity and collect donations for the school's food bank.

They want to help others.

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

The school has designed and implemented a curriculum that enables pupils to achieve well. Staff have the expertise to implement the curriculum well.

The school is ambitious for every pupil. The quality of pupils' work is high. The school's curriculum is rich and engaging.

It sets out what pupils will learn and how this builds on previous learning. The curriculum makes links between subjects which helps pupils to deepen their knowledge and understanding. For example, in Year 6 history lessons pupils learn about World War II.

They also develop their geographical knowledge by studying where the events of this period took place in Europe. Mathematics is a strength of the school. The mathematics curriculum is well designed and ambitious.

Pupils enjoy maths. They recall their mathematical knowledge effectively and apply this to reasoning and problem-solving activities.

The curriculum sets out the knowledge pupils are expected to learn and remember in each subject.

It focuses on the important knowledge that pupils need to learn over time. Pupils can talk confidently about their current learning. However, assessment is not used precisely enough to check on pupils' understanding in the foundation subjects.

As a result, it is not always clear what pupils can remember over time in these subjects. This makes it difficult to adapt learning to ensure pupils build their knowledge well.

Reading is a high priority.

The school's approach to teaching early reading using phonics is effective. This starts in early years, where provision is strong. Pupils use the strategies they have learned to read unfamiliar words.

Staff quickly identify those pupils who need more practise. These pupils are given timely support to help them to keep up. Pupils read books that match their stage of reading.

This helps pupils practise using their phonic knowledge to become confident, fluent readers. Pupils read and listen to a range of quality texts. They talk enthusiastically about their favourite stories and authors.

The school ensures that pupils read well by the end of Year 6.

Staff understand how to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school has effective processes for identifying pupils who may need additional help.

Adaptations in the classroom precisely meet each pupil's needs. Therefore, pupils with SEND access the same curriculum as their classmates and progress well through the curriculum.

The curriculum extends beyond the academic.

Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. For example, they visit parliament in London to listen to a debate and to learn about democracy. The school provides many opportunities for pupils to take on leadership roles.

This instils a sense of responsibility and empathy in pupils. Those who have these roles, such as sports leaders and members of the news crew, actively contribute to the school community. They understand how they are helping others.

The school prepares pupils well for their futures. For example, older pupils learn about business roles through visiting a local company.

Pupils behave very well.

The school has refined its behaviour policy to help staff manage behaviour consistently. Consequently, classrooms are calm and orderly places where pupils can learn successfully. Pupils learn about how to stay safe online and how to recognise healthy and unhealthy relationships.

They can talk about their understanding of difference and diversity. Pupils know why prejudice and discrimination are wrong.

Parents overwhelmingly support the school.

They value the wide range of clubs, trips and activities that are on offer. Staff are proud to work at the school. Leaders are mindful of staff well-being and workload.

The trust provides many opportunities for staff to develop throughout their careers. Trust leaders and the local governing board understand their roles and responsibilities. They share the strong ambitions of the school leaders.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The system for assessing pupils' knowledge in foundation subjects is not yet developed. As a result, it is not always clear whether pupils have learned and remembered the key knowledge set out in the curriculum.

This can inhibit some pupils' building of knowledge. The trust needs to ensure that assessment is used effectively to check on pupils' understanding and use this information to inform future learning.

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 May 2018.