Trinity CofE Primary and Nursery School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Trinity Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary and Nursery School are happy, polite and respectful.

They enjoy school and attend regularly. Pupils talk about the very close links the school has with the church and know that this helps them to care for others.

There have been many changes of staff within the school, including at leadership level.

The curriculum that pupils receive is not as ambitious as it could be. Some areas of the curriculum are not taught well, including that for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). As a result, there is some disruption in lessons because pupils do not receive the support they need....

Pupils say that bullying is rare. They know that staff support them with any problems they have. Staff are nurturing and caring towards pupils and this helps them to feel safe.

Pupils value some of the wider opportunities that are provided, including forest school, environment day and extra-curricular sports clubs. Pupils enjoy visits that support their learning, such as a visit to a local museum. Some pupils develop responsibilities as 'values champions'.

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

School leaders have begun to identify the improvements that are needed to the quality of education that pupils receive. Nonetheless, it is too soon to see the full impact of their work. For example, leaders have planned a curriculum that is appropriate for younger learners.

However, at key stage 2, the curriculum is not well sequenced because leaders have not considered carefully enough what pupils already know.

In many subjects, there has been insufficient staff training and monitoring of the effectiveness of the curriculum. This means that the curriculum is not taught consistently well.

As a result, pupils talk about activities they have enjoyed, but do not remember the important subject content that they need to know. Staff regularly check what pupils have learned in some subjects, but do not use this information to plan the curriculum so that it meets the needs of all learners. For some pupils with SEND, the support provided is not reviewed regularly enough to check that they can follow the curriculum successfully.

Children get off to a strong start in Nursery and in Reception. Staff make careful choices about what children should learn. Engaging indoor and outdoor learning areas help children to learn well and develop their language skills.

Staff communicate regularly with parents and carers to enhance learning opportunities and consider children's interests. As a result, children are very well prepared for their next stage of learning.

Leaders know the importance of reading.

They have a well-sequenced curriculum in place to teach children to read. Therefore, as soon as children start in Reception Year, they begin to learn letters and the sounds they represent. Teaching pinpoints the sounds that children need to know and books for them to read are carefully selected.

For some children, there is extra help so that they learn to read fluently.

Leaders have high expectations of pupils' behaviour and conduct. Pupils understand the school's rules and are calm when moving around the school.

They play well with their friends and support each other. Pupils say that forgiveness is important if they 'fall out'. However, pupils do not always behave well in lessons or take as much pride as they could in their learning.

Leaders have placed importance on well-being and mental health for staff and pupils. As a result, older pupils understand how to lead a healthy lifestyle. They also learn about different religions and make links between this learning and the school's values.

Pupils understand the importance of charity and talk about how they sponsor a child in Cambodia. Despite this, pupils are not sufficiently knowledgeable about some British values, cultures and the way that other people may live.

Governors are aware of their statutory responsibilities.

They seek to provide challenge and support to school leaders, but this has been hampered by the impact of COVID-19. Nonetheless, until very recently, they did not have an accurate enough view of the quality of education provided by the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The safeguarding team has robust practices in place and it is clear that safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. Staff receive regular training and report concerns in a timely way. This means that leaders secure the help that pupils need, including working closely with external agencies.

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe and understand the meaning of words such as 'consent' and 'permission'. Older pupils know how to keep themselves safe online.

Leaders make appropriate checks for all new staff who join the school.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders' vision for providing a high-quality education for pupils has not yet been realised. This is because staff do not always have the required expertise to deliver the school curriculum well. Leaders need to ensure that staff have the subject and pedagogical knowledge and training they need to support all pupils to learn an ambitious curriculum.

In some subjects, leaders have not sequenced the key stage 2 curriculum carefully enough for mixed-age classes. This means that pupils are not always able to build on what they have learned before to help them with what comes next. Leaders need to ensure that curriculum planning is ambitious and well sequenced for all learners.

• Leaders have not assured themselves that the curriculum is being implemented as planned in many subject areas. Consequently, pupils do not learn the curriculum as well as they could. Leaders need to ensure that they have an accurate understanding of whether the curriculum is leading to pupils knowing and remembering more across all subjects.

• Pupils with SEND do not consistently benefit from precisely identified support. This means that sometimes, pupils do not know and remember as much as they could. Leaders must ensure that the quality of support and its impact is robustly reviewed, so that these reliably meet the needs of all pupils with SEND.