Trinity School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Trinity School continues to be a good school.

The headteacher of this school is Charlotte Wilson. This school is part of Newbury Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school.

The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), also Charlotte Wilson, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Alison Mitchell.

What is it like to attend this school?

The school's values of 'personal excellence and collective responsibility' underpin its positive culture. Staff are aspirational and caring in equal measure.

Parents value this balance of priorities. Leaders are academically ambitious for all. From Year 7 onw...ards, pupils study a broad and rich curriculum, including in the sixth form.

Occasionally, when in a pupil's best interests, the school organises bespoke curriculum programmes. Pupils achieve well, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Leaders place a high priority on developing pupils' resilience and confidence, but also instilling a sense of community.

Sixth-form students are excellent role models in this regard and embody the school's culture and values very well. Pupils appreciate the varied extra-curricular programme, which allows them to explore existing and new interests. They enjoy activities with pupils from different year groups, not least in the performing arts.

Pupils in all years enthusiastically take on leadership responsibilities. The range of roles on offer is impressive, including supporting and mentoring others.

Staff know pupils very well and nurture strong relationships with them.

Consequently, pupils' behaviour is overwhelmingly positive and they are respectful to others. They feel safe and happy at school. As one pupil said, 'I love everything about this school.'



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

The school has designed an ambitious curriculum, which is carefully sequenced from Year 7 to 13. Staff use their experience and subject knowledge to bring content to life, as well as to prepare pupils effectively for examinations. They have identified the important knowledge that pupils need at each point.

They have also considered how this knowledge builds and connects over time so they can make this explicit for pupils. In the sixth form, for example, students spontaneously draw on their prior learning to help them with more sophisticated tasks.

In most lessons, teachers introduce new content and select activities appropriately.

The majority of teachers check regularly what pupils understand before moving on. As pupils move through the curriculum, teachers ensure that pupils also learn to apply what they have been taught to more complex problems with increasing independence. The school provides staff with information about any pupils' additional needs, including those with SEND.

Generally, this is used to target approaches in the classroom appropriately and to adapt teaching effectively. However, in a few areas, the delivery of the curriculum is not yet as effective as it could be. In some cases, teaching does not support all pupils to make the progress they could from their respective starting points.

This is because teaching is not adapted to meet pupils' needs well enough. Teaching in the sixth form is more consistent. Students approach their work thoughtfully and they respond to feedback positively.

The school understands the importance of reading. It is at the heart of a very well-designed literacy strategy. There is a sharp focus on pupils who are not yet fluent readers.

Staff identify pupils' reading gaps precisely and target support accordingly. These pupils make strong progress. The wider literacy strategy is having a positive impact on pupils' reading and writing skills across the curriculum.

Staff manage behaviour well and foster positive relationships with pupils. Bullying is rare and pupils trust staff to deal with issues if they occur. Most pupils demonstrate positive attitudes to school.

They attend regularly and show a commitment to developing as resilient learners who take pride in their work. This includes many of the most disadvantaged pupils. The school has acted decisively to provide support where this is not yet the case.

For example, there are successful programmes for pupils with very low attendance or who need a different curriculum. The school has identified other pupils whose attitudes to school are not positive enough and who are not yet benefiting fully from the support on offer. The school is rightly introducing further strategies as these pupils are missing out on learning and the wider opportunities that the school provides.

The school's excellent personal development programme covers required content but also responds to issues of local and broader importance if necessary. Pupils in all years have an age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships and how to stay safe, including online. They learn about diversity and are proud of attending an 'accepting' school.

Careers provision is equally strong. The programme benefits from a wide range of partners from the world of work, education and training. Pupils are very well prepared for their next steps.

Leaders ensure that all personal development and careers activities are fully inclusive.

The trust provides robust support and challenge for the school. Trustees take their statutory duties very seriously, not least safeguarding.

The school provides high-quality staff development and is mindful of colleagues' workload and well-being, to make sure that staff are focused on providing high-quality education. This is recognised by staff who feel valued. They are extremely proud to work at the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• There is variation in how well the curriculum is implemented. In a few areas, teaching is not effectively adapted to meet the needs of all pupils.

Consequently, some pupils do not achieve as highly as they could. The school should continue to refine and embed teachers' pedagogical approaches, so that all pupils are consistently supported and stretched to reach their full potential. ? A small number of pupils do not meet the school's expectations for their attitudes to learning.

As a result, these pupils do not reach their full potential academically or in terms of their personal development. The school should continue its work to ensure that these pupils are identified early and are supported to access the intended learning and wider life of the school.

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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in January 2014.