Holy Trinity CofE Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Develop pupils’ writing by:
  • having higher expectations for their handwriting and presentation of work
  • providing more frequent opportunities for pupils to practise and extend their writing skills.
• Ensure that there is consistent challenge for the most able pupils so that they work at greater depth.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Leaders and governors have established an ambitious and caring culture that enables pupils to flourish. Teachers are motivated to do their best. There are good systems for measuring the performance of members of staff. These enable them to develop their teaching, as well the other areas of responsibility that they hold at the school.
• Leaders have taken decisive and effective action to protect against a recurrence of last year’s dip in Year 6 pupils’ outcomes; these were associated with a combination of unforeseen and challenging staffing issues. Leaders have increased the rigour of monitoring pupils’ progress so that any underachievement can be identified and tackled sooner.
• The roles and responsibilities of senior leaders and governors have been strengthened this year. Self-evaluation is accurate and demonstrates a sharper understanding of what remains to be done to improve the school. Self-evaluation and planning are used well to improve teaching and learning.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced and has been developed well. New emphasis has been given to support pupils in developing reading comprehension skills. Plans are also in place to extend all subjects’ contribution to the development of pupils’ writing. There is a good range of additional activities to broaden the curriculum. For example, pupils benefit from the links with the federated bilingual school; all pupils are learning to speak French.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted effectively, with good opportunities for reflection in the curriculum. For example, pupils in Year 1 were appreciative of Klimt’s ‘Tree of Life’ painting. They gave sensible suggestions for their own ‘jewels’ in their lives such as ‘our families’ and ‘birds’. Pupils learn about British values such as democracy and are well prepared for life in modern Britain. There are close links between the school and the parish church.
• Additional funding for physical education and sport is used to provide specific training for staff, swimming lessons and support for additional activities at playtimes. Pupils have benefited from becoming more active. They have been more successful in swimming and external competitions, as seen in their certificates and trophies.
• The funding for disadvantaged pupils, and that for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities, are used wisely to provide individualised support as needed for these pupils.
• Parents are positive about the school and typically make comments such as, ‘there is a real family spirit and amazing atmosphere’, and, ‘there is nothing I don’t like’.

Governance of the school

• Governance is effective.
• Governors have increased the level of support and challenge offered to school leaders so that any concerns about staffing and pupils’ progress can be resolved quickly.
• Governors are knowledgeable about what works well and how the school can improve. They make focused visits to the school to enhance their understanding.
• The governing body works closely with school leaders to ensure, for example, that the curriculum effectively supports pupils’ progress in reading and writing.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Members of staff are checked for suitability and are fully trained in caring for the pupils. There are strong links with external agencies.
• Leaders promote a culture where pupils feel safe and are looked after well. Parents are very positive about how well the school cares for their children.
• The curriculum includes good opportunities for pupils to learn about health and safety, including e-safety. For example, pupils are knowledgeable about safe practice when using the internet because they read and sign their own contracts.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers use their subject knowledge well to explain clearly what pupils are to learn. They make effective use of subject-specific vocabulary to support learning.
• Teachers manage behaviour well and engage the pupils’ interest by providing a wide range of purposeful activities.
• Phonics and other basic skills in literacy and numeracy are taught well. Reading skills are being taught more systematically than in the past to ensure that pupils gain a good understanding of what they are reading as well as to increase their fluency.
• Teachers and teaching assistants work together as a team to support different groups of pupils. They use questioning well to check the pupils’ understanding and to help them to think about their learning.
• Teachers are now providing better opportunities for pupils to write in different ways across the curriculum.
• Thorough assessments are made to make sure that pupils are making good progress from their starting points.
• The teachers’ expectations for the presentation of pupils’ work are variable. This means that pupils do not establish and maintain consistently high standards as they go through the school.
• While work is usually matched well to the pupils’ differing abilities, there are occasions when work is not challenging enough, especially for the most able.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils are confident because they feel safe and well cared for at school. They are positive about being part of the school community and are happy to approach adults or use the ‘worry boxes’ if they have any concerns.
• Pupils say that there is hardly any bullying and that it is mostly ‘just silly falling-out with your friends’. When it occurs, adults deal with it well.
• Pupils’ physical and emotional well-being is supported effectively through a range of activities such as additional games at breaktimes and access to ‘Godly Play’ in a designated room for worship.
• There are effective links with external agencies to ensure that vulnerable pupils are cared for well.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are polite and friendly and enjoy coming to school. Rates of attendance are above average and there is no persistent absence.
• Pupils and their parents are pleased with behaviour at the school. Pupils move around the school sensibly and there is very little disruption to learning in class. Pupils cooperate well with each other in lessons and play together amicably at playtimes and in the breakfast and after-school clubs.
• Pupils do not consistently take enough pride and care in their writing and at times this is not presented well enough.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• As shown by their work and the school’s assessment information, pupils are making good progress from their starting points across the curriculum, including in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Pupils’ good literacy and numeracy skills and personal development prepare them well for the next stage of education and later life.
• The small proportion of disadvantaged pupils in each year group make good progress. Leaders assess their needs, and specific additional support is provided.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good progress. Their needs are identified correctly, and their progress is monitored and supported well.
• Pupils consistently achieve above-average results in the phonics screening check at the end of Year 1. Pupils enjoy learning to read and make good use of phonics to help them with unfamiliar words.
• In reading, reflecting the school’s focus on reading comprehension, pupils are now developing a better understanding of what they have read. They are given good opportunities to strengthen their knowledge of vocabulary and to make inferences from a text. For example, in Year 3, pupils learned about the difference in the quality of information collected when they posed open rather than closed questions.
• Pupils have well-developed skills in spelling, punctuation and grammar. They use interesting and extensive vocabulary and can write for a variety of purposes. However, their handwriting varies in quality and they do not consistently take enough care with the presentation of work. Pupils have too few opportunities to develop and extend their writing.
• Pupils make the best progress in mathematics, where new skills are taught clearly and systematically, as in Year 5 where pupils were learning how to use a protractor accurately.
• The most able pupils do well overall, although occasionally opportunities are missed to deepen their knowledge and understanding so that they can apply what they have learned and work at greater depth.
• The 2017 national test results showed that pupils in Year 6, including disadvantaged pupils, had not made enough progress from their starting points at the end of Year 2, especially in reading and writing. While their attainment was average, it should have been higher. This dip was associated with particular staffing issues that have since been resolved.

Early years provision Good

• Children make good progress in the Nursery and Reception classes. They settle quickly into the clear routines and learn effectively because activities provide the right level of challenge and interest. The children become confident and articulate and are emotionally and academically well prepared for joining Year 1.
• Teaching and the curriculum are successful in helping children to succeed. Staff set particularly high expectations for children’s perseverance. For example, in the Nursery, children were encouraged ‘not to give up’ when counting and jumping from each numbered stepping stone.
• There is a calm and purposeful atmosphere in the classrooms that supports good learning. Members of staff have good relationships with the children. They work closely with parents to support and assess children’s progress. For example, children take activities home to reinforce what they have learned at school and parents fill out ‘wow’ cards to show how well children are doing at home.
• Additional funding for the small numbers of disadvantaged children is spent wisely and links are made with external agencies as needed. For example, effective use is made of various language and therapy programmes to improve speech and attentiveness.
• Children behave well and are friendly and considerate. They remember to say, ‘excuse me’ and ‘sorry’, and are sensitive about each other’s needs. For example, in Nursery, a child helped another to make a fun ‘birthday cake’ to celebrate her birthday.
• Leadership and management of early years are strong and effective. There is a clear understanding of what works well and how the curriculum can be enhanced to ensure that children do equally well in all areas of learning. All staff are fully trained in caring for the children and ensure that they are kept safe. Leaders have identified correctly that not all members of staff use good questioning to extend the children’s learning.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 102418 Hillingdon 10041059 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Voluntary aided 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 227 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Mark Dunning Daniel Norris (Executive Headteacher) Telephone number 01923 822529 Website Email address www.holytrinitynorthwood.org admin@holytrinitynorthwood.org Date of previous inspection 21–22 November 2012

Information about this school

• Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School is smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• There is a part-time Nursery and a full-time Reception Year class in the early years provision.
• Since September 2016, the school has been in a soft federation with St Jerome Church of England Bilingual School in Harrow, also led and managed by the executive headteacher.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is below average. The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is also below average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 6.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The governing body manages a breakfast club and an after-school club for pupils at the school.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors observed teaching and learning in 14 lessons, most jointly with the headteacher or one of the assistant headteachers.
• Discussions were held with leaders, other members of staff and members of the governing body.
• Inspectors held informal discussions with several parents and scrutinised 66 responses to the Ofsted questionnaire for parents (Parent View) and 13 responses from members of staff to the staff questionnaire.
• Pupils in Years 2 and 6 were heard reading and samples of pupils’ work were scrutinised from all year groups.
• A range of information supplied by the school was checked, including the school’s assessment information, planning documents and checks on the quality of teaching. The inspectors also looked at the school development plan and records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding procedures.

Inspection team

Alison Cartlidge, lead inspector Gill Bal

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector