Trinity Church of England Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Develop assessment and tracking systems across science and the wider curriculum and promote the same very high standards of presentation that are currently found in English and mathematics.
• Improve the outside area for Reception children further by including a wider range of activities to complement the literacy and numeracy activities available inside the classroom.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• The headteacher is admired by pupils, parents and staff alike. Her clear vision and leadership have led to rapid improvements in all aspects of the school’s work. The headteacher has embedded a culture of high aspirations, inspirational teaching, challenge and support which ensures that all groups of pupils flourish. As one parent explained when praising the school, ‘I wish Ofsted could measure the number of times a child’s face lights up when they understand something tricky, or are excited by a new idea – those are the most important things to me.’
• Senior leaders have fostered an ethos where the school cares for the whole child. The school’s values of ‘respect, care and courage’ underpin all that the school does and are well understood by pupils. Leaders ensure that pupils make rapid progress academically, develop a love of learning and are well cared for. As several pupils explained, ‘School is like a family.’
• The headteacher’s and senior leaders’ evaluations of the school’s effectiveness are sharply focused and they take the appropriate actions to make the necessary improvements.
• Leaders have had a significant impact on improving the quality of teaching. The headteacher has high expectations together with a sharp analysis of the impact of teaching upon learning. Regular monitoring enables senior leaders to offer highly effective support and challenge for teachers. Teachers and teaching assistants take pride in their teamwork and support each other to be the best they can be. All of the areas for improvement in teaching identified in the previous inspection report have been addressed.
• Middle leaders and teachers respect and trust the headteacher and senior leaders. They value greatly the support and challenge that senior leaders bring to their work. Effective training and teamwork have ensured that teaching is securely good and there are many outstanding features in English, mathematics, science and across the curriculum.
• Relationships across the school are exceptionally strong. Staff say that they are proud to work at the school. They told inspectors that they feel respected and supported and that their ideas are valued.
• Leaders’ approach to tracking pupils’ progress in English and mathematics is rigorous. They look carefully at planning, teaching, pupils’ work and assessments in order to determine the progress of all groups of pupils. This enables leaders to swiftly target support, interventions or extra challenge where necessary. As a result, overall progress has accelerated rapidly and all groups of pupils achieve very well in the school.
• Leaders ensure that the school’s caring Christian ethos is at the heart of learning and school life. Christian values are woven throughout every aspect of school life and pupils participate thoughtfully and sensitively in discussions about equality, diversity and respect for different cultures and faiths. Consequently, the school’s provision for the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of all pupils is exceptional and pupils develop a good understanding of British values.
• Pupils benefit from a broad, lively and well-planned curriculum. Staff share a clear understanding of how stimulating lessons, appropriate use of technology, regular opportunities for learning outside of the school day and a range of opportunities to undertake leadership roles all underpin pupils’ achievements. Consequently, pupils develop a love of learning and are well prepared for their next stages of education.
• Governors and leaders ensure highly effective use is made of the pupil premium funding. Actions taken by leaders have ensured that the attainment of disadvantaged pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, has continued to rise. Leaders and teachers ensure that this group of pupils receive appropriate targeted support to make accelerated progress and participate fully in school life.
• Sports funding is well spent to increase pupils’ skills and participation in a wide range of sports. Leaders have used the money very effectively to provide very high-quality sports coaching and access to a wider range of sporting activities.
• The school has a productive relationship with the local authority, which has provided useful support, particularly to improve standards of teaching and learning in the early years.

Governance of the school

• Governors share the headteacher’s ambitious aims for the school and they manage the performance of the headteacher well. Members of the governing body have a wealth of relevant skills and educational experience which enable them to support and challenge leaders at all levels. Governors ensure the fair and consistent application of policies and that only the best teaching is rewarded with pay increases.
• The governing body has successfully challenged leaders to raise the quality of teaching and learning and holds them to account for further improvements. Governors scrutinise performance information in order to assess the success of the school against its own targets, and the standards achieved by similar schools.
• Regular meetings, visits and high-quality reports from the headteacher enable governors to evaluate aspects of the school such as safeguarding, financial planning, provision for the most able pupils and the impact of the pupil premium funding. As a result, they have a very clear understanding of the school’s performance and its day-to-day work.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• There is a thorough system in place to check staff qualifications and their suitability to work with children.
• Staff know how to react if they have any concerns about a pupil’s welfare. Regular, high-quality training for all staff is provided by the school on safeguarding matters and careful records are maintained of all those who have completed it.
• Clear and comprehensive documentation supports work with external agencies. Meticulously managed systems and an effective team approach involving governors, leaders and office staff ensure that all pupils are kept safe.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• Teachers and teaching assistants have very good relationships with their pupils, high expectations about what pupils can achieve and how they should behave. Consequently, pupils engage enthusiastically with activities during lessons, listen carefully and persevere when they find tasks difficult.
• Teachers have a very good understanding of the subjects that they teach and the ways in which children learn. They often pose challenging questions which make pupils think harder and frequently demand in-depth explanations and give pupils opportunities to share their successes. As a result, pupils have high aspirations and a love of learning. For example, in a Year 3 mathematics lesson, the whole class cheered with joy when one pupil was able to explain the new mathematical relationships she had learned by speaking to the whole class for a whole minute without pausing or hesitating once.
• Teachers use the information they have about what pupils know and can do very effectively to plan work that closely meets pupils’ needs and inspires them to learn. Teachers provide valuable feedback to pupils about how well they are doing and what they need to do to improve. Most pupils respond well to this to improve their work.
• Assessment information is used particularly well, enabling highly effective targeting of teaching assistants to support and challenge pupils of all abilities. As a result, all groups of pupils, including the most able, make particularly strong progress over time.
• Reading is taught exceptionally well. Pupils are encouraged to apply their phonics skills throughout the school. They quickly progress to become confident, fluent and animated readers. The well-stocked library, together with themed book displays around the school, promotes frequent opportunities to read at school and at home and instil a love of reading and books.
• Teaching of writing is very strong and pupils’ work clearly demonstrates the improvements that they make in handwriting, spelling, punctuation and grammar and the pride that they take in their work.
• Highly effective mathematics teaching has a very clear emphasis on developing fluency and encouraging pupils to spot relationships and patterns. Pupils are frequently expected to solve problems. This has helped to raise current pupils’ achievement. Pupils take a pride in their work and their books clearly evidence the progress that they make. Teaching assistants expertly coach and support pupils of all abilities to improve their mathematical skills.
• The wider curriculum is taught very well, although leaders are aware that assessment and tracking systems are less well developed in other subjects than they are in English and mathematics. Pupils’ books evidence particular strengths such as the high-quality learning activities taking place in practical science lessons and the very strong progress pupils make in history and French. In a small minority of classes, improved presentation and more opportunities to develop writing and mathematics skills across the curriculum would help to embed these skills and extend pupils’ understanding still further.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• The school interprets its Christian ethos broadly to teach respect for all faiths, cultures and backgrounds and for those with no faith. Pupils were keen to explain to inspectors that we live in a diverse community and that they, ‘have a lot of respect for each other’ and, ‘We are all equal.’ This culture of celebrating diversity and promoting equality ensures that all pupils receive excellent preparation for life in modern Britain.
• The school values are understood by staff and pupils and they underpin a safe and trusting learning culture within the school. Leaders are clear that pupils’ welfare is paramount and good systems are in place to offer help and support to any vulnerable pupils and their families, involving external agencies when appropriate.
• Pupils value the opportunities that they have to learn about keeping themselves safe, in and around the school, as well as online. Learning about e-safety is given an appropriately high priority.
• All year groups are represented on the school council. Pupils are encouraged to take responsibility to look after each other in other ways, such as by helping to organise sporting events or by becoming play leaders to support younger pupils in the playground.
• Pupils have a clear understanding about the importance of staying healthy through regular exercise and eating healthily. Pupils of all ages were observed eating fruit and vegetables at lunchtime and they spoke positively to inspectors about their enjoyment of sport and physical education.
• Pupils and their parents are justifiably proud of Trinity Primary School. Pupils speak proudly and confidently to visitors about their school. All of the parents who completed the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View, feel that their children are safe and well cared for by the adults at the school. This faith in the school is well founded; it is an exceptionally caring community. The overwhelming majority of pupils are happy here.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Staff set high standards to which the pupils respond very well. Pupils are polite, respectful and kind towards each other and adults. The school is a warm, happy and harmonious place, clearly committed to the success of all of its pupils.
• Pupils are keen to embrace any challenge that is presented to them. The vast majority of pupils have exceptionally good attitudes towards learning and approach their lessons with enthusiasm. They engage well in lessons and confidently participate in discussions to share ideas and answer questions.
• Pupils respond very well to the vibrant and interesting learning environments and challenges posed by teachers and teaching assistants. Keenly focused on their learning, the pupils are proud to show off their high-quality work on display on the walls and in their books.
• Incidents of poor behaviour have become extremely rare because pupils have a keen sense of right and wrong, value their learning and respect each other. Pupils conduct themselves very well around the school at break and lunchtimes.
• Attendance is good and improving. This is due to robust monitoring by senior leaders and responding to any persistent absence appropriately. Disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities have missed too much school in the past. This disparity has been addressed and there are significant improvements in the attendance of these groups.

Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

• By the end of Reception, the proportion of children achieving a good level of development has improved significantly since 2015 and outcomes in 2016 were well above the national average. Current children in Reception are making similarly strong progress.
• Early reading skills are taught very well through sharply focused daily phonics lessons. The proportion of Year 1 pupils who achieve the expected standard is well above national average and continues to rise.
• In the past, pupils made outstanding progress in reading and writing, although progress in mathematics was in line with national averages. Highly effective assessments and tracking, together with improved teaching and learning, have ensured that current pupils, including the most able, make outstanding progress in reading, writing and mathematics.
• In 2016, as yet unvalidated data shows the proportion of Year 6 reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics was much higher than national averages, with achievement in reading and writing being particularly high.
• Disadvantaged pupils typically make progress that is the same as, or better than, the progress of other pupils nationally in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make very strong progress. Extra support sessions help those who need it to develop their reading, mathematical and social skills. School information shows that many of these pupils progress extremely well.
• The most able pupils achieve very well. As these pupils progress through the school, they are taught to use an increasingly wide variety of grammatical devices to communicate effectively in different subject areas and they develop sophisticated writing skills. In mathematics, they are challenged well to develop their reasoning skills and are given frequent opportunities to engage in problem-solving. Consequently, these pupils make very strong progress.
• Pupils who speak English as an additional language are given bespoke support by skilled teaching assistants, enabling them to make rapid progress.

Early years provision Outstanding

• Children get off to a flying start in Reception. They make excellent progress from their starting points and leave the class well prepared for Year 1.
• Leadership is strong and regular training is provided for all staff. Leaders have a very good understanding of the strengths and areas for development in the early years provision. They have high aspirations and are determined that all children should make good or better progress. They are clearly focused on providing high-quality teaching and rich learning experiences for children. They have made sure that all safeguarding arrangements are sound.
• Children benefit from a bright and stimulating environment which offers a wealth of easily accessible and enjoyable activities that promote child-centred learning. In the classrooms, a wide range of writing materials encourage children to practise writing skills and children concentrate as they choose from a plentiful selection of books in the attractive reading areas. The outdoor environment has very good resources to encourage investigation, creativity and exploration but offers fewer opportunities for children to have independent access to mathematical or literacy-based learning.
• Teaching in Reception is very good with adults using clear questioning to ensure that all children are challenged. Inspectors observed that children had quickly mastered several sounds and were using them to blend together to make simple words. They make a good start in learning to read because the teaching of phonics is very effective.
• Well-structured teaching sessions and child-initiated learning support good progress. Discussion is used well to help children refine their communication skills and extend their learning. As is the case across the school, teachers and teaching assistants work particularly well as a team to assess children’s progress then identify and plan suitable next steps.
• Children have particularly well-developed social skills for their age and interact quietly and collaborate sensibly and thoughtfully. During the inspection, children were seen confidently working collaboratively and independently on tasks including role play, painting and phonics. The depth of their understanding and the confidence with which they discussed their work on Diwali with the visiting inspector were impressive.
• The needs of disadvantaged children and children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are carefully considered and catered for. Staff know the children particularly well and meet their needs and liaise well with parents. This highly individualised focus ensures that these children make strong progress from their starting points.
• Communication with parents is very effective. Parents contribute well to assessment of their children’s progress and celebration of achievement. Consequently, they are very positive about the provision.

School details

Unique reference number 123173 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 10000696 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Primary School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 4 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 281 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Duncan Carter Headteacher Helen Jones Telephone number 01491 575887 Website www.trinityprimaryschool.org Email address office.3254@trinity.oxon.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 19–20 January 2012

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school is slightly larger than the average-sized primary school.
• There have been changes in leadership since the last inspection. The headteacher was appointed in September 2013, the assistant headteacher in September 2014 and the deputy headteacher in January 2015.
• Most pupils are of White British heritage.
• The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is much smaller than that found nationally.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below average.
• The proportion of pupils who speak or are believed to speak English as an additional language is slightly below average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set minimum expectations for attainment and progress at the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed pupils in 17 lessons in order to gather evidence to contribute to their evaluation of the quality of teaching, learning, and assessment. In addition, walks around the school were conducted jointly with the headteacher to observe what the school provides, and pupils learning.
• Inspectors attended assembly, collective worship, visited the library and observed pupils’ conduct around the site at break and lunchtimes.
• Groups of pupils discussed their opinions of the school and their learning with inspectors. Inspectors also spoke informally to pupils during break and lunchtimes and to parents at the beginning and end of the day.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, members of the governing body, senior leaders, middle leaders and teachers. Telephone calls were made to the school’s current and previous local authority representatives.
• Inspectors heard some pupils in key stage 1 and 2 read and they looked at a wide range of pupils’ books.
• Inspectors scrutinised a range of school documentation, including that relating to: policies; the minutes of governors’ meetings; strategic planning documents; safety; self-evaluation documents; pupils’ achievement; behaviour and attendance information.
• Inspectors considered the views expressed in: 31 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View; 23 staff questionnaires; and 40 pupil questionnaires.

Inspection team

Matthew Newberry, lead Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Nik Cook Ofsted Inspector Helena Griffiths Ofsted Inspector Jo Garlick Ofsted Inspector