Holy Trinity CofE Infant School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of leadership and management by:
  • reviewing the current management structure in order to further develop capacity for improvement
  • ensuring that new governors consult with the local authority and consider the wider impact of any further strategic decisions on the smooth running of the school
  • carrying out a full audit of all electronic systems to ensure that they are effective and provide the information needed to analyse information precisely
  • ensuring that regular checks are routinely carried out on safeguarding, behaviour records and attendance analysis
  • ensuring that the sports premium funding is used effectively to support the development of PE across the school
  • developing partnerships with local schools, particularly the junior school.
• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment so that it is consistently good by:
  • developing more consistency of approach across all year groups, including early years
  • increasing the expectations of what all pupils can achieve, particularly disadvantaged pupils
  • ensuring that all groups of pupils receive equal access to teacher-led group work
  • embedding the use of assessment strategies so that teachers can target teaching more tightly to the needs of all groups of learners
  • continuing to drive forward the improvements identified in the detailed action plan
  • using the strongest teachers to model and support teachers who are still refining and developing their craft
  • improving assessment on entry so that it reflects accurately what children can do, and ensures that a more accurate and useful measure is used to track progress across Nursery and into Reception.
• Improve outcomes in reading by:
  • continuing to follow the work identified and started in the reading action plan
  • improving attitudes to reading at school so that pupils are more positive about the books they read
  • improving the consistency of approach to the teaching of reading
  • ensuring that pupils who are disadvantaged or are struggling to catch up are provided with appropriate catch-up programmes and high-quality teaching
  • evaluating the effectiveness of guided reading sessions and identifying what is working well and what needs to be improved. An external review of the use of the pupil premium funding should be undertaken.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Governors have not put effective leadership arrangements in place. After appointing a new headteacher, governors removed all other leadership posts, including that of the school business manager. Many of these governors then resigned their positions. The lack of a leadership team has had a negative impact on how quickly the headteacher has been able to implement improvements.
• Governors have not ensured that all systems in the school are fit for purpose and have not checked their suitability on handover. Therefore, the new headteacher has had to spend time on matters other than teaching and learning. However, the new governors fully understand the school’s weaknesses and are working effectively with the headteacher to address them. They are now focusing on improving reading provision across the school and releasing funding to support both reading and early years provision.
• Use of the pupil premium funding is now being more tightly planned and there is a high degree of support for families from a service background. It is too early to measure the impact of this tighter planning. However, early indications show that pupils are being more closely monitored and leaders are holding teachers to account more.
• The new headteacher has rightly identified key areas for development across the school and has developed the vision for improvement. She has taken immediate action to address historical issues, such as the ineffective ICT system, the inappropriate siting of the main office and the health and safety issues caused by the challenging site. As a result, plans to re-site the new office from January are in place and the school is researching new ICT systems.
• The continued use of sports coaches paid from the sports funding to cover planning, preparation and assessment time for teachers contravenes the guidance. As a result, teachers are not improving their own skills and the range of sports and competitions on offer to pupils is not wide enough.
• The headteacher has identified key teachers who demonstrate potential leadership capacity and is working with them to ‘grow her own’ leadership team. The English leader demonstrates particular strength and is already monitoring the teaching of reading to identify areas for improvement. Previous actions to improve phonics outcomes have been particularly effective.
• Staff meetings provide training needed to bring about the improvements identified in the action plan. Teachers are enthusiastic and positive because they share the vision created by the headteacher.
• New mathematics homework has brought an increased dialogue with parents about the teaching of mathematics. The new reading challenge is having an impact on increasing reading time at home. Parents are positive about the recent changes to homework and described how their children want to read at home.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced. Pupils enjoy a range of activities, and work in religious education is particularly strong, which reflects the strong Christian ethos of the school.
• Funding to support pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is used well. Pupils are given appropriate support and outside agencies are regularly consulted. One-to-one support is closely matched to the needs of individuals and records are kept up to date.
• Work with the local junior school is still in its early stages. Leaders are working together to put in place shared assessment systems to ensure a smoother transition for pupils at the end of key stage 1.
• The local authority has recognised the challenging position of the new headteacher. It advised against some of the decisions made by the governors. The school’s link local authority officer can already identify key improvements and is providing effective support for the headteacher through detailed notes of visits, which set out clear actions needed to support the ongoing improvement work.

Governance of the school

• Current governors recognise weaknesses from the past. They are still in the early stages of evaluating their own effectiveness. They have carried out audits of key skills and have completed a review of governance. They are enthusiastic and well informed about the current issues faced by the school.
• The chair of the governing body provides strong leadership, along with a core team of active members who have carried out checks on areas such as the website, use of sport funding and pupils’ attitudes to reading.
• Governors are now in a strong position to help the school move forward.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders have reviewed all policies in line with the most recent documentation. Some administrative issues with the recording of checks on teaching staff were swiftly resolved during the inspection. Governors need to ensure that regular checks take place and that they provide training for new office staff.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Inconsistencies in teaching across the school result in some classes progressing less well than others. The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is too variable. Most-able pupils are not always given enough challenge to extend their learning and on some occasions teaching does not engage the learners.
• The current assessment systems have not had sufficient time to embed. It is too soon to recognise if they are having a positive impact on identifying gaps in pupils’ knowledge and skills, which would help teachers to strengthen planning and teaching. The new, more varied range of assessments provides a more rounded picture of what pupils can do and where they are achieving well.
• On occasions, teachers miss opportunities to make links between what pupils learn in different subjects. In one grammar lesson, work on the contraction apostrophe was not applied to pupils’ writing. In another, pupils copied sentences from the board, which did not extend their thinking or challenge their vocabulary.
• Pupils demonstrate a lack of excitement about reading at school. They say they prefer to read at home. Although work has begun to address the resources and to prioritise reading as an area of focus, it is too soon to see the impact. Not all pupils have guided reading books and there is a lack of consistency in the teaching of reading. In one class, reading records were more analytical and demonstrated effective questioning.
• In Year 2, clear differentiation during a mathematics lesson allowed pupils to work at their own pace, supporting the least able and giving the most able a high degree of challenge. The teacher assessed consistently throughout the session to check understanding and reiterate clear expectations. The use of well-thought-out resources kept pupils enthusiastic and enhanced their learning.
• The teaching of phonics is variable. Where there are strengths, teachers use effective questioning and pupils demonstrate positive attitudes. Appropriately matched work enabled pupils to make progress. In other lessons, work was too easy and did not lead to new learning. Where least-able pupils are taught by teaching assistants, teachers are not checking on how quickly they are progressing.
• Writing work for all groups shows high expectation and strong progress since September. Pupils write about a range of topics and there is a strong focus on handwriting and presentation.

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 happy and feel safe in school. They know what to do if they have concerns and say they would inform a teacher.
• Support for individual pupils is strong. Leaders are using their pupil premium provision to provide extra support for vulnerable families to ensure that children are safe and in school. Pupils speak highly about how they welcome new pupils into the school and recognise how important it is to make friends. Pupils from service families are well supported.
• Pupils’ spiritual development is evident around the school through displays and the positive relationships children form. Spirituality forms a key aspect of the school development plan in order to strengthen links with the Church.
• Charitable work is strong. Currently, pupils are collecting food to support the food bank and remember others at Christmas time.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils are polite and thoughtful. They show consideration to each other and work well in groups and individually.
• Despite the limited space in the playgrounds, pupils play well together. High levels of adult supervision ensure the safety of pupils.
• Parents, pupils and staff say that behaviour is good. Pupils follow the rules and show respect to each other and adults. They respond quickly to instructions.
• Most pupils demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. They enjoy their lessons and are keen to learn. During the inspection, where teaching did not match individual needs, pupils were not as fully engaged.
• Attendance is above the national average. Where pupils have more regular absences, leaders and teachers have authorised holiday leave for service pupils, or know the medical history of the pupils. A more general analysis of different groups will help leaders and governors to identify patterns over time.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Standards in reading at the end of key stage 1 have declined over the last three years. Not enough pupils are making consistently good progress, particularly those pupils who are disadvantaged.
• The proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check has improved and is now above that seen nationally. This is because the English leader has targeted this as an area for improvement and it has been a whole-school focus.
• Standards in writing and mathematics remain above those seen nationally. However, too few disadvantaged pupils are reaching the higher standards in all subjects.
• Evidence in mathematics and writing books shows that pupils are making consistently good progress in most classes.
• Achievement of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is carefully monitored across the school. Additional support ensures that pupils make broadly expected progress.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• Baseline assessment on entry is still in the early stages of development. Leaders acknowledge there are some inconsistencies and that the overall picture given is not accurate. The majority of children enter the early years with skills and abilities broadly typical for their age. However, the assessment information collected gives a less positive picture.
• There is too much variability in the quality of practice across the early years. Leaders are aware of where support is needed and have worked with leading practitioners to bring about improvements. The school’s move towards providing a more flexible nursery offer has improved the consistency between the morning and afternoon nursery sessions.
• The early years development plan sets out where key improvements will be made. Recent improvements in the quality of the nursery provision are evident. Children are well engaged, happy and show high levels of concentration. The Nursery is well organised and carefully thought out to enhance learning.
• Outcomes at the end of Reception have improved, with the majority of children leaving early years ready for Year 1. A higher proportion of children are reaching the higher standards across all key areas.
• Challenge in mathematics is evident through work in books. The most able children receive well-matched work and, as a result, make strong progress.
• In some Reception classes, the match of activity to ability is not as strong. Pace is too slow for some children and too fast for others. Children are not given appropriate support through resources to help them.
• Children relate well to adults and quickly form positive relationships with each other. The learning atmosphere is calm and purposeful. Children behave well. They enjoy clear routines and, as a result, their personal and social skills develop well across the early years.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 121598 North Yorkshire 10000903 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 Infant and nursery School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Maintained 3 to 7 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 218 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Mrs Helen Little Mrs Elizabeth Wheildon Telephone number 01765 603911 Website Email address www.holytrinity-inf.n-yorks.sch.uk/ admin@holytrinity-inf.n-yorks.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 1–2 March 2012

Information about this school

• The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about the curriculum, how the PE and sports funding is being used and details about governance.
• The school is smaller than most primary schools nationally.
• The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged is below the national average. Most pupils in receipt of disadvantaged funding are from service families.
• The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, including those who have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan, is lower than the national average.
• The school’s deputy headteacher left at the end of the summer term 2016, along with the school business manager. The former headteacher retired at the same time.
• The new headteacher started working at the school in September 2016, without any of the previous leadership positions having been replaced by the governors.
• The school site contains three separate buildings. Access to the office is up three stone steps, which makes this unsuitable for parents visiting the school. Access from the offices to the rest of the school is through the Nursery and one Reception class.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed lessons in all classes and in a range of subjects. The headteacher observed lessons alongside the lead inspector on the first day of the inspection.
• Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, the leadership team, members of the governing body, including the chair of governors, and the school improvement adviser from the local authority.
• Inspectors looked at work in pupils’ books and learning journals and scrutinised reading records across the school.
• The school council met with an inspector to discuss its views about the school. Inspectors listened to pupils read and spoke informally to parents outside the school.
• Inspectors looked at a number of documents, including information on assessment, minutes from governing body meetings, the school’s development plan and a range of other documents provided by the headteacher.

Inspection team

Janet Lunn, lead inspector Linda Clay Andrew Soutar

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector