Holy Trinity Church of England Primary

Holy Trinity Church of England Primary Middleton Road, Oswestry, SY11 2LF

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Inadequate 4 Achievement of pupils Inadequate 4 Quality of teaching Inadequate 4 Behaviour and safety of pupils Inadequate 4 Leadership and management Inadequate 4

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires special measures.  School leaders and governors have been too slow to improve teaching and, as a result, pupils’ achievement in Years 3 to 6 is lower than when the school was last inspected. The work of leaders and governors has had too little impact and as a result, the school is not improving.  School leaders do not make enough checks on the quality of teaching or make sure that teachers always receive the training they need to get better. The plans to improve the school are out of date.  Pupils’ progress in English and mathematics is too slow in Years 3 to 6.  Teachers’ do not expect enough of pupils in Years 3 to 6, and the work they set them to do is often too easy.  Some pupils behave poorly in the lessons that fail to interest them.  Older pupils do not think enough about what is right and wrong behaviour and the consequences of their words and actions.  Governors do not receive accurate information

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

so they can check on how well pupils are doing or how well they are taught. This prevents them from helping the school get better.

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The school has the following strengths

 Pupils make good progress in Years 1 and 2 because the teaching is good.  Pupils feel safe at school and the checks on their safety are well organised.  Persistent absence has been successfully tackled and attendance has improved to average levels.  The school makes good use of the additional government money, known as the pupil premium, to help improve the progress of the pupils it is intended for.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed the teaching in all classes. They visited 23 lessons taught by 15 teachers. A school leader joined an inspector for one of these visits and was observed reporting back to the teacher on the quality of learning seen.  Inspectors held discussions with pupils, the headteacher, teachers, the Chair of the Governing Body and three other governors. The lead inspector met with a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors looked at a range of evidence, including records of pupils’ progress, safeguarding documentation, behaviour logs and the results of the school’s checks on the quality of teaching. They also examined the work in pupils’ books.  The views of 12 parents were analysed through the Parent View website.

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Inspection team

Gerald Griffin, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Patrick Finegan Additional Inspector Linda Rowley Additional Inspector

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Full report

In accordance with the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

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Information about this school

 This primary school is larger than average.  Most pupils are of White British heritage. The remainder come from a wide variety of backgrounds.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium (additional government funding) is above the national average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is below average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average.  The school met the government’s current floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  Two pupils attend an off-site alternative provision on a part-time basis.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching so that it is consistently good by:  raising teachers’ expectations of what pupils can and should attain  making sure that teachers use information about pupils’ progress to plan lessons which meet the individual needs of all pupils so that they make good progress  making sure teachers provide clear guidance to children working independently in the Early Years Foundation Stage about what they are learning and what they need to do to succeed  ensuring the outdoor area in the Early Years Foundation Stage is used more effectively to promote children’s learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Make sure leaders and managers are effective in driving school improvement by:  having clear and up-to-date plans to tackle weaknesses  rigorously and thoroughly checking that teachers consistently enable pupils to make good progress  making sure that subject leaders provide the necessary training that improves teachers’ skills  providing more opportunities that promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of older pupils  providing governors with the accurate information they need so that they can check pupils’ progress and the quality of teaching and see how quickly the school is improving.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ behaviour by making sure that teachers plan work which interests and holds the attention of the whole class.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve governance by:  raising the awareness of members of the governing body of the importance of holding the school’s leaders to account  increasing governors’ knowledge and understanding of their roles so that they can carry them out effectively.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Pupils in Years 3 to 6 do not make the progress they should in English and mathematics and their achievement is inadequate. Pupils’ progress in mathematics has been slow for several years and remains so. Although progress in English was as expected for pupils who left for secondary school last year, the progress of current pupils in this subject is too slow. Progress accelerated a little last term, but not quickly enough to enable pupils who have fallen behind to catch up. Pupils are not well prepared for secondary school.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Checks on pupils’ books in Years 3 to 6 show that work is often too easy. For example, in mathematics pupils continue to practise sums they can already do. In discussions, many older pupils say that their work is not stretching them enough.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Children start in the Nursery and Reception classes with knowledge, skills and understanding below those that are typical for their age. They make expected progress and start Year 1 with below-average levels of attainment.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Pupils make good progress in Years 1 and 2 in reading, writing and mathematics and start Year 3 with average attainment. Pupils fall behind in Years 3 to 6 as progress slows and, last year, pupils left school with below-average attainment.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Pupils enjoy reading and do so regularly. The school provides a wide range of reading matter including newspapers and magazines. Some older pupils find the books in the school library too easy. Attainment in reading in Year 2 is average.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Pupils use their skills to support their learning in different subjects. For example, they use their mathematical knowledge and numeracy skills in science to accurately measure and record results and use their computer skills to research information on the internet for geography projects.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 The progress of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is variable. In Years 1 and 2, these pupils make good progress because of good teaching and the expert help they get from adults who know their needs well.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 In Years 3 to 6, pupils who require specific additional support with their learning and those with statements of special educational needs make good progress because of the valuable help they receive from well-trained adults, often on an individual basis. For example, the adults ensure that pupils with behavioural difficulties concentrate well and do not interrupt lessons. The progress of pupils who find learning difficult is inadequate because they do not receive enough good teaching or expert help.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 The gap in attainment in English and mathematics between pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and their classmates has closed; the average points scores were identical for both groups of pupils. Last year, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals left school with levels of attainment similar to their peers nationally. This shows that the school uses pupil premium funding well. For example, it has been used to train adults to support the needs of those pupils who have emotional difficulties so that they are able to concentrate well in lessons.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Teachers’ expectations of what pupils can and should do are not consistently high enough, especially in Years 3 to 6. For example, in too many lessons in these year groups pupils waste time cutting out, pasting and colouring pieces of paper.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 In Years 3 to 6, teachers do not use the information they have about pupils’ attainment to plan tasks which appropriately challenge each pupil. The work they set is often too easy, especially for the more-able pupils.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Teachers in Years 3 to 6 do not always provide work that keeps the whole class interested and, as a result, the behaviour of a minority of pupils deteriorates and learning is interrupted. Inspectors saw the same pupils behaving well in other lessons, where they were engaged by relevant tasks.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is in need of improvement, although consistently good teaching was seen in the Nursery. Children often make better progress when they work with an adult. Progress is sometimes slower in activities that children choose for themselves because the purpose of the activities is not clear. The outdoor learning area was underused during the inspection.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 In Years 1 and 2, teachers make good use of information about pupils’ progress to plan tasks of an appropriate level of difficulty for each member of the class. Teachers’ questions make pupils think deeply. Pupils work successfully in pairs and small groups to share and develop their ideas and to rehearse answers.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Teachers plan many opportunities for younger pupils to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness. For example, in a good English lesson for pupils in Years 1 and 2, pupils thought deeply about how the tone of what is said affects the feelings of the listener.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Teachers provide too few opportunities for the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of older pupils. The pupils talked readily about Holy Trinity’s cultural links with a school in Kenya. However, few of them could recall lessons in which they thought about right and wrong and the consequences of words or actions.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Teachers’ marking is variable in quality. Books are regularly marked and in English teachers show pupils precisely how they can make their work better. Many of them take note of this advice. This is not consistent practice in mathematics.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are inadequate

 A significant minority of pupils in Years 3 to 6 show a lack of respect for each other and staff and a lack of self-discipline, resulting in poor behaviour. This was seen by inspectors in lessons, where inadequate teaching failed to engage pupils sufficiently.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are inadequate

 In too many lessons, older pupils lacked enthusiasm for learning. Many of them told inspectors that they feel they could be making better progress and working harder.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are inadequate

 Pupils feel safe and know precisely how to keep themselves safe; for example, when crossing the road or on social network sites.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are inadequate

 Pupils say there is a little bullying, but that this is dealt with effectively by the school. Pupils have a good understanding of what constitutes bullying. They are fully aware of its different forms, such as internet bullying.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are inadequate

 Younger pupils are enthusiastic learners, and their behaviour in lessons and around the school was good. School records confirm this.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are inadequate

 Exclusions have fallen and are now well below the national average. This is the result of successful work by adults who have been trained in managing pupils with challenging behaviour.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are inadequate

 Attendance has risen over the past year and is now average because the school has successfully tackled the poor attendance of pupils with persistent absence.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 School leaders have been too slow to tackle weaknesses. They have not secured essential improvements in achievement and teaching in Years 3 to 6. The school has not demonstrated the capacity to secure further improvement.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Self-evaluation is too generous. The school’s plans for improvement were out-of-date at the time of the inspection.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Leaders are not taking effective steps to secure good teaching across the school. They do not keep records of lesson observations to check that teaching is getting better. There has been some successful staff training. For example, adults have been well briefed about the needs of pupils with statements of special educational needs. However, there has been too little training to improve teaching in English and mathematics in Years 3 to 6 by the leaders of these subjects.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The school should not appoint newly qualified teachers.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The school organises a good number of visits, which complement class work well but do not provide older pupils with sufficient opportunities to develop all aspects of their spiritual, moral and social education.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Parents expressed mostly positive views about the school.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Leaders’ commitment to combating discrimination and promoting equal opportunities is having mixed success. This is shown by the improving attainment of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals. However, the progress made by disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is too variable.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The local authority has worked hard to make sure that the school understands the need for rapid improvement. However, its role in staff training has been limited because the school has chosen to use independent advisers for this work.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The school completes all statutory checks on the suitability of staff to be employed. Child protection training for staff is thorough, and leaders implement child protection policies rigorously.  The governance of the school:  The governing body has a clear understanding of the information published about the school and governors make accurate judgements about how well the school is doing compared to similar schools. The governing body asks searching questions of the school but has not been successful in securing improvements; it has not recently taken part in self-evaluation procedures and the drawing up of improvement plans. Governors find it difficult to judge the success of plans because they are not given up-to-date information about pupils’ progress and the quality of teaching. Governors see that teachers’ targets are specific and challenging and that pay rises and promotion are linked to performance. While inspectors found that the

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The leadership and management are inadequate

school is spending the pupil premium funding appropriately, the governing body is not checking this part of the school’s budget to make sure, for themselves, that this is the case. The governing body correctly feels that staff training is not robust enough. It is keen to improve its own skills.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 135786 Local authority Shropshire Inspection number 406631

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 360 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jane Mosford Headteacher Nicholas Turner Date of previous school inspection 23 May 2011 Telephone number 01691 654832 Fax number 01691 688913 Email address admin.holytrinity@shropshirelg.net guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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School details

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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