Holy Trinity CofE (C) Primary School

Holy Trinity CofE Primary School Wetmore Road, Burton-on-Trent, DE14 1SN

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Pupils do not achieve as well in mathematics as they do in English. Pupils’ progress requires improvement in mathematics.  The quality of teaching varies too much and does not consistently challenge all pupils, particularly the more able, to make the progress they are capable of.  Teachers do not always ensure that pupils respond to their questions when their work has been marked.  Pupils do not have enough chance to solve practical problems in mathematics.  Not all subject leaders are sufficiently involved in monitoring the quality of teaching. Leaders’ checks on the quality of teaching do not yet focus closely on pupils’ progress.  Pupils do not have enough opportunities to use their mathematical skills in different subjects.  The governing body has not challenged leaders sufficiently about the school’s performance in Key Stage 2.

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The school has the following strengths

 Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage achieve well because provision is good.  The headteacher is improving the quality of teaching and supporting new staff to improve their skills effectively.  Pupils feel safe and behave well. They work hard in most lessons and are polite and courteous.  The school provides well for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 14 lessons of which three were seen jointly with the headteacher. In addition, inspectors listened to pupils read.  Inspectors took account of the 19 responses to the online parent questionnaire (Parent View).  Meetings were held with a group of pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body and school leaders.  Inspectors looked at many documents including: the school’s own information on pupils’ current and recent progress; planning of work in different subjects; leaders’ monitoring of the quality of teaching and learning; and records relating to behaviour, attendance and the safeguarding of pupils.

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Inspection team

Steve Nelson, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Judith Tulloch Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller-than-average primary school.  The large majority of pupils are of White British heritage. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is below average. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs who are supported at school action is below average. The proportions supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs are below average.  The proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for the pupil premium (additional government funding to assist certain groups, which in this school applies to pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals) is below average.  Some classes are taught in mixed-age groups.  The school provides a breakfast club, nursery lunch club, afternoon child-care and a range of after-school activities.

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Information about this school

 The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum standards expected nationally for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching to be consistently good or better to accelerate pupils’ progress by:  ensuring teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are consistently high  providing more-able pupils with the right amount of challenge  ensuring that teachers provide more opportunities and time for pupils to respond to marking provided by the teacher.  Raise attainment and improve rates of progress in mathematics by:  providing well-planned opportunities to extend pupils’ practical and problem solving skills in mathematics  ensuring that pupils are given regular opportunities to apply their mathematical skills in other subjects.  Strengthen the quality of leadership and management and governance by:  ensuring that the monitoring of teaching has a greater focus on pupils’ progress  making sure that teachers in charge of subjects develop their role in reviewing the quality of teaching  ensuring that the governing body offer greater challenge to the school leaders, with regard to

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

the school’s performance in all year groups and in comparison with other schools nationally.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and governance may be improved.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Test results show that attainment at the end of Year 6 in reading and writing are above average and in mathematics is below average. Most pupils made the expected progress in English. However, achievement requires improvement because the number of pupils making the expected progress in mathematics does not compare as favourably with the national figure.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils are not all skilled in solving problems in mathematics. They do not do sufficient practical investigate work in mathematics. Pupils are not given enough opportunities to use their mathematical skills in different subjects.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 More-able pupils do not always make the progress of which they are capable. This is because the work set is not always challenging enough and does not stretch them to think hard.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 When children enter the school they have skills below those expected for their age. Children are encouraged to make their own choices and become independent learners, and they make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage. They enter Year 1 as confident learners.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils did particularly well in the phonics (linking letters and sounds) test at the end of Year 1 in 2013. Their scores were well above the national figure. All pupils are encouraged to read at home. Pupils read regularly and the majority are confident and fluent readers, and this positive attitude has a good impact on their achievement.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils in Year 1 and 2 make steady progress to attain standards in line with those seen nationally at the end of Year 2 in reading, writing and mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The school’s focus on raising standards in writing is proving effective. Grammar, punctuation and spelling are usually accurate. Pupils are increasingly becoming confident in using more interesting words to form sentences and write fluently in different styles.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 This year’s results show that disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs now make expected progress. In lessons these pupils are currently making the progress they should, because of regular support by teachers and other adults who make sure that pupils’ work is set at the right level.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 In 2013 the attainment of Year 6 pupils supported by the pupil premium in reading was above that of other pupils in the school and in mathematics they were about a term behind their classmates in reading. This represented good progress. Pupils were about 3 terms behind in writing. Currently school evidence indicates that, as a result of the sustained extra help provided for them, pupils are making better progress in writing and closing the gaps in attainment with other pupils.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching requires improvement because it is not consistently good or better across the school and does not ensure that pupils make good progress, especially in mathematics. This is because pupils do not have enough opportunities to investigate and solve practical numerical problems.  Teachers are diligent in marking pupils’ work regularly and accurately. However, when they ask pupils a question or redirect them to look again at what they have written, teachers do not always check to see if pupils have responded or learnt from their mistakes.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Senior leaders strongly focus on the quality of teaching and there is evidence of improvement. For example, in lessons where teaching is good tasks are well matched to pupils’ abilities and they are challenged by the tasks set. However, in some lessons, teachers’ expectations are not high enough. As a result pupils, especially the more able, are given work that is too easy.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers generally demonstrate sound subject knowledge and use a range of teaching methods effectively. For example, ‘talking partners’ help pupils explore and express their ideas and understanding. They are encouraged to work together and help each other in activities.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 In the better lessons staff ensure that activities are interesting and motivating. As a result, pupils develop positive attitudes and these have a good effect on their learning. For example, in a mixed Year 4/Year 5 English lesson, the teacher made effective use of images about frogs that captured pupils’ imaginations so that they made good progress in their descriptive writing.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The teaching of reading and phonics supports pupils’ writing well by improving their spelling and broadening their vocabulary. In guided reading sessions, teachers and other adults skilfully question all pupils to make sure they know what they are doing and how to improve.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Other adults make a good contribution to pupils’ learning in lessons, particularly for those who find learning difficult. They work well to support less-able pupils to keep up with the pace of lessons by using teaching resources and questioning effectively to develop pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour is consistently good both in lessons and around the school. In lessons, pupils’ attitudes to learning are positive. They listen attentively and work well on their own whether in pairs or small groups. Pupils are considerate and polite to adults and each other.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils understand about bullying and its different forms, such as verbal or physical bullying. They say bullying is not an issue in the school and are confident that if they have a problem the staff will help them. Pupils enjoy school, they feel safe and understand how to keep themselves safe.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils enjoy taking on responsibilities throughout the school and do so eagerly and sensibly. They carry out their roles as young leaders enthusiastically and help organise activities around the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 There are very few behaviour incidents overall across the school and most are minor. Where there have been pupils who have had problems with their behaviour, the school has supported them effectively. As a result their behaviour has improved.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Nearly all parents who responded to the online parent questionnaire (Parent View) said their children are safe, well cared for and the school makes sure that pupils are well behaved.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance is above average and the efforts made by senior leaders in promoting regular attendance continue to achieve success.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because there is still too much teaching that requires improvement. Although attainment has risen in mathematics, pupils have not made enough progress.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The leadership team and governors have a clear vision of how they want the school to be, having high achievement as a result of good teaching at its heart. They have taken decisive action to improve teaching and are supporting new staff well to develop their skills, demonstrating the school’s capacity for further improvement. There has been insufficient time to see the full impact.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher has identified the right priorities, based on an accurate assessment of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. There are effective procedures for checking the progress and attainment of all individuals and groups of pupils. The school ensures that there is no discrimination and actively and successfully promotes the key values of inclusion, respect and tolerance.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leaders give clear feedback to teachers on how to improve their teaching and check improvement against this feedback in follow-up observations. However, leaders’ monitoring of teaching sometimes does not sufficiently record the impact of teaching on pupils’ progress. Teachers’ pay levels are determined by how successful they are in helping pupils to achieve well.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leaders’ skills are being developed appropriately so they are prepared effectively for their roles and responsibilities. Not all leaders in charge of subjects are fully involved in checking the quality of teaching so they lack impact on improving teachers’ skills and classroom practice. Effective leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage ensures that children make good progress across all areas for learning.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school uses the extra funding for physical education and sport well to improve the quality and amount of provision. A dedicated sports coach delivers good quality sports sessions such as dancing that ensures active participation of all pupils. The school has suitable plans to evaluate the impact of the funding on pupils’ achievement and health.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school provides a broad range of learning experiences. Intriguing and exciting topics such as ‘Super Heroes’ and ‘Scientists’ promote pupils’ interests and positive attitudes well. The values embedded in the way subjects are taught strongly promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. However, pupils do not have enough opportunities to practise their number skills across all subjects.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The local authority keeps a close check on the performance of the school and has provided appropriate and measured support. The headteacher and the school have developed links with other schools so that good practice can be shared to improve the work of the school.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school:  Governors have an appropriate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. They receive a great deal of information from the school about pupils’ progress, but they do not ask sufficiently challenging questions to hold the school to account. Governors have a limited knowledge about the school’s performance compared to other schools and how well different groups of pupils achieve. Governors find out about the school through visits to classes. They carefully monitor the school’s finances including how the extra funding for eligible pupils is helping them achieve better. They assess their own training needs to get the best balance of skills to help the school. Governors fulfil their legal duties to make sure safeguarding requirements are met.

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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 124294 Local authority Staffordshire Inspection number 427001

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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 173 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Margaret Heather Headteacher Nicola Oliphant Date of previous school inspection 17 Novemebr 2011 Telephone number 01283 239495 Fax number 01283 239499 Email address office@holytrinity.staffs.sch.uk 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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