Hoylake Holy Trinity CofE Primary School

Hoylake Holy Trinity CofE Primary School Market Street, Hoylake, Wirral, Merseyside, CH47 3BH

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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 Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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

 Pupils’ achievement varies too much across the school. Not enough pupils make more than the expected amount of progress from their starting points, especially in the Early Years Foundation Stage and in Key Stage 1.  The quality of teaching is not consistently good. In some lessons, learning time is wasted and this slows the pace of pupils’ progress.  Where the organisation of the lesson is not efficient and the pace of learning is slow, pupils’ attention wavers and they lose motivation to do the work.  While some examples of effective marking were seen, on many occasions teachers’ marking does not help pupils to know what they need to do to improve their work.  Provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage requires improvement. Children do not always have access to activities, both inside and outside, that are appropriate for their age.  Over time, the school leaders’ checks on the quality of teaching and learning have not been

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

sufficiently rigorous. As a result, their view on the quality of teaching overall has been too generous.  The good practice that is evident in parts of the school has not been effectively used to improve the overall quality of teaching, learning and achievement.

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The school has the following strengths

 The new headteacher has an accurate view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and has begun to put strategies and support in place to improve the quality of teaching.  Pupils are happy in school and feel safe. They are polite and behave sensibly around school and on the playground.  Interesting topics, themes and extra-curricular clubs make a good contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make good progress and pupils’ understanding of phonics (sounds that letters make) is improving strongly.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 20 lessons or parts of lessons, of which one was a joint observation with the headteacher.  Inspectors listened to pupils reading in Key Stage 1 and held meetings with pupils drawn from across Key Stages 1 and 2.  Meetings were held with the headteacher and other leaders, including subject leaders and the special educational needs coordinator. Inspectors met with a group of governors and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors undertook a scrutiny of pupils’ current work.  A range of other evidence was also considered by inspectors. This included the school’s evaluation of its own performance, development planning, performance management objectives for teachers, data about the achievement of pupils across the school, minutes of meetings of the governing body and records relating to attendance, behaviour and safeguarding.  Inspectors took account of 54 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and a small

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Information about this inspection

number of parents shared their views of the school with inspectors during the inspection.  Inspectors analysed 10 returns by staff to the inspection questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Neil Dixon, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Maureen Coleman Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Hoylake Holy Trinity is slightly smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Nearly all of the pupils are from White British backgrounds.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action is broadly average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average.  The proportion of pupils for whom the school receives the pupil premium is below average. The pupil premium is additional funding to support pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals, children from service families and children who are looked after by the local authority.  There is pre-school, breakfast club and after-school provision on site. These are run by external providers and are inspected separately.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ progress and attainment.  The school currently holds the Eco-Schools Green Flag award.

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Information about this school

 There have been a number of changes in the school’s leadership since the last inspection, and the headteacher took up post in January 2014.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Rapidly improve the quality of teaching so that it is always at least good, in order to accelerate pupils’ progress, particularly in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, by:  ensuring that marking always identifies what pupils should do to improve their work further  ensuring the structure and organisation of the lesson promotes good learning by eliminating wasted time which is slowing pupils’ progress  ensuring that in the Early Years Foundation Stage, children are provided with more opportunities to develop skills appropriate to their age, both indoors and outside  ensuring that pupils’ behaviour in lessons never restricts the pace of their learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen the impact that new school leaders have on school improvement by:  embedding rigorous checks on teaching and learning so as to improve the overall quality of teaching  using the skills of the strongest teachers to support those who are weaker.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Achievement requires improvement because the progress that pupils make is not always good enough across the school to ensure that they all reach the levels of attainment of which they are capable. While many pupils make the expected amount of progress, too few do better than this, particularly in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1.  Children start in the Reception class with skills and abilities that are typically in line with those expected for their age, although there are some small variations within each cohort. By the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage, pupils are working at a level that is still broadly in line with the national average. Achievement in the Early Years Foundation Stage requires improvement because not enough children are making accelerated progress.  Pupils’ scores in the Year 1 phonics check were below average in 2012 but improved to be broadly average in 2013. This is because strategies that the school has put in place to support

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

progress in phonics, including ‘Phonics Bootcamp’ sessions, are beginning to have a positive impact on pupils’ confidence in using phonics to help their reading.  Progress in Key Stage 1 is not quick enough, and so by the end of Year 2, pupils’ attainment overall is broadly in line with expected levels; too few pupils have progressed to the higher levels.  By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils’ attainment in reading is typically slightly above average and pupils say that they enjoy reading. Attainment in writing and mathematics is broadly average. This reflects a slight overall acceleration in pupils’ progress in Key Stage 2.  Progress in Key Stage 2 is, however, uneven. Not all groups of pupils have always made better progress and some groups of pupils have attained less well than others. For example, in 2013, girls’ progress in mathematics was slower than for girls nationally whereas boys’ progress in the

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

same subject was slightly better than boys’ progress nationally. School leaders are now addressing these differences and girls’ and boys’ current rates of progress are more even.  Overall, the progress made by the most able pupils is similar to that of other pupils. It is generally stronger in Key Stage 2 than in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, where it is not quick enough. The proportion of pupils attaining the higher level in reading at the end of Year 6 is typically just above the national average. However, the most able pupils’ attainment in writing and mathematics is more usually in line with the national average.  The achievement of disabled pupils and those who are identified as having special educational needs is typically good. This is as a result of effective support, often provided by a committed group of teaching assistants.  The funding for pupils eligible for the pupil premium is now used more effectively to provide

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

small-group and individual support. This is beginning to ensure that, in almost all year groups, previous gaps between the attainment and progress of the relatively small numbers of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those of other pupils in the school are being eliminated. These pupils are now progressing as well as most other pupils, reflecting the school’s increasingly effective provision for equality of opportunity.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching overall is too variable, meaning that all pupils are not always achieving as well as they could.  While there are examples of good and occasionally outstanding teaching in different parts of the school, particularly in Key Stage 2, too much teaching over time requires improvement. Where this is the case, pupils’ progress is slowed.  Lessons start promptly and teachers plan work that provides more challenge for the most able pupils and more support for the less able pupils. However, learning time in lessons is often lost by work being given out individually or groups of pupils having to wait to have their work explained to them. When this happens, the pace of learning is not quick enough, and pupils tend to lose concentration and the motivation to work.  Teachers mark pupils’ books regularly but the feedback that they give does not always help pupils to understand what they have to do to improve their work. As a result, while pupils know

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

that they need to make their work better, they are not always clear about the next steps they need to take.  Teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage does not always give children opportunities to practise their skills and develop the knowledge that is appropriate to their age and abilities. Tasks are sometimes too difficult for children and they become anxious because they are not sure what to do. Opportunities for learning outside are limited by the cramped nature of the outdoor learning area.  The school’s focused approach to teaching reading, in particular targeting phonics activities more closely to the needs of identified groups of pupils, is beginning to have a positive impact. Older pupils say that they enjoy reading and younger pupils demonstrated an improving understanding of phonics when reading to the inspectors.  Teaching assistants generally support pupils’ learning well, and relationships between pupils and

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

all adults in the classroom are positive. These aspects make a strong contribution to the overall good progress made by disabled pupils and those with special educational needs.  Information and communication technology is used regularly across the school, but its impact on the quality of teaching and learning is mixed. In an effective Year 5 lesson, pupils filmed each other, explaining how they had tackled problems linked to angles, which encouraged pupils to think about and explain their mathematical reasoning. At other times, problems with the technology not working or too many pupils having to share computers or tablet devices caused disruption to learning.  In lessons where pupils make the best progress, teachers use questioning skilfully to involve all pupils in the learning and make sure that learning moves on at a lively pace, so that pupils stay interested and keen to learn. For example, in an outstanding Year 6 mathematics lesson, the

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

teacher set pupils a series of different open-ended challenges involving number patterns that were hard enough to make the most able pupils really think but gave the less able pupils the chance to develop and practise skills at an appropriate level. As a result, all pupils were determined to solve their own problems and find the missing numbers.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils’ behaviour requires improvement. This is because pupils do not always have enough self- motivation to work and do not always show sufficient interest in their work. This is particularly the case in lessons where learning time is wasted and the pace of learning is too slow. In these instances, pupils are slow tackling their work, and work is sometimes not completed.  Pupils do not always take enough pride in their work and, as a result, the quality of presentation of their work in books is variable. Some teachers have higher expectations of the standard of presentation that they are looking for and generally, pupils respond well to these expectations.  Around the school and on the playground, pupils behave well. They know the school rules and follow them sensibly. Pupils are friendly towards one another and polite and courteous towards adults in school. As a result, pupils say that they are happy in the school: one pupil said that she

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

enjoyed coming to school to ‘learn and have fun with my friends’.  Attendance over time is broadly average. The school is taking appropriate steps to try to improve attendance, particularly of the small number of pupils whose absence is significantly higher than the national average.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils say that they feel safe in school, and parents support this view.  Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves and others safe. They are aware of different types of bullying, including name-calling and cyber-bullying, but say that instances of bullying in school are extremely rare. Pupils are confident that adults in the school would deal with any problems or concerns that they might have.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because not enough teaching in the school is good or better and, as a result, pupils do not always achieve as well as they could. Until recently, actions taken since the previous inspection were not effective enough in addressing the identified areas for improvement.  The headteacher, who has been in post since January 2014, and subject leaders, some of whom are also new to senior leadership roles, have now identified areas for improvement and plans for tackling them, but it is too soon to judge the full impact of this work. Early signs are that improvements in the organisation of phonics teaching are having a positive impact on the progress that pupils make in developing their knowledge of the sounds that letters make, while the pupil premium funding is being more effectively used to impact on pupils’ achievement.  The headteacher, and other senior leaders, have quickly and accurately identified weaknesses in

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The leadership and management requires improvement

teaching and have put appropriate support plans in place. These, and successful actions already taken, indicate leaders’ capacity to improve the school further.  Performance management arrangements have not previously been sufficiently robust to ensure that teaching is consistently good. However, the new headteacher has made sure that targets to improve teaching are now much clearer, more challenging and more focused on the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning and rate of progress.  The curriculum is enhanced with a range of interesting activities linked to topics that are designed to interest pupils, which have included food-tasting sessions in school and a residential visit for older pupils.  Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Pupils speak particularly enthusiastically about the school’s links with a partner school in Sri Lanka, for which they have organised a range of fundraising activities.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The school has used the additional primary school sport funding to provide specialist coaches to work alongside teachers, enhancing the variety of sports and games covered in lessons and increasing teachers’ skills and knowledge. Pupils also enjoy taking part in sporting activities after school, including judo and an energetic and well-attended multi-sports club.  The local authority is providing effective support for the school. In conjunction with the school’s governing body, the local authority ensured that appropriate support was put in place for new school leaders, and an experienced headteacher from a successful local school is now working regularly with the school in an advisory role.  The school engages well with parents, through regular newsletters and parents’ evenings. While a small minority felt that they could be better informed about their children’s progress in school, a very large majority would recommend the school to other parents.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school  Governors are supportive of the school. With better governor training and well-thought-out changes to governance roles and structures, governors have improved their focus on the school’s performance through closer analysis of data and are now providing appropriate challenge to school leaders.  Governors now have a clear and accurate view of the quality of teaching in the school and the strategies that leaders have put in place to monitor, support and challenge weaker teaching. They ensure that appropriate opportunities for pay progression and promotion are available to teachers who meet their performance targets.  Governors manage finances well and have used them effectively, for example, in redeveloping the school’s main outdoor play area. They are also aware of how the pupil premium funding has been used and the increasing impact that it is having on eligible pupils.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Governors ensure that safeguarding arrangements meet requirements and that pupils are kept safe in school.

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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 105063 Local authority Wirral Inspection number 431003

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 236 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Roger Bates Headteacher Catherine O'Neill Edwards Date of previous school inspection 21 March 2012 Telephone number 0151 6324153 Fax number 0151 6320886 Email address schooloffice@hoylakeholytrinity.wirral.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

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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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