Setting

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Jane Glendinning Headteacher Trinity All Saints CofE VA Primary School Church Street Bingley West Yorkshire BD16 2PP

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CofE VA Primary School

Following my visit to your school on 19 June 2017, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. Thank you for the help you gave me and for the time you made available to discuss the actions you are taking to improve the school since the most recent section 5 inspection.

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CofE VA Primary School

The visit was the first monitoring inspection since the school was judged to require improvement following the section 5 inspection in October 2016. It was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. At its section 5 inspection before the one that took place in October 2016, the school was also judged to require improvement.

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CofE VA Primary School

Senior leaders and governors are taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement identified at the recent section 5 inspection in order to become a good school.

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CofE VA Primary School

The school should take further action to:

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CofE VA Primary School

 identify and appoint leaders for all national curriculum subjects  make sure that leaders of all subjects make checks on the achievement of groups of pupils, especially the most able pupils  give pupils challenging opportunities to use and apply mathematics in a range of subjects  sharpen the school improvement plan, and the information shared with governors, to identify more precisely the progress that the most able pupils should make and are making.

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Evidence

During the inspection, I held meetings with you, other leaders and three members of the governing body to discuss the actions taken since the last inspection. I also met with representatives of the local authority and the diocese. I examined the school improvement plan and other documents, including information about the curriculum, leaders’ notes of monitoring, and pupil achievement information. I briefly observed some lessons with the deputy headteacher and discussed with other leaders the work in pupils’ workbooks.

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Context

One teacher and one teaching assistant have left the school since the last inspection.

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Main findings

You have robustly addressed weaker teaching and leaders have successfully supported a number of teachers to improve teaching. Along with your leadership team, you have taken effective action to sharpen the checks on the quality of teaching and learning. You and other leaders are beginning to shine a brighter light on the difference that teaching makes to pupils’ learning and progress. As a result, leaders have a clearer picture of the precise strengths and weaknesses in each teacher’s practice. The deputy headteacher has made a particularly strong contribution to these improvements in leadership.

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Main findings

Teachers in key stage 2 are now giving more attention to the progress that pupils are making from the end of key stage 1 and not just the progress that pupils are making in the current year. This is raising teachers’ expectations of what pupils should be able to achieve. Consequently, more pupils are beginning to reach the higher standards of which they are capable. There is evidence of some emerging stronger challenge in mathematics for the most able pupils and more pupils are writing at a higher standard in key stage 2. However, in the current Year 6, as was the case last year, too few of the most able pupils have managed to demonstrate greater depth in their writing.

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Main findings

Teachers are giving pupils more opportunities to write at length in subjects other than English. Teachers are upholding higher expectations of the quality of writing, whether in English or in other subjects. This is contributing to improvements in pupils’ writing. However, teachers are still not giving pupils enough opportunities to practise and apply their mathematics skills in subjects such as science, design technology and geography.

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Main findings

The development of subjects other than writing and mathematics has been a lesser priority so far. Teachers are beginning to teach more suitable and challenging content in a range of subjects such as science and geography. However, teachers are not planning well enough for the needs of pupils of different abilities, especially the most able pupils. Some subject leaders are very early in their development. Leaders of English, mathematics and religious education (RE) are improving more quickly than other subject leaders. Due to long-term staff absence, not all subjects have an assigned leader.

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Main findings

The governing body has a good understanding of the progress being made towards accomplishing the school’s priorities. Governors are providing appropriate challenge to you and the leadership team and checking carefully that what leaders tell them is accurate. The school improvement plan, which should guide governors in their work, does not include targets for the most able pupils. Similarly, information you provide for the governing body does not easily help them to identify strengths and weaknesses in the progress of the most able pupils.

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External support

The local authority has brokered a partnership with a more effective school. This has made a substantial contribution to improvements in the work of senior and middle leaders, especially in the checks that they make on teaching and learning of writing and mathematics. A representative of the diocese has effectively supported the RE leaders and has provided you with helpful support at this challenging time in the school’s development.

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External support

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Leeds, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Bradford. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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