Holy Trinity, Guildford, CofE Aided Junior School

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

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Dr Clare Brunet Headteacher Holy Trinity, Guildford, CofE Aided Junior School Addison Road Guildford Surrey GU1 3QF

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Short inspection of Holy Trinity, Guildford, CofE Aided Junior School

Following my visit to the school on 5 December 2018, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in February 2015.

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Short inspection of Holy Trinity, Guildford, CofE Aided Junior School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since becoming headteacher shortly after the previous inspection, you have worked closely with your staff and governors to create a school which exudes an ethos of trust, value and respect. Parents are highly confident in the school and made many positive comments, including, ‘Holy Trinity is a wonderful school where our son has flourished.’

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Short inspection of Holy Trinity, Guildford, CofE Aided Junior School

You have built a highly effective team who work closely together and take great pride in what they do. One member of staff told me, ‘This is a school that I am proud to work in.’ This is reflected in the good quality of working relationships through which staff recognise the benefits in sharing their skills and ideas to improve their practice. They appreciate the confidence you have in their ability to make the right choices for pupils. They say you and your leaders listen to what they have to say and so that they feel valued for what they bring to the school. You have developed a model of coaching and mentoring that is highly effective in improving the quality of teaching. There is a planned programme of professional development that links closely to the school’s plans for improvement. This is helping to bring about rapid improvements to the school as teachers extend their skills and practice.

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Short inspection of Holy Trinity, Guildford, CofE Aided Junior School

You involve all staff in reviewing the school’s work and setting new priorities. There is a shared sense of purpose and ambition to make the quality of education the best it can be. In the 2018 national tests at the end of Year 6, pupils’ standards in reading, writing and mathematics were above average at both the expected and the higher standard. Disadvantaged pupils do equally as well and sometimes better than other pupils with similar starting points. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do well in this school because they are provided with high-quality support that is tailored to their learning needs. This reflects your commitment to ensuring that all pupils have equal opportunities to succeed.

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Short inspection of Holy Trinity, Guildford, CofE Aided Junior School

One of the strengths of your leadership is the way in which you reflect on your actions to make sure that they have the desired impact. Parents are highly supportive of the school. One parent wrote, ‘The positive attitude by the headteacher helps to provide a wonderful atmosphere and I feel very fortunate that my child is able to attend this wonderful school.’

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Short inspection of Holy Trinity, Guildford, CofE Aided Junior School

You and your staff have created a stimulating learning environment in which pupils thrive and flourish. Displays in classrooms and around the school are bright and attractive and provide helpful prompts for pupils, as well as showing off their own work. This helps pupils to feel valued and to take a pride in their school and their achievements. Pupils love their school. They say that they feel safe and very well cared for. Pupils behave exceptionally well in class and the playground and as they move around the school. They are polite, friendly and kind to each other. They say that pupils are treated equally and fairly and that discrimination on any grounds is not tolerated. They enjoy school and this is reflected in their attendance, which is above average for primary schools.

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Short inspection of Holy Trinity, Guildford, CofE Aided Junior School

Governors are passionate about the school and they speak knowledgeably and enthusiastically when talking about the school. They visit regularly, both formally as well as informally, and so they see for themselves how well the school runs. They fully understand the school’s strengths because they receive high-quality information from school leaders. Minutes from governors meetings show that they provide a high level of challenge to leaders. Governors have clearly defined roles and accountabilities and this enables them to carry out their responsibilities in a highly effective manner.

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Short inspection of Holy Trinity, Guildford, CofE Aided Junior School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. You attend training to keep up to date with new guidance and initiatives and pass this information onto all staff. Staff are confident that they know exactly what to do should they have a concern that a pupil may be at risk from harm.

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Short inspection of Holy Trinity, Guildford, CofE Aided Junior School

Your policies are all up to date and the governor for safeguarding frequently visits school to ensure that the right procedures are in place to keep pupils safe. All visitors to school are carefully checked and leaders make rigorous checks on the suitability of new staff to work with children.

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Short inspection of Holy Trinity, Guildford, CofE Aided Junior School

Pupils say they feel safe in school because adults listen to them and take their concerns seriously. They understand about different forms of bullying but they are adamant that it does not occur. Pupils are taught about e-safety in their technology lessons and so have a good understanding of internet safety. The vast majority of parents who responded to the online survey, Parent View, agreed that their children are happy, safe and well looked after in school.

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Inspection findings

 During this short inspection we agreed to look at the following aspects of the school’s work: the quality of teaching and the extent to which it has improved since the last inspection; the effectiveness of the school’s curriculum and the extent to which pupils use their literacy and numeracy skills when learning other subjects; the extent to which new subject leaders are accountable for learning and the progress pupils make in their particular subject.  Teaching is typically lively and engaging and inspires pupils’ positive attitudes to learning. Teachers know their subject well and communicate it with passion and enthusiasm. They use interesting resources that capture pupils’ interest and so that pupils engage positively with learning. Pupils are curious and they want to do well. Most teachers are skilled at picking up pupils’ misconceptions and using the findings to extend pupils’ understanding. Very often, activities are practical so

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Inspection findings

that pupils understand what they are learning. For example, pupils in Year 4 were using their knowledge and understanding of area and perimeter to design a Roman villa. Pupils’ understanding of the practical uses of aspects of mathematics, such as measures and area in everyday life, was enhanced.  Work in pupils’ books shows that teachers provide helpful guidance so that pupils know what they need to do to improve their work. Pupils know that they learn from their mistakes and so they are not afraid to try. They respond to teachers’ comments and consequently pupils make good progress across all subjects. However, there are times when teachers miss opportunities to extend pupils further by providing them with extra challenges that would enable them to progress at even faster rates. Just occasionally, teachers’ expectations for what pupils can do are not high enough.  The school is rightly proud of the broad and balanced curriculum that provides

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Inspection findings

pupils with rich experiences both within and outside the classroom. The curriculum is very well planned and is usually underpinned with a relevant visit or a suitable text that links to the topic being studied. For example, in conjunction with their topic on Noah, Year 3 pupils visited Marwell Zoo. This gave them an appreciation of the different animals that inhabit our world. Leaders are constantly reflecting on the curriculum so that it adapts and changes to ensure that it is relevant and fit for purpose.  Often, teachers link subjects together under an overall topic or theme. This approach provides pupils with opportunities to use their literacy and mathematical skills when learning other subjects and so strengthens their progress in these subjects. Speech and communication skills are threaded through all aspects of the curriculum to enable pupils to develop a broad and rich vocabulary. New learning is taught within a context and so pupils understand

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Inspection findings

what they are learning and so build their skills and knowledge progressively. Teachers identify skills including collaboration, enquiry and investigation so that pupils develop curiosity about the world around them and deepen their thinking.

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Inspection findings

 New leaders have recently been appointed to lead subjects including science, design and technology, history and religious education. They have undertaken training to help them to carry out their roles effectively. They have a clear understanding of the strengths of their subjects and where further improvements may be made. They are working together to ensure that there is a clear progression of skills in each individual subject so that other teachers build securely on what pupils already know and understand. This ensures that subjects fit together without overlap or repetition. Because teamwork is strong throughout the school, leaders draw on the expertise of all staff and so build a curriculum that meets the needs of pupils in an ever changing world.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 teachers consistently provide a high level of challenge that extends pupils’ learning in all subjects  all teachers have high enough expectations for what pupils can do.

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Next steps for the school

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

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I visited six classrooms, accompanied by you or your deputy headteacher, to observe how well pupils are learning. I looked at work in pupils’ books and I spoke to pupils informally at lunchtime. I held discussions with three governors and I held a telephone discussion with an adviser from the diocese. I met with you and other leaders and I scrutinised a range of documentation. This included development plans, minutes from governors’ meetings and documents showing how the school keeps pupils safe. I took into account the views of parents by analysing 168 responses to the online survey, Parent View, and by considering the many free-text responses. I reviewed the staff survey to ascertain their views of the school.

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