Trinity Road Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Trinity Road Primary School Trinity Road, Chelmsford, Essex CM2 6HS

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Outcome

Trinity Road Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love coming to this friendly and welcoming school. Pupils told me that their learning is exciting and interesting. For example, pupils were able to talk about their enjoyment of classical music with real enthusiasm.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The high-quality curriculum is enhanced by a wide range of extra-curricular activities. Pupils also have great opportunities for personal development. Pupils who are ‘digital leaders’ help other pupils stay safe on the internet. Younger pupils have well-organised games planned for them every day by older ‘play leaders’. Pupils can run for election for the school council.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are respectful to adults and to each other. Pupils model the school’s mantra of ‘Respect, Achieve and Belong’. Pupils are aware that bullying can happen, but follow this up saying that ‘bullying is not tolerated here’. Pupils trust adults to sort out issues or unkindness quickly and effectively. Pupils feel safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has a resource base for pupils needing help with speech and language. Pupils know that being different and included is okay. Pupils understand the qualities and values they need to contribute well to life in modern Britain.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders’ planning for most subjects is well considered. These plans are detailed enough so teachers are confident that their pupils learn what they need to at the right times. However, subject plans for a few subjects are still evolving. For example, teachers are not as well informed about ways in which to teach modern foreign languages as they are in other subjects.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders ensure that pupils are taught to read well. For example, teachers receive reading training from a local teaching school. This benefits staff as they can share ideas and increase their subject knowledge. Children learn their sounds as soon as they start 11–12 March 2020

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Reception. Regular teaching of phonics ensures that children learn to read quickly. This continues into Years 1 and 2. Pupils read books that are matched to the sounds they know. Pupils love to share and read these books to each other, staff and parents. This builds pupils’ confidence in their reading.

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Older pupils have access to carefully chosen books that they read with the teacher. The content of these high-quality texts encourages deeper conversations that challenge pupils’ thinking. For example, Year 6 pupils engaged in intense discussion about the ethics of organ transplants when reading ‘Pig-Heart Boy’ by Malorie Blackman.

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The mathematics curriculum is well planned to ensure that pupils learn more and know more. Children in Reception take pleasure in counting objects, learning numbers and solving problems, such as working out one more and one less. By the time pupils are in Years 5 and 6, pupils have the knowledge needed to enjoy solving complex problems, such as estimating and comparing obtuse, acute and reflex angles.

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Teachers regularly discuss pupils’ work with them. This is helpful and timely. It helps pupils complete tasks accurately and also supports pupils who might be struggling.

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Leaders have revised the curriculum provision for pupils. Staff have had training to support new methods of teaching so that this curriculum can be delivered effectively across the school. Although monitoring is being carried out, the full impact of these changes are still to be seen.

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Curriculum changes have increased the workload for teachers. However, governors and leaders are aware of this and have put appropriate measures in place to provide support to teachers when they need it.

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Pupils know that they have an important role to play in their wider community and use their extra-curricular clubs to achieve this. Examples include performances by the choir in a local care home and planned litter picks to improve the local environment.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have effective support. Plans and activities to support pupils’ learning are delivered by highly skilled staff who have had specialist training. Pupils with SEND are included fully in the day-to-day life of the school.

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Leaders have high expectations of behaviour. The behaviour policy is applied consistently across the school. Low-level disruption is not tolerated. When pupils need help, leaders ensure plans are in place to support appropriate behaviour for learning. Incidents have reduced and pupils are able to thrive.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 11–12 March 2020

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Governors and leaders work together to ensure that all appropriate checks for employees are undertaken. Records are of a high standard and are detailed. Safeguarding training is provided for all staff on a regular basis. This is supplemented by regular bulletins.

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The safeguarding team ensure that all staff understand the local issues that affect their community. Leaders ensure staff and pupils understand local risks, such as county lines. The safeguarding team work hard with other agencies, for example the police and social care. When other agencies are slow to respond, leaders challenge this. Leaders are unafraid to champion their pupils’ needs.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have made recent changes to improve the curriculum. These changes are currently having a positive impact. Leaders need to continue monitoring how well pupils’ learning is supported and improved by these changes in the long term.  Teachers are implementing a revised curriculum throughout the school. While most subjects are effectively planned and taught, there are examples, such as in modern foreign languages, whereby pupils do not use what they have learned to increase their knowledge and understanding. This means that pupils are not fully prepared to make the best start in secondary school in these subjects. Leaders must ensure that all staff have the training and support they need to improve the curriculum in these areas.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good, or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good on 1–2 March 2016.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection. 11–12 March 2020

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The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 11–12 March 2020

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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Date of previous inspection

1–2 March 2016, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has an on-site resource base for speech and language development, with 20 places maintained by the local authority. Some pupils stay on the role of their original school and return after a year of specialist intervention.  The school commissions full-time speech and language therapist provision.  The extra places needed for the specialist speech and language provision means the school has a two form entry in reception and key stage 1.

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Information about this inspection

 During the inspection, I met with the headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator, the inclusion leader, subject leaders and teachers from all year groups. I also met with four members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. I had a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority.  I spoke with several groups of pupils to talk about their learning across the curriculum.  I did deep dives in the following subjects: reading, mathematics and music. I spoke with leaders of these subjects. I visited lessons, spoke with pupils and teachers, 11–12 March 2020

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listened to pupils read and looked at pupils’ work and documentation to understand the quality of education.  I looked at the school’s systems and processes for checking adults’ suitability to work with children. I spoke with teachers, pupils, mid-day supervisors, parents and carers to check safeguarding arrangements.  I considered the 76 parent responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and 76 responses to Ofsted’s free-text survey. I spoke with staff and pupils to gain their views of the school. I also spoke with parents at the beginning of the day.

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Inspection team

Fyfe Johnston, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 11–12 March 2020

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regulates and inspects to 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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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