Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, Southport

Inspection of a good school: Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, Southport Manchester Road, Southport, Merseyside PR9 9AZ

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Outcome

Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, Southport continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils who arrive new to the school receive a warm welcome. They bring a wealth of home languages with them. There are currently 21 different languages spoken by these pupils. Pupils embrace the diverse nature of their school community. They respect each other. Pupils’ positive attitudes help make the school a happy place to learn.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations of all pupils. Children in the early years, and pupils who arrive at different points in the school year, settle quickly into the routines of learning. Pupils rarely need reminding to behave well. Leaders ensure that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well. They provide expert guidance to help staff to meet the needs of pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils understand different types of bullying. They said that bullying occasionally happens, but the adults in school quickly help to sort out any incidents of unkindness. Pupils feel safe, cared for and well supported.

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What is it like to attend this school?

At lunchtime, pupils are active and play cooperatively. Sports coaches support pupils to keep focused on positive play. They offer a range of activities, including capoeira and ball games. This helps pupils to improve their physical health and to develop new talents and interests.

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

With the support of the multi-academy trust, leaders have designed a well-ordered curriculum that starts in the early years. The curriculum is carefully planned to meet the needs of the pupils at the school. Curriculums in several subjects are well established. Leaders have defined the key knowledge that they want pupils to know and remember in these subjects. They provide staff with regular training. Staff have built strong subject knowledge as a result. They use this knowledge well to enable pupils to successfully build 4 and 5 May 2022

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on what they have learned before. Pupils make strong connections between different aspects of their learning. For example, pupils draw on a range of number facts to solve complex mathematical problems confidently and accurately.

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In a small number of subjects, leaders’ work to improve the curriculum is ongoing. Leaders do not make it clear precisely what they want pupils to know. Teachers occasionally miss aspects of the key knowledge that pupils should learn. This hinders some pupils from achieving as highly as they could in these subjects.

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Leaders have recently introduced a new phonics curriculum. Staff have been trained to deliver this curriculum well. Leaders have purchased reading books that are well matched to the sounds that pupils learn. These books had only just arrived in school at the time of this inspection. In the meantime, teachers carefully select books that help pupils to practise the sounds that they know. However, these books do not always closely match the sounds that pupils are learning in class. That said, pupils are keen to read at home and in school.

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Leaders ensure that staff, including in the early years, know how to identify pupils’ needs so that they receive the support that they need. Pupils with SEND access a curriculum that is carefully matched to their needs. Pupils who need help to catch up also receive appropriate support. This includes extra help for pupils who frequently arrive from overseas and are at the early stage of learning the English language. These pupils receive well-tailored support to help them build secure spoken language and reading knowledge. They apply this knowledge effectively to help them to learn across the wider curriculum.

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Children in the early years are inquisitive and active learners. They move seamlessly from one activity to another. Classrooms throughout the school are calm. Pupils get on with their learning without distraction.

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Leaders and staff place a strong focus on pupils’ wider development. Pupils are caring. They want to help others. Older pupils are keen to help out at the parish centre or offer a ‘listening ear’ to younger pupils in school. Pupils are proud of the charity work that they do to support others. They particularly enjoy raising money for the local lifeboat appeal. In this way, pupils learn how to become responsible citizens.

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Staff are proud to work at the school and morale is high. They recognise that leaders do all they can to ensure that they have a good work-life balance. Staff also appreciate the support they receive to help them carry out their roles well.

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Leaders at all levels have a secure understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Governors and trust leaders know the school well. They provide confident, strategic leadership. This allows school leaders to focus on continuing to improve the quality of education provided by the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 4 and 5 May 2022

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Leaders make sure that staff know how to keep pupils safe. They provide regular safeguarding updates to all staff and check that key messages have been understood. Staff know how to recognise the signs that a pupil may be at risk of harm and how to report any concerns.

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Leaders know the pupils, their families and the school’s context exceptionally well. They work closely with a range of partner agencies to support families and protect pupils. Other professionals visit the school and teach the pupils about personal safety. This helps pupils to understand ‘what safe looks like’.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders’ work to refine the curriculum is ongoing in some subjects. They have not defined all of the essential knowledge that pupils need to know and remember in these subjects. Pupils do not build up their knowledge equally well across the curriculum as a result. Leaders should ensure that their work to revise curriculums is finalised and that these subject curriculums are implemented fully.  A new phonics curriculum has only recently been introduced. Some aspects of the chosen programme are still to be implemented. This means that pupils do not always practise their reading using books that precisely match the sounds that they are learning in class. Leaders should rapidly implement all aspects of the new phonics curriculum.

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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 outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, to be good in April 2014.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection. 4 and 5 May 2022

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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. 4 and 5 May 2022

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School details

Website www.holytrinityprimary.co.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected.

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Information about this school

 This school opened as an academy on 1 February 2018. It is part of the Liverpool Diocesan Schools Trust.  The leadership team has been restructured since the school opened as an academy. A new headteacher and assistant headteacher have been appointed. A new chair of the governing body has also been appointed.  A large proportion of pupils have lived in other countries before they began at this school. Many pupils speak English as an additional language.  This school belongs to the Diocese of Liverpool. It has not had a section 48 inspection since converting to an academy. The predecessor school’s section 48 inspection took place in December 2015.  Leaders do not make use of any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection that the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the school. 4 and 5 May 2022

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 The inspector spoke with the headteacher, other school leaders and members of staff. The inspector spoke with a group of governors, including the chair of the governing body. The inspector also met with representatives of the Liverpool Diocesan Schools Trust and spoke to a representative of the Diocese of Liverpool.  The inspector checked the arrangements for keeping pupils safe. She looked at a range of safeguarding documentation and spoke to leaders and staff. The inspector also spoke to pupils about whether they feel safe in school.  The inspector carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited lessons, looked at samples of pupils’ work, held discussions with teachers and talked with pupils. The inspector also spoke to leaders about the curriculum in other subjects and looked at samples of pupils’ work.

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 The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and at social times. She spoke with groups of pupils about their experiences at school. The inspector also considered the views of pupils shared through Ofsted’s online survey for pupils.  The inspector spoke with staff about their workload and well-being. The inspector also considered the views of staff shared through Ofsted’s online survey for staff.  The inspector considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View. This included the free- text responses.  The inspector considered a range of documentation shared by school leaders, including the school development plan, minutes from meetings of the governing body and leaders’ self-evaluation document.

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Inspection team

Jackie Stillings, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 4 and 5 May 2022

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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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