Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School Church Street, Clayhanger, Brownhills, Walsall, West Midlands WS8 7EG

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Inspection dates: 18 and 19 October 2022

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Outcome

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

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What is it like to attend this school?

The values ‘Love, Adventure, Grow’ permeate every aspect of Holy Trinity. Pupils’ well- being and care are at the forefront of everything that happens here. Leaders have high ambitions for every pupil, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and want all to be the best they can be.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children at this school are a delight. They are courteous, welcoming and friendly. They enjoy learning and coming to school. The warm and respectful relationships between adults and pupils are a joy to observe. Pupils’ behaviour is excellent. They say that everyone is welcome at their school and that bullying is very rare. If it ever happens, pupils know that all staff would deal with it quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have placed great emphasis on pupils’ personal development. Pupils benefit from an extensive range of activities that develop their personalities and further their interests. The many activities include leadership roles, visitors, trips, residentials and after-school clubs. Pupils speak with passion about their roles as worship leaders or pupil governors, for example. Leaders ensure that pupils with SEND have opportunities to develop their independence skills. For example, pupils have life skills sessions which they value and enjoy.

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

Leaders have created an ambitious curriculum that is centred around adventures. In each adventure, pupils learn a wide range of subjects. These include writing, mathematics, geography and history, for example. Subject leaders have planned the exact learning pupils need to cover in each subject over time. On the whole, this works well. Some leaders are still at the early stages of this process. As a result, in a few subjects, learning is not as well sequenced as it could be. This results in some inconsistent messages for teachers about what exactly pupils should learn and when. Leaders are aware of this, and work has begun to support the subject leaders with this. 18 and 19 October 2022

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Pupils with SEND are exceptionally well supported. They receive bespoke support at every level. This includes their lessons, through interventions or through life skills sessions. All staff know the pupils with SEND and their needs very well. Leaders have ensured that relationships with parents of pupils with SEND are strong and that the support they provide extends to the whole family. As a result, pupils with SEND flourish and do well.

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Leaders have prioritised reading. All pupils enjoy daily story time. Pupils read often and choose from many interesting and exciting texts in the new jungle-themed library. The reading curriculum is sequenced effectively to focus on developing pupils’ phonics abilities. Staff quickly spot pupils who may need extra help. Interventions are swift and ensure that pupils catch up quickly. Over time, pupils become fluent readers.

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Teachers use assessments effectively to check on what pupils can do and what gaps in knowledge and skills persist. They quickly adapt their teaching to address these and/or put effective support in place. Pupils receive work that is matched to their needs, including pupils with SEND.

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Nursery and Reception children settle well in school. Children are safe and happy. They enjoy learning and playing in classrooms and in the outside spaces. Children learn about the link between letters and sounds as soon as they start school. Staff help children to have the skills they need to begin early reading. Children are curious and enjoy their number-rich environment. For example, they learn about days of the week and months of the year through the daily calendar, which helps them to learn about now, before and after. Because of this, children in Reception are more fluent in numbers up to 10. Children make good progress.

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Leaders use the school’s Christian ethos very effectively to support pupils’ personal development. This work is further underpinned by excellent relationships and the school’s personal, social and health curriculum. Pupils have many varied opportunities to grow as people. For example, they act as leaders in school, support in the library or take part in the many activities to extend their learning beyond the classroom. Pupils understand about different faiths and cultures and say that everyone is equal. They are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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Senior leaders are unapologetic about their drive for excellence. They correctly identify any issues that fall short of their high expectations and address them. All staff are proud to work at the school. They believe that leaders care about their workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that all staff are highly trained to spot any signs that pupils may be at risk of harm. Staff act quickly and refer any concerns they have to the well-trained safeguarding team. Relationships with families are strong and are used effectively to support not only the child but the whole family. Leaders take appropriate actions and consult with external agencies when needed. They ensure that children swiftly receive the 18 and 19 October 2022

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help and support they need. All staff work together to make sure that every pupil at the school is safe and well.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The knowledge and skills pupils need to learn are not as clearly sequenced as they could be in a few foundation subjects. This means that there are some inconsistencies in the information teachers receive and learning is not as well sequenced as it could be. Leaders need to ensure that all staff receive consistent messages about what to teach and in what order for every subject.

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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 an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in July 2013.

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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.

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How can I feed back my views?

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

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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. 18 and 19 October 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10226977 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Kay Cresswell-Green

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School details

Website http://www.holy-trinity.walsall.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 28 March 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is an average-size primary school.  The school does not use any alternative providers for its pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection 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 their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with senior leaders, including the headteacher, the assistant headteacher and the well-being manager. The inspector held a meeting with one governor. Meetings were held with curriculum leaders.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector visited the early years for each of the deep dives. 18 and 19 October 2022

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 The inspector also listened to pupils read.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons and at breaktimes and lunchtimes and spoke to many pupils during the inspection.  The inspector spoke to many staff, including support staff, about safeguarding arrangements.  The inspector took account of parents’ free-text comments and the responses on Ofsted Parent View. The inspector also considered the responses to the pupil and staff surveys.

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Inspection team

Bianka Zemke His Majesty’s Inspector 18 and 19 October 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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