Trinity St Stephen CofE Aided First School

Inspection of a good school: Trinity St Stephen CofE Aided First School Vansittart Road, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 5DF

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Outcome

Trinity St Stephen CofE Aided First School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to this small and happy school. They describe the school community as ‘kind’ and ‘considerate’, and because of this, they feel safe. Pupils understand the school values well. l Bullying is very rare. Pupils are confident that if there are acts of unkindness, adults will help them to ‘mend friendships’. This supports the school’s vision to ‘thrive, achieve and flourish’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils work hard in lessons because all the adults have high expectations. They settle quickly to learning activities and take pride in their work. All pupils benefit from a wide range of visits and visitors that help them to make links between their learning and the wider world. These include visits to local businesses, participation in music festivals, and residential experiences.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are polite and well mannered. They play together well at breaktimes and the ‘friendship bench’ is used successfully so that no child is left out. Pupils are taught to be independent. They learn to talk to their classmates and adults in a respectful and attentive way. In Year 4, all pupils have a role of responsibility that further develops their independence and character. This means that they are prepared well for the move to middle school.

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

Leaders have designed a broad and balanced curriculum for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They have selected the key knowledge that pupils need to know and remember over time. This approach helps pupils to build new knowledge based on their prior learning. In the last year, the leaders have made some significant changes to curriculum in mathematics and phonics so that teachers focus more sharply on exactly what they want pupils to learn. Staff have been trained well to deliver the new ways of teaching. Pupils are benefiting from these changes as they are supported to know and remember more. 31 January 2023

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However, this focus on improving phonics and mathematics has meant that checks on the way some other subjects are being taught has not been as sharp as they could be. In some subjects, teacher subject knowledge is not as strong as it could be. This means that teachers do not always support pupils to learn as well as they could.

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The teaching of reading has a high priority in this school. Children learn phonics right from the start of reception. In Reception, children develop their fluency in reading quickly. Pupils of all ages read to adults in school regularly. This means that staff can identify where pupils have gaps in their knowledge promptly. Well-trained adults provide targeted help to these pupils so that they catch up with their reading as quickly as possible. However, some pupils at the earliest stages of learning to read do not always read books containing the phonic sounds that they know. This means that they do not learn to read fluently as swiftly as they could. As they progress through the school, pupils enjoy reading a range of interesting books. The ‘reading shed’ in the playground is a popular pupil-led space. Pupils enjoy reading as part of their breaktime activities.

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The adults in school know the pupils well. They work hard to build strong and responsive relationships with families. Teachers are quick to identify where pupils need additional help, and those with SEND have personalised plans for their learning. Leaders, including governors, are determined that every pupil should ‘thrive and flourish’. This means that they work hard to ensure pupils receive the right help at the right time from the right people.

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Leaders provide pupils with a range of experiences to develop their character. Pupils are encouraged to be active leaders and take responsibility for themselves and others. The ‘buddy’ system means that pupils work together and build friendships. Sports leaders organise active play sessions every day, and members of the school council are keen to explain how they help leaders to make changes to the school.

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Pupils behave well throughout the school and show high levels of self-control in lessons. They focus on the tasks and are resilient to setbacks. They know and understand the ‘golden rules’ and how to show these through kindness.

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Governors make sure that the school is well led and managed. They ensure that the inclusive vision of the school is being put into practice. Staff are proud to work at the school and feel supported by leaders, who are mindful of their workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have established a strong culture of safeguarding in the school. Staff receive regular training and updates to help them remain vigilant to any signs of harm. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe both online and offline. They have used these skills to alert the school to issues in the community.

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Safeguarding

Staff report any worries, no matter how small. Records show that leaders respond to any concerns quickly. They make sure that pupils get the help they need. Leaders complete 31 January 2023

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appropriate checks before staff and volunteers start to work in the school. Governors regularly check that recruitment records are up to date.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some pupils at the early stages of learning to read do not read books that are closely matched to their emerging phonic knowledge. This means that not all pupils are learning to read as quickly as they could. Leaders should ensure that all reading books are appropriately decodable so that pupils are supported to become confident, fluent readers as quickly as possible.  In some foundation subjects, teachers’ subject knowledge is variable. This means that sometimes, pupils do not learn as well as they could across the curriculum. Leaders should ensure that all teachers get the training they need so that pupils learn effectively in all subjects.

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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 third ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 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. 31 January 2023

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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. 31 January 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10256486 Type of school First

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 3 November 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is a Church of England school and received a section 48 inspection in May 2016. The school’s provision was judged to be good. Leaders do not currently make use of any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: early reading, mathematics and modern foreign languages. For each deep dive, the inspectors met with curriculum leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspectors held meetings with members of the governing body and leaders of provision for SEND, behaviour and attendance, and personal development. The inspectors also observed lunch and breaktimes. 31 January 2023

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 The inspectors explored the school’s safeguarding culture through considering safeguarding records and procedures, meeting with a range of pupils and staff, and talking to safeguarding leaders.  An inspector spoke to a representative from the local authority on the telephone.  An inspector held a telephone discussion with a representative from the Oxford Diocesan Board of Education.  The inspector considered the 57 responses and 21 free-text responses made by parents to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View. The inspector also considered the 17 responses to Ofsted’s online staff survey.  Inspectors gathered pupils’ views by speaking to groups of pupils and speaking to pupils at break times and in lessons. There were no responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Lizzie Jeanes, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Judith O'Hare Ofsted Inspector 31 January 2023

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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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