Trinity Catholic School

Inspection of Trinity Catholic School Guy's Cliffe Avenue, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire CV32 6NB

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Inspection dates: 24 and 25 January 2023

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Inadequate Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Sixth-form provision Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 24 and 25 January 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Trinity Catholic School provides an inclusive learning environment. Staff care about pupils, and the majority of pupils are happy at Trinity. Pupils know that staff will support them when needed, including tackling any bullying that happens. A successful specialist course provides students who are new to the country with qualifications and skills to prepare them for their next steps after school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

However, some staff’s expectations of pupils’ behaviour are too low. This has created a casual culture where many pupils ignore staff’s instructions. It has also led to low- level disruption being commonplace. Despite this, pupils do feel safe. Too many pupils do not attend school regularly. Some frequently truant from lessons. This has a detrimental effect on their education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are ambitious for all pupils and the curriculum is well designed. However, there has been a high level of staff turnover which has led to variability in how well the curriculum is delivered. As a result, some pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), do not achieve as well as they should.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The multi-academy company (MAC) leaders provide the school with exceptional support. This is helping to improve some of the weaknesses quickly.

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better?

The school has faced some significant challenges over the last five years, including a high level of turbulence in leadership and staffing. The excellent support provided by MAC leaders has stemmed the decline in the school’s performance. Staffing is now more stable. School leaders are developing their skills well thanks to additional support from the MAC through ‘collaborative groups’. However, there remains much work to do to ensure that all pupils receive a high-quality education.

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better?

Warm and caring relationships between staff and pupils are evident across the school. Pupils trust staff and appreciate the support they receive when needed. Recently, leaders have introduced a new behaviour policy, but this is not being implemented consistently across the school. There is no evidence that it is improving pupils’ behaviour.

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better?

Pupils regularly ignore staff’s requests to follow school rules, including lining up, wearing the correct uniform, moving to lessons punctually and not using mobile phones. Staff do not challenge this defiance and many pupils know that they can flout the rules with little or no consequences. Too many pupils choose not to attend their classes, and staff do not deal with this effectively. In lessons, some staff do not manage pupils’ behaviour well enough and do not insist that pupils complete their work. The lack of effective behaviour management means that pupils’ learning is often disrupted. However, there is no aggressive or violent behaviour and pupils do feel safe in school. 24 and 25 January 2023

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Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum. It is carefully organised to develop pupils’ knowledge and skills over time. Pupils experience the full range of National Curriculum subjects across key stage 3. The curriculum is fully inclusive for all pupils, including those with SEND. Leaders have set out clear expectations for how the curriculum should be delivered, including how pupils’ knowledge should be checked to identify gaps in learning. However, there is too much variability in how well teachers deliver the planned curriculum. Some teachers have secure subject knowledge, carefully assess what pupils know and successfully engage pupils in their learning. These teachers’ high expectations and effective teaching enable pupils to know and remember more of the curriculum. However, some teachers lack the required knowledge to teach the subject successfully. They do not check pupils’ understanding well enough. Overall, pupils experience a varied quality of education

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and this does not enable them to achieve as well as they could. However, in the sixth form, the curriculum is delivered more effectively and students’ learning experiences are more positive.

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Too many pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, have been regularly absent from school for a prolonged period of time. This includes students in the sixth form. Leaders have not tackled these absences well enough. They have introduced a revised attendance policy which sets high expectations and clear steps to address poor attendance. However, this new system is yet to show any sustained improvement in pupils’ attendance.

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The leadership of SEND has been through a period of instability. The new SEND leadership team has been in post from the beginning of this year. They have quickly identified, and have taken action to address, the key areas that need to be developed. This includes how pupils’ needs are accurately identified. Pupil passports set out how teachers should adapt learning to enable pupils with SEND to access learning successfully. Currently, some teachers do not use this information well enough. Extra teaching sessions to help pupils with SEND learn the curriculum, including learning to read, are under-developed. This means that some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could.

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Leaders have designed and implemented clear personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) and relationships and sex education (RSE) curriculums. The programmes cover teaching pupils about keeping themselves safe, including in the local community. For example, external agencies support leaders to teach pupils about the dangers of knife crime and gang culture. Pupils also develop an appreciation of a range of other faiths and cultures. They benefit from a suitable careers programme, including periods of work experience. Nevertheless, pupils have variable experiences in how well the PSHE and RSE programmes are delivered. This leads to some pupils not being fully prepared for their next steps. 24 and 25 January 2023

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders now use regular and comprehensive safeguarding audits to pinpoint where safeguarding procedures can be strengthened. Their actions have developed a strong culture of safeguarding across the school. All staff, including temporary staff, understand how to spot if a pupil might be at risk from harm. They report concerns about pupils and adults. Staff take action when needed and leaders act on their concerns quickly. Leaders work with a range of agencies to ensure pupils receive help when needed.

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Safeguarding

Pupils feel safe in school. They learn how to keep themselves safe in and outside of school. Pupils know who they can turn to for help, and that it will be provided when needed.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some staff have low expectations of pupils’ behaviour and do not insist that pupils follow school rules, including attending lessons punctually. Pupils, therefore, frequently flout the rules and ignore staff’s instructions, which causes disruption to both their learning and the learning of others. Leaders should ensure that all staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and implement the school’s behaviour policy consistently.  Leaders have not addressed the high rates of pupil absence, especially for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, well enough. A significant number of pupils regularly miss too much school, which adversely affects their education, and some miss lessons when they are in school. Leaders should take all possible steps to ensure that all pupils attend school regularly and attend all of their lessons.  Some teachers do not follow leaders’ expectations of how to deliver the intended

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

curriculum. As a result, pupils’ experiences of learning vary and limit the progress they make in a range of subjects, including in PSHE and RSE. Leaders should monitor the delivery of the curriculum to ensure that it is implemented as intended.  There has been instability in the leadership of SEND. As a result, some of the provision for pupils with SEND is underdeveloped, including additional sessions to help pupils with specific learning difficulties. Leaders should ensure that the SEND provision is fully reviewed and developed to provide high-quality support for all pupils with SEND. 24 and 25 January 2023

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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. 24 and 25 January 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10267481 Type of school Secondary

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sixth form

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The headteacher was not present during this inspection. There is currently an acting headteacher in post who was appointed by the MAC.  Leaders make use of three registered alternative providers.  The academy meets the requirements of the Baker Clause. This means that pupils in Years 8 to 11 receive information about the full range of education and training options open to them. This includes opportunities for a range of education and training providers to speak to pupils about technical and education qualifications and apprenticeships.  The school received its last section 48 inspection of church schools on 15 and 16 February 2022. The next inspection will be within five years of the last section 48 inspection. 24 and 25 January 2023

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We deemed the inspection a graded (section 5) inspection under the same Act.

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Information about this inspection

In accordance with section 44(2) of the Education Act 2005, His Majesty's Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors focused on the following deep dives: English, mathematics, modern foreign languages and music. Inspectors examined leaders’ curriculum planning, visited lessons, looked at pupils’ work and talked with pupils and teachers about the way these subjects are taught. They also looked at other subjects to check how they are planned and taught.  Inspectors reviewed a range of school documents. These included information about pupils’ behaviour, attendance, the school’s curriculum and improvement planning. The school’s website was also checked.  Inspectors talked to staff and leaders about safeguarding arrangements. They examined how leaders make employment checks on staff and scrutinised further

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Information about this inspection

safeguarding records. They also asked how incidents reported by pupils and staff are recorded and analysed.  Inspectors observed informal times of the day to evaluate safeguarding and pupils’ behaviour.  Inspectors held meetings with MAC leaders, the chair of governors, the acting headteacher, senior leaders, MAC lead professionals, teachers and pupils. They also talked informally to pupils and staff to gather information about school life.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted Parent View. Inspectors also spoke to a number of pupils across the school both informally and formally.

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Inspection team

Ann Pritchard, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Mike Onyon Ofsted Inspector 24 and 25 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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