Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School

Inspection of Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School Longlands Close, Crossbrook Street, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire EN8 8LU

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 16 and 17 May 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils try hard to live out the school’s vision of ‘Aim high, let your light shine’. They enjoy the praise and recognition they get when adults notice them ‘letting their lights shine’. Hot chocolate Friday in the headteacher’s office is a popular reward. Relationships throughout the school are rooted in respect. Bullying is not tolerated and any unkind behaviour is dealt with quickly. Pupils are happy to come to school to learn, play and to socialise with friends in a safe environment. Adults have high expectations and pupils are keen to meet them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Older pupils develop leadership skills through a variety of roles. They can be house captains, members of the school council, young chaplains, or buddies for Reception children. They say these opportunities give them the sense of responsibility that they will need when they move on to secondary school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love the trips that enrich their learning and life experiences. Year 2 pupils, for example, visited the Tower of London and the Golden Hind, while Year 5 pupils tried canoeing and white-water rafting at a local water park. Carefully chosen visitors, such as an inspirational media personality, teach pupils important messages about aiming high and never giving up on your dreams.

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better?

Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum. It is sequenced effectively across the provision, starting in the early years. The curriculum builds pupils’ learning progressively, so that they have the knowledge and skills they need by the end of each stage of their education.

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better?

Curriculum leaders share senior leaders’ ambitious vision. In most cases, subjects are led effectively. Curriculum quality is checked, with support provided to help teachers to deliver content precisely and adapt plans if necessary. As a result, pupils secure their knowledge and skills well in most subjects. However, in a few subjects, new curriculum leaders are in post. They have not had enough time yet to have a consistently positive impact on pupils’ learning in their areas of responsibility.

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better?

Pupils develop a love of reading and learn to appreciate a range of authors and genres as they move through year groups. Children start learning the sounds they will need to become fluent readers as soon as they join Reception. They take home books that match the sounds that they have learned. Adults deliver phonics sessions skilfully. They spot any pupils who are not keeping up and put rapid support in place, so that these pupils can catch up.

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better?

Teachers know their subjects well. They explain new learning clearly and revisit what has been learned before often. They use a range of questions, quizzes, and practical activities to check how well pupils are learning. If teachers see pupils are 16 and 17 May 2023

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finding something tricky, they adapt their teaching to enable pupils to succeed. Pupils remember what they have learned well.

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Across the curriculum, pupils learn the vocabulary they need for each subject. In the Reception class, children learn new words through choral chanting and repetition. They practise these words in context. Children learned the word ‘migrate’, for example. Then they learned about where in the world butterflies migrate to. Finally, they released the butterflies they had watched grow from caterpillars and discussed where they may travel to.

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Pupils behave well in lessons. Well-established routines and occasional gentle reminders help them to meet adults’ expectations. Classrooms are purposeful spaces, where learning is valued. Pupils often celebrate each other’s achievements. Any pupils who struggle to meet the expectations of good behaviour get the help they need to improve.

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The school supports pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) effectively. These pupils’ needs are identified quickly. With some adaptations, they access the curriculum and achieve well. The school has its own specialists to provide support for pupils with SEND. These include speech and language therapy and well- being activities.

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There is a carefully thought-out programme of personal development. Pupils learn about different world religions, many of which are represented in the school’s community. Diversity is well understood and celebrated throughout the school. Many pupils enjoy taking part in a variety of extra-curricular sports clubs. Leaders ensure that these are accessed by pupils with SEND and those who are disadvantaged. The school choir sings for elderly residents at a nearby care home and at events hosted by the local secondary school. Pupils often fundraise for charities, such as Lupus UK and Cancer Research.

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Governors have established a system for monitoring how well the school’s strategic vision is realised. They provide the right amount of challenge and support to leaders. Staff feel valued, thanks to the training that they are offered and the efforts leaders make to manage their workload. Staff describe the school as ‘one big family’.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff and governors know the potential safeguarding risks in their community. They are alert to any signs that a pupil may be at risk and know what to do if they have a concern. Leaders act quickly when concerns are reported. They liaise with external agencies for advice and support when these are needed. There are rigorous systems for checking that adults who join the school are safe to work with children. 16 and 17 May 2023

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Pupils learn about keeping themselves safe. They know they can talk to a trusted adult if they have any worries. They are knowledgeable about ways of staying safe online.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 There have been changes in the leadership of a small number of curriculum areas. In these areas, leaders’ plans for the curriculum have not been fully realised. Consequently, pupils are not as well prepared for the next stage of their learning as they could be in these subjects. Leaders must support curriculum leaders who are new to the role and continue to focus sharply on securing the programme of curriculum improvements they have planned.

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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. 16 and 17 May 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 15 and 16 June 2021, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There is before- and after-school care, run by school staff and managed by school leaders.  At the time of the inspection, the school was using one registered alternative provider.  The school has a Christian religious character. The most recent statutory inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (section 48) took place in March 2016. The next section 48 inspection is due in the 2023-24 school year.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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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. 16 and 17 May 2023

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 Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, geography and physical education. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of their work. The lead inspector listened to a sample of pupils read to a familiar adult.  To inspect safeguarding, the lead inspector met with the designated safeguarding leader to review records. She scrutinised the single central record of recruitment and vetting checks. Inspectors also spoke with governors, staff and pupils about safeguarding.  The lead inspector spoke with a group of governors, including the chair and vice- chair of governors. She spoke on the telephone with a representative of the local authority and with a representative of the Diocese of St Albans.  The lead inspector reviewed a range of other school documentation and policies,

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including the school development plan, external reviews of the school and minutes of governing body meetings.  Inspectors gathered the views of pupils by speaking with them during lessons, in the dining hall and at breaktimes.  Inspectors considered the views of parents. This included speaking with parents at the start of the school day and reviewing the 22 responses and 15 free-text responses submitted to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View.  Inspectors gathered the views of staff by speaking with many of them.

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Inspection team

Caroline Crozier, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Katie Devenport His Majesty's Inspector 16 and 17 May 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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