Trinity Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Trinity Church of England Primary School Princes Plain, Bromley, Kent BR2 8LD

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Outcome

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

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What is it like to attend this school?

Trinity is an inclusive, warm and caring school. Pupils are safe and happy. There are positive relationships based on mutual respect between staff and pupils. Pupils trust adults to deal promptly with any issues, such as bullying, which is rare. Pupils and staff are very proud of their school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff are ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school’s motto, ‘shine like stars’, underpins school life. It helps pupils to be aspirational for what they can achieve. Pupils respond with enthusiasm and resilience to the high expectations that leaders have for their learning. Pupils behave well and work hard in lessons. They are focused on their learning and lessons are rarely disturbed. As a result, pupils achieve successfully across the curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the opportunities they have to take on roles of responsibility, for example as head boy and girl, prefect, school councillor, house captain, eco-warrior or digital leader. Pupils are able to attend a range of after-school clubs organised to develop their talents and interests. They also take part regularly in competitions against other schools, for example in athletics, poetry and debating.

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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 that matches the expectation of the national curriculum. Starting from the early years, leaders have thought carefully about the key knowledge, skills and vocabulary that they want pupils to learn and remember. For pupils with SEND in the resourced provision, their bespoke curriculum has also been carefully designed to be broad and balanced, while ensuring that their individual needs are met. Children in the early years, including the two-year-olds, learn the important knowledge and skills needed to be ready for the next stage. The early years curriculum is well designed and resourced to promote children’s learning in all areas. Children are highly engaged in a variety of interesting and well-planned activities. Their development is well supported by the adults around them. 7 and 8 June 2023

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Teachers have secure subject knowledge to deliver lessons across the curriculum. Lessons are structured so that pupils have regular opportunities to recall and review their learning. This helps pupils to remember what they are being taught in the long term. The delivery of the curriculum means that pupils are beginning to make meaningful links between the knowledge taught in different subjects.

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Assessment in some subjects, such as phonics and mathematics, is used purposefully to check what pupils know and understand. In other curriculum areas, teachers use a range of strategies to identify and remedy any misconceptions and gaps in pupils’ learning. However, some staff are more skilled at using these strategies than others. This means that, on occasions, pupils’ misconceptions and gaps in their learning are not picked up and addressed effectively.

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Leaders and staff are ambitious for pupils with SEND. Pupils’ needs are quickly identified and support is put in place. Leaders work closely with families and external agencies to get the right type of help and guidance for pupils. Staff receive regular training to ensure that they have the skills needed to support pupils with SEND effectively. Pupils with SEND are fully included in school life. Where appropriate to do so, pupils from the resourced provision join in with lessons and activities in the mainstream classes. They also develop their social skills and life skills to prepare them for the next stage of their education.

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Leaders have a suitable, systematic phonics scheme in place, which is being consistently implemented. Pupils learn and practise the sounds that letters make in a logical order. Pupils have books matched to their stage in learning to read. They are confident using their phonic knowledge when reading unknown words. Pupils that are falling behind are given additional practice to help them catch up. A love for reading is promoted through regular opportunities to read for pleasure, as well as events such as book week and fortnightly ‘big reads’.

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Overall, the early reading curriculum is working well, and pupils develop into confident readers. However, a few aspects of the early reading curriculum are not supporting the weaker readers as well as they could. There are occasions where the activities these pupils are set do not focus specifically enough on addressing gaps in their phonic knowledge. In other instances, the tasks pupils complete can distract from the core purpose of practising and applying their phonic knowledge.

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Leaders make careful choices about trips and visitors to enrich the taught curriculum and provide pupils with meaningful real-life experiences. Through the school’s approach to personal, social and health education, pupils are taught what a healthy relationship looks like. Difference is celebrated through whole-school events such as ‘diversity day’. Pupils are taught that not all families are the same and that everyone deserves to be treated equally and with respect.

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Leaders are considerate of staff workload and well-being. All staff appreciate, and benefit from, working with colleagues across other trust schools. Trust leaders provide an effective balance of challenge and support. 7 and 8 June 2023

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have created a culture of vigilance to keep pupils safe. Staff receive regular training and know the signs to look out for when a pupil may be at risk of harm. Leaders work with external agencies to get the right support for families.

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Safeguarding

The trust carries out regular checks of safeguarding at the school. It ensures that leaders have carried out all the required checks for those who work at or visit the school.

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Safeguarding

Through the curriculum, pupils are taught how to keep safe, including online. Pupils are also taught how to keep physically and mentally healthy. They learn how to identify their emotions and strategies to use to manage their feelings.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 While pupils learn to read well overall, a few aspects of the early reading curriculum are not supporting weaker readers as well as they could. In some instances, the planned learning does not focus with precision on helping pupils to practise and apply their phonic knowledge and filling any identified gaps . Leaders need to refine the implementation of the early reading curriculum for the weakest readers. They should ensure that tasks set enable pupils to fully focus on decoding and blending and that extra help is pinpointed to their gaps in their phonic knowledge.  Although assessment is used purposefully, on occasions some teaching does not skilfully check what pupils know and remember. This means that, in some cases, staff do not pick up and respond to gaps in pupils’ learning or misconceptions. When this happens, it reduces how successfully pupils are able to build on what they already know. Leaders should support teachers to develop strategies to check what pupils

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

know, and identify and address misconceptions or gaps in a timely way.

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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. 7 and 8 June 2023

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This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in September 2017.

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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. 7 and 8 June 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10255481 Type of school Primary

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Head of School

Sarah Kilbey Website www.trinityceprimary.school

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Head of School

Date of previous inspection 27 and 28 September 2017, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is a Church of England school within the Diocese of Rochester. The last statutory inspection under section 48 of the Education Act was in October 2017.  This school is part of the Aquinas Trust.  Leaders make use of one registered alternative provision.  The school has a 30-place specialist provision for pupils with an education, health and care plan for complex learning needs. This means that the proportion of pupils with SEND is much higher than average.  The early years provision includes a class for two-year-olds.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector carried out this ungraded inspection under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. 7 and 8 June 2023

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 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 carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. 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. They listened to pupils read. Other subjects were also considered as part of this inspection, including design and technology, art and history.  The inspector met with the head of school, school leaders, members of the advisory council, chief executive officer and trustees.  The inspector spoke with leaders, staff and pupils about safeguarding. The inspector also checked safeguarding records and documentation.

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 The inspector considered the responses to Ofsted’s Parent View survey as well as responses to the staff survey.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in the playground.

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Inspection team

Julie Wright, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 7 and 8 June 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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