Holy Trinity Church of England Primary Academy and Nursery

Inspection of Holy Trinity Church of England Primary Academy and Nursery Middleton Road, Oswestry, Shropshire SY11 2LF

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Inspection dates: 22 and 23 November 2023

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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 Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Good

The executive principal of this school is Laura Hopley. The head of school is Robert Kenyon. This school is part of St Chad’s Academies Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Sarah Cockshott, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Anthony Orlik. 22 and 23 November 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love coming to Holy Trinity school. They are happy, confident, and kind to each other. They enjoy all the extra responsibilities that the school creates for them. These responsibilities include acting as reading buddies and worship leads. Pupils learn how to make the right choices, so that they can keep themselves safe outside of school. They know what bullying is. The school is vigilant in spotting any signs of bullying and takes swift action if it happens. As a result, this school is a calm and supportive place, where pupils enjoy learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school value of ‘hope’ is at the heart of everything this school does. The curriculum ensures pupils develop a strong sense of what hope might mean. For example, pupils say, ‘They hope to do well in school and hope for everyone to be safe.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has an ambitious and engaging curriculum that pupils enjoy. There is a strong focus on ensuring pupils learn to read and become confident readers. Most pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well and develop high aspirations for their future.

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better?

Everyone at the school is committed to helping pupils achieve the very best possible outcomes. The school knows what they want pupils to learn and the order in which they want them to learn topics. This means teachers know what to teach and when, including in the early years foundation stage. The school regularly checks what pupils are learning and remembering. Teachers are good at spotting when pupils are stuck or have misunderstood something. When this happens, teachers quickly give pupils the help they need.

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better?

The early years environment is well organised and resourced to help children to access the curriculum. However, occasionally staff do not have high enough expectations of what children can achieve. This means that some children are not as well prepared as they could be for some aspects of the Year 1 curriculum.

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better?

Pupils in key stage 2 achieve well. Different strategies, resources, and clear instructions help pupils understand new information and how to complete work well. However, this is not always the case in classes with younger pupils. Some teachers’ explanations are not always clear. This slows pupils learning.

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better?

Helping pupils to learn to read is a high priority in the school. Staff get the training and support they need to deliver high-quality phonics lessons to pupils. Pupils receive timely support if they are at risk of falling behind with phonics. As a result, nearly all pupils become confident readers. Pupils of all ages in this school love reading. They have a very good knowledge of different authors and genres, which they use to select books they like to read. 22 and 23 November 2023

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The school has an effective process for identifying pupils with SEND. They regularly monitor the progress of SEND pupils, so that they know how well they are doing. Carefully planned adaptations ensure that all pupils with SEND learn the same curriculum as their peers. The school provides additional support to help pupils who need it. All of this means that pupils with SEND become increasingly confident and independent.

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Behaviour is good in this school. Pupils are keen to do well and listen to staff in lessons. There are a few pupils who do not come to school regularly. The school works closely with the families of these pupils. This is working well and having a positive impact on improving pupils’ attendance over time.

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Leaders prioritise pupils’ personal development. The rich curriculum helps pupils to become confident and resilient learners. They learn about the different cultures and religions in their community through assemblies, the curriculum, and opportunities in school. The school has clear plans to teach the pupils the skills they need to live within the community. For example, pupils learn about democracy by taking part in voting within school.

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Leaders make regular and thorough checks on aspects of the school’s work. As a result, leaders have a strong understanding of what is working well and what steps to take to improve the school further. Staff value the extensive training opportunities that they have. They say leaders do all they can to help them manage their workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Teachers’ explanations, particularly in key stage 1, are not always clear. When this happens, it slows pupils’ learning. Leaders should ensure teachers have the support they need to implement the curriculum well.  On occasion, adults’ expectations of what children in the early years can achieve are too low. This means that children do not always learn content in sufficient depth and, therefore, are not well prepared for some aspects of the Year 1 curriculum. Leaders should ensure that all staff have consistently high expectations of what children can achieve. 22 and 23 November 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' is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school's pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 22 and 23 November 2023

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 14 and 15 January 2020, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school became part of the St Chads Academy Trust in April 2017.  The school was judged to be good at its last section 48 inspection in June 2016. A section 48 inspection reports on the religious character of the school. The next inspection is due this academic year.  The school has a before- and after-school club operating on the site. This provision is managed by the school.  Leaders make use of two alternative providers.

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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

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school's education provision. 22 and 23 November 2023

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 This was the first routine inspection the school has received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The lead inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation.  The inspectors held meetings with representatives from the multi-academy trust, the local academy committee, senior leaders, curriculum leaders and the leader of SEND.  Inspectors reviewed documents on the school's website and additional documents provided by leaders during the inspection.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, science, geography and design and technology. For each deep dive, the inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils' work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single

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central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspectors met with staff to discuss their workload and the support they receive to carry out their roles.  The inspectors observed pupils at other times of the day to evaluate their behaviour.  The inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View and the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Amanda Green, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Sarah Dukes Ofsted Inspector 22 and 23 November 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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