Trinity Sixth Form Academy

Trinity Sixth Form Academy

Address: Northgate House, HX1 1UN Unique reference number (URN): 139433

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, learners are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect providers for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The provider has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The provider has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders and staff successfully promote an inclusive culture, underpinned by frequently updated evidence-informed strategies and specialist training. They ensure that students achieve and thrive, irrespective of starting points or barriers to learning.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders and staff use well-established and effective systems to identify students’ existing and emerging needs so that they can help students to achieve their goals. They work with schools and local authorities to plan support carefully for the most vulnerable students before they start at the college. Staff work together seamlessly to monitor students’ progress and reduce barriers swiftly and consistently.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Staff plan, provide and review support very effectively. For example, students can attend small-group sessions with their teachers where they get extra help to learn topics they have not yet mastered.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders have established a specialist team of staff to support students with specific barriers to their learning, including a member of staff responsible for children looked after and previously looked after. They evaluate the impact of support for students through, for example, visiting lessons to advise on the support strategies. They work with multi-agency partners and use this to help teachers to refine their approach to inclusive education.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders, governors and trust senior leaders have a comprehensive understanding of the college’s strengths and areas for development. They are deeply committed to ensuring that students achieve and thrive, focusing closely on areas where students can make improvements to enable them to be ‘life ready learners’.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders use evidence-based research and work with highly respected experts to underpin their strategies and culture, including action research with professors at a university. They use self-determination theory (SDT) to understand student attitudes and take carefully considered actions to motivate students. Students develop a love of learning, are highly motivated and raise their aspirations.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Governors and trust senior leaders are highly skilled and experienced. Leaders value their support and challenge. Governors are rightly proud of leaders’ success in establishing a thriving sixth form in Halifax and clearly articulate the highly positive impact of the college on the local community. Leaders ensure that staff receive highly relevant and bespoke professional training. This includes core training fortified by their work on SDT in empowering staff and students through autonomy, relatedness and competence. Additionally, teachers use journals to identify and reflect on their development and focus on their individual needs and interests in the craft of teaching and their subject expertise.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Staff feel highly valued, and leaders are considerate of their workload and wellbeing. Leaders and staff embody the principles of the college's mission and consistently model their values including professional behaviours and civic virtues, empowering students to acquire and demonstrate them consistently.

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Achievement Strong standard

Students make rapid progress from their starting points in developing new knowledge and skills. They gain a deep understanding of the knowledge that they need to be successful in their subjects and become skilled in evaluation, analysis and critical thinking.

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Achievement Strong standard

Almost all students complete their courses and achieve their qualifications. Many achieve higher than expected grades, including those studying GCSE English and mathematics. Leaders carefully monitor the outcomes of different groups of students and take effective action to minimise gaps in achievement.

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Achievement Strong standard

Students are very well prepared for their next steps. Four fifths of students progress to university, with around a quarter of these gaining places at prestigious universities. This proportion has increased over the past few years and has more than doubled since 2023. One fifth of students progress to apprenticeships or work in careers directly related to their areas of interest and study.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders provide a highly ambitious curriculum offer which includes a broad range of subjects, fulfilling the principles of study programmes. They work with several universities and employers to enhance the curriculums and prepare students more fully for their futures.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Highly qualified and experienced teachers carefully plan each curriculum. Teachers ensure that students learn important skills, such as conducting research and academic writing. Students learn to use key terminology, such as using ‘effervescence’ instead of ‘bubbling’ in chemistry.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Teachers provide consistently high-quality teaching. They carefully consider students' starting points. For example, science teachers repeat demonstrations that they know students may not have experienced in school. Students flourish in their learning, particularly those with lower prior attainment.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Teachers use very effective assessment methods to identify gaps in students’ knowledge and skilfully adapt teaching. They use the results of in-class activities to help students evaluate their own learning and consolidate learning in ‘high intensity independent practice’ sessions each day.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Students take ownership of their learning and are highly adept at independent study. They frequently reflect on their own learning and identify if they need support academically and personally. Students provide feedback on lessons which are thoroughly reviewed by leaders who take action to support individuals and deal with themes which may arise.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders have very effective oversight of their provision. They conduct frequent ‘spotlight’ visits to lessons where they celebrate success and highlight areas for improvement which informs their planning of professional training.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Students benefit from a highly effective careers advice and guidance programme which raises their aspirations. This helps them to realise that university is a viable option for them and they discover new subject specialisms and career paths.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Students complete relevant work placements. These include placements with respected national employers, international placements such as sports coaching with children in Italy and following specific interests such as farming and farriery work.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Students' attendance is very high. This includes attendance at the ‘Trinity+’ tutorials which are carefully planned by leaders and staff to cover a wide range of relevant topics to help students navigate their college life and beyond.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Teachers provide a wide array of experiences to enrich their academic programmes and respond to students' career aspirations. These include curriculum-focused trips and guest speakers, such as a climate change expert and a videogame developer.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Leaders have developed a highly effective system for overseeing their programme of wider opportunities. This includes monitoring attendance and professional conduct and evaluating enrichment and work experience or volunteering. Leaders also celebrate students' achievement, culminating in a graduation ceremony at Halifax Minster. Leaders and staff create a culture and environment which results in almost all students successfully graduating.

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Achievement Strong standard

Students with high needs produce work of a high standard. They take pride in their work, maintaining well-organised folders and portfolios which they revisit frequently to ensure they have clear, accurate notes to aid their revision.

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Achievement Strong standard

Students with high needs make rapid progress from their starting points. They achieve grades in line with, and often above, their peers in their qualifications.

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Achievement Strong standard

Students with high needs are prepared very well for their next steps, including completing a bespoke course on preparation for adulthood. Teachers and careers staff discuss their goals and help them plan make plans to help them achieve their aspirations. Staff advise students how they can access further support. In the previous year, all students with high needs progressed to their first choice of destination, which for the vast majority was university.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders ensure that students with high needs participate fully in education programmes for young people, alongside their peers. They have in place a highly experienced special educational needs and disabilities coordinator (SENDCo) who oversees the students with high needs.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The SENDCo works very effectively with a wide range of external partners including medical specialists and local authorities. For example, they work highly effectively with external stakeholders, even to the extent of using the expertise of disability charities to advocate on behalf of learners to secure suitable adjustments to assessment requirements.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders have developed systems to identify quickly and understand the needs of students with high needs, including working closely with parents and previous schools. Students are fully involved in discussing their needs and how they can be best supported.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Teachers receive the information they need to understand the needs of students with high needs and plan appropriate adaptations to each curriculum to help them thrive. For example, students with high needs are given time out discreetly when taking part in group work to help them to self-regulate their behaviour. Teachers complete additional training to understand better students’ specific needs, such as the impact of autism on sleep.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders have highly effective systems in place to monitor carefully the progress that students with high needs make. Staff work together seamlessly and use assess, plan, do, review cycle that enables leaders and staff to modify further or reduce support to help students with high needs to succeed.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Students with high needs value the friendly and inclusive environment created by leaders, staff and their peers. They feel valued as individuals within the student community.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Students with high needs thrive at the college and grow in confidence. Alongside their peers they become adept at independent study, using feedback from their teachers and fully participating in lessons where they can work autonomously.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Students with high needs benefit from highly effective careers advice and guidance. They are well informed about their options for their next steps through, for example, frequent one- to-one sessions with expert careers advisors. Students value the ‘aspirations days’ where they speak with representatives from employers and universities.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Leaders ensure that students with high needs are supported appropriately to participate in a wide range of activities in addition to their academic studies. This includes enrichment such as The Duke of Edinburgh's award, work experience and a range of guest speakers who often have faced adversity and succeeded, such as Paralympians.

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Participation and development Strong standard

Students with high needs value being taught age-appropriate topics to help them navigate their personal lives safely, such as the risks of drugs and alcohol. They have a thorough understanding of how to identify extremist views and the purpose of British values.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Students, including those with high needs, value very highly the welcoming and inclusive culture of the college. Students from a diverse range of backgrounds and a wide range of secondary schools establish highly respectful relationships with one another and staff. Students appreciate the college as a place where everybody can be their authentic self.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Students are confident, mature and professional, demonstrating exemplary behaviour throughout the college. They live the values of the college which leaders have established in their ‘life ready learners’ mission, which permeates the college’s ethos. This includes professional standards including work ethic and integrity, engaging fully with opportunities for learning, and demonstrating positive behaviours such as courage, compassion and wisdom.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Students are highly motivated and attendance is very high throughout students’ programmes. Students develop a love of learning, curiosity and enthusiastically participate in all aspects of their education. They value the opportunities created by leaders to work autonomously and demonstrate their competence in their emerging knowledge and skills.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Leaders place great importance on the student voice and frequently seek and act on the opinions of students to make improvements. Students democratically elect representatives to the pupil leadership groups who take responsibility for a range of areas including physical and mental health, diversity and charity. Students highly respect those who take on these roles and value their work with leaders to influence the college as well as the local community.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Students who are high achievers, including those who are disadvantaged and with special educational needs and/or disabilities, access the very effective scholars programme. Teachers support students to identify swiftly their strengths and aspirations, and implement a highly tailored curriculum that includes help to apply for places at prestigious universities and the opportunity to study additional subjects which are relevant to their career paths, such as Latin.

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Team inspectors:

Sarah Lonsdale, His Majesty's Inspector Joanne Stork, His Majesty's Inspector Alison Dennis, His Majesty's Inspector

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspection activities: • Inspectors spoke with the multi-academy trust CEO, trust senior leaders, governors, principal, vice principals, assistant principals, senior leaders, curriculum leaders and a range of staff including teachers and personal progress tutors, and students during the inspection.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the provider: Trinity Sixth Form Academy is a 16 to 19 academy and part of the Trinity multi-academy trust. It provides A levels in nearly 30 subjects with psychology, mathematics and chemistry being among the most popular. It also offers applied general qualifications in 7 subjects including health and social care, sport and business. At the time of the inspection, there were 948 students on education programmes for young people, of whom 14 had education health and care plans.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other providers can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The provider reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The provider is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The provider needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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