Trinity Church of England Primary School

Inspection Report Trinity Church of England Primary School

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109182 Unique Reference Number South Gloucestershire LEA 278149 Inspection number 7 June 2006 to 7 June 2006 Inspection dates Patricia Pothecary AI Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Littleton Drew Lane School address Primary Type of school Acton Turville Voluntary controlled School category Badminton, South Gloucestershire GL9 1HJ 4 to 11 Age range of pupils

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01454 218462 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01454 218660 Fax number 130 Number on roll Mrs S Balme Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Mark Toogood Headteacher 4 December 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 278149 7 June 2006 - 4 to 11 7 June 2006 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors

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Description of the school

Trinity is a small rural primary school. The school has low numbers of pupils with learning difficulties and very few pupils from ethnic groups other than White British. Despite indications that the school catchment area contains socially advantaged families, pupils have very mixed social backgrounds. In a few classes high numbers of pupils join or leave during their time at the school, although in most mobility is low.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Trinity Church of England Primary School, 7 June 2006 to 7 June 2006

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Grade: 2

Trinity is an effective school, which provides a good quality of education and good value for money. This matches the school’s own view. The progress and achievement made by pupils are good in all age groups, except for children in Reception who make steady gains. Pupils enter the school with below average attainment and, by the time they leave at the end of Year 6, reach above average standards. Pupils with learning difficulties also progress well. This is because the quality of teaching is consistently good throughout the school, except in Reception, where it is satisfactory. In this class the teacher is constrained by unsatisfactory accommodation. The good curriculum also promotes pupils’ learning very well and offers a rich range of activities, which pupils really enjoy. Pupils make excellent progress in their personal and social skills and behave extremely well. This is as a result of the excellent provision for their care, welfare and guidance.

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Grade: 2

The school is outstanding in helping pupils to lead healthy lives. Pupils are well cared for and kept very safe. Their progress is monitored, but not frequently enough to provide more timely support for those very few pupils not reaching their targets. Good leadership and management underpin continuous improvements to the school, ensuring that it is happy, attractive and well run. The school has sufficient capacity to continue improving.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Monitor individual pupils’ progress more frequently in order to provide appropriate support more swiftly if pupils are not reaching their targets. • Improve the accommodation and quality of teaching for children in Reception so that they make better progress in all areas of learning.

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Grade: 2

Pupils achieve well and reach above average standards by the time that they leave school in Year 6. When children start school their achievements are below those expected for their age. They make satisfactory progress in the Reception Year and when they enter Year 1 their attainment is still below average. Speaking and listening skills are particularly low at the age of five for a significant number of pupils. By the age of seven pupils’ attainment is average and by the age of eleven pupils’ attainment is above average. This represents good progress and achievement in Years 1 to 6, with most pupils reaching the challenging targets set for them. Some boys struggle with reading and writing in Years 1 and 2, and a few pupils in Years 4 and 5 find mathematics difficult. On the other hand, various groups of pupils do particularly well, for example a good number of boys reached the higher levels in mathematics by the age of seven

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Grade: 2

last year. Throughout the school pupils make good progress in English, mathematics, science and information and communication technology (ICT). Pupils with learning difficulties also make good progress. 2 Inspection Report: Trinity Church of England Primary School, 7 June 2006 to 7 June 2006

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Grade: 1

Pupils’ outstanding personal development and well-being are evident in every aspect of school life. Pupils’ behaviour and attitudes are exceptionally good and attendance is good. They really enjoy their lessons and take part with considerable enthusiasm and good humour. In one lesson, when asked, pupils said how much they liked their writing task because it was ‘really interesting and difficult, but not too hard’. Pupils show excellent respect for each other and adults and quickly follow instructions. The playground has an exceptionally social atmosphere with groups of pupils playing happily together and looking after one another. Pupils also develop a wide range of skills to help them in their future work, including very good social skills, good basic skills and a keen sense of purpose. Pupils feel safe, act safely and incidents of bullying or unkind behaviour are rare. Pupils show a considerable awareness of how to keep healthy, eating plenty of fruit, drinking water

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Grade: 1

throughout the day and taking part in lots of physical activities and sport. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is also excellent and contributes significantly to their personal development. They demonstrate a strong spiritual element in the way they care for each other, respect different beliefs and appreciate the wealth of information unfolding in their lessons. Pupils make a good and mature contribution to the school and wider community in many ways, for example taking on responsibility willingly, representing the school in various events and, through the school council, improving the outside play environment further.

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Grade: 2

Good quality teaching in most classes ensures that pupils learn well and make good progress. In Reception, teaching is satisfactory rather than good, largely because the room is small, and it is difficult to organise the balance of necessary activities within the mixed age class. All classrooms are characterised by very good teamwork and excellent cooperation. The atmosphere in most lessons is buzzing with enthusiastic learning, partly because teachers are very skilled in organising interesting activities and in keeping good order. Teachers expect high standards from pupils, although occasionally a few pupils find their work too easy and this slows their learning. Generally work is assessed well from day to day, and lessons are planned effectively to meet the different abilities and learning difficulties of pupils. Teaching assistants make a considerable contribution to the good learning taking place. Pupils’ work is marked

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Grade: 2

well, there is close liaison with parents and pupils are clear about what they must do to improve. 3 Inspection Report: Trinity Church of England Primary School, 7 June 2006 to 7 June 2006

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Grade: 2

The good curriculum meets pupils’ needs well. It is has recently been revised and improved to better match pupils’ interests and build more systematically on what they have learned before. Planning is careful and thorough, but the scheme is not fully embedded and will need further review. Literacy, numeracy and ICT skills are promoted well in all subjects and regular whole school ‘creativity’ sessions relate well to work in other subjects. Along with the opportunities for taking responsibility, this prepares pupils effectively for the future. The curriculum for Reception children is satisfactory overall. Provision to develop many areas of learning is good, but outdoor play is more limited partly due to a lack of covered play space. Pupils’ learning is enhanced very well by a rich range of enjoyable extra-curricular activities and residential experiences. These include plenty of sport, performance arts,

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Grade: 2

and programmes for gifted and talented pupils. There is good provision to teach pupils about staying safe and excellent provision to help them understand how to stay healthy.

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Grade: 2

Care, support and guidance for pupils are good, and thorough child protection and other procedures are in place to ensure that they stay safe and are well looked after. Clear and very effective guidance for pupils helps them to behave extremely well and develop excellent personal skills. Support and guidance to help pupils reach high standards is good overall. The extensive data on pupils’ progress is analysed each year and anyone who is not reaching their expected targets is given effective extra support. However this information is not available earlier in the year for giving some pupils the help they need before they get too far behind. The school is trialling a system in mathematics, which is successfully targeting pupils who are struggling much earlier than before.

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Grade: 2

Good leadership and management underpin a well ordered, effective and happy school community. Parents agree with this view. The school collects a wide range of evidence including the views of parents, pupils and the local authority to help decide where improvements are needed. Governors play a crucial role in this process. The school has correctly identified which key areas need improvement and the actions they have taken recently for example, have already raised standards in mathematics and writing. The quality of ICT has improved significantly since the last inspection. There is a wealth of information about pupils’ progress, which the school is continuously improving. However, the lack of clear baseline data about attainment on entry makes 4 Inspection Report: Trinity Church of England Primary School, 7 June 2006 to 7 June 2006 it difficult to see clearly which groups are progressing well over time. This does not

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Grade: 2

prevent, but slows down, recognition of any underachievement within groups or subjects. The school recognises and plans to address this issue. Work on improving the school environment is outstanding, despite some wholly inadequate temporary buildings, which are to be replaced. Staff are well qualified to take on complex roles in a small school. Links with other agencies, such as local schools, are good and lead to improved opportunities for pupils. 5 Inspection Report: Trinity Church of England Primary School, 7 June 2006 to 7 June 2006 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Trinity Church of England Primary School, 7 June 2006 to 7 June 2006

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Overall

Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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learners?

NA 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 3 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 2 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

NA 1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 1 The behaviour of learners NA 2 The attendance of learners NA 1 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 2 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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needs and interests of learners?

NA 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 2 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 2 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 2 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 2 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for being so helpful and welcoming to us when we visited Trinity school; we enjoyed the time we spent with you very much. We can see why you find the school such a good place to learn. We also enjoyed meeting the staff and joining you for some of your lessons and for lunch. Here are some of your school’s highlights: How much you learn and how much you enjoy your work. The way in which your teachers help you do well and make good progress. The excellent way you behave, help others, and work so hard in lessons. The very good work you have done to help improve the school grounds. The way you all try to keep healthy by exercising and eating good food. The large number of interesting subjects and activities you undertake. The way the staff really care for you and guide you in your work. The way senior staff work hard to keep improving the school. What we have asked the school to do to improve even more:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Look closely at how well you are doing more often, so that you can be given help to keep up as soon as you need it. Improve the classroom for children in Reception so that teaching can improve and help them make more progress. We wish you all the very best in the future, Yours sincerely Patricia Pothecary Lead Inspector

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