The Trinity Catholic Primary School

Inspection Report The Trinity Catholic Primary School

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134722 Unique Reference Number Liverpool LEA 282661 Inspection number 11 January 2006 to 12 January 2006 Inspection dates Mr Frank Carruthers CfBT Lead Inspector Reporting inspector

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

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Eldon Place School address Primary Type of school Vauxhall Voluntary aided School category 0, Liverpool L3 6HE 4 to 11 Age range of pupils 0151 207 2304 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0151 207 0840 Fax number 368 Number on roll Mr T Westwell Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Patricia Deus Headteacher Not applicable Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 282661 11 January 2006 - 4 to 11 12 January 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 three additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

The school is an amalgamation of three Catholic primary schools, which opened in September 2004. It is in temporary accommodation that includes 12 mobile classrooms in an area where there are high levels of social disadvantage. Work on a new building was delayed and is due to start in April 2006. The proportion of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is high at 33%. About six per cent of children are from Traveller families. Most pupils are of white British background. The attainment of most children on entry to the Nursery is low. The number of pupils who start or leave the school other than at the normal time (pupil mobility) is above average.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: The Trinity Catholic Primary School, 11 January 2006 to 12 January 2006

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Grade: 2

The school considers its effectiveness to be satisfactory but inspectors judge it to be good; the school has been too cautious in its judgement. Despite having to amalgamate three schools and overcome many problems related to unsatisfactory accommodation, good progress has been made in a short time. The school is well led and managed and has good potential to become even better. In current classes, the children are achieving well because of good teaching, improvements to the teaching of mathematics and science and the excellent personal guidance and support they receive. Standards were low at the end of the school's first full year in 2005, which reflects past underachievement and disruption to learning during amalgamation. All children are very well cared for and provision for children in the Nursery and Reception classes is good. Throughout the school the children behave well and enjoy their work. Levels of

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Grade: 2

attendance are below average, caused mainly by a small but significant number of pupils. Links with outside agencies and other schools are eagerly sought and contribute well to the children's personal and academic progress. The senior staff and governors have rigorous procedures to examine the school's effectiveness and have a good awareness of what needs to be done to raise standards further. The great majority of parents share these positive views of the school. The school provides good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Maintain the drive to raise standards of attainment in English, mathematics and science through rigorous monitoring of teaching and learning and implementing effective strategies to improve speaking skills, mental mathematics and practical investigations. • Raise levels of attendance through continuing to focus on effective strategies to support the minority of poor attenders. • Continue to press for the earliest completion of the new accommodation.

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Grade: 2

Overall, children achieve well. They get off to a good start in the Nursery and Reception classes and make good progress. At the end of the Reception in 2005, most children were still working towards the early learning goals. They achieved best in their personal and physical development but many still had some way to go in early skills of literacy, writing and mathematics. In Key Stage 1, children achieve at least satisfactorily; there is evidence of significant progress by the current Year 2 because they have overcome their early difficulties in writing. In Key Stage 2, achievement in current classes is good, helped by good teaching and high expectations. Standards were low at the end of Year 6 in 2005 in mathematics and science, although pupils attained much better in English where standards were broadly average. Senior staff quickly identified inconsistencies in the teaching of 2 Inspection Report: The Trinity Catholic Primary School, 11 January 2006 to 12 January 2006

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Grade: 2

mathematics and science and took effective action to iron them out. As a result, all children are now achieving well. A significant amount of past under-achievement and disruption to learning is being effectively overcome through good teaching and learning. Targets for learners are challenging and reflect the high proportion of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

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Grade: 2

Children's personal development and well-being are good. The school's ethos and aims are reflected in the importance given to every child. Children grow in confidence as they get older and take pride in their work. They are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning and respond enthusiastically. Behaviour is generally good. Children are polite and sensible as they move around the school. There are very few incidents of bullying and racism, and when they arise they are firmly dealt with. Children say they feel adults deal with such issues fairly. The development of children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding is good. Raising money for charitable causes and links with the church involve them closely with the local community. The newly established school council is beginning to have an impact, contributing to understanding of social responsibility and democracy. The children are taught how to make healthy lifestyle choices, such as when they took

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Grade: 2

part in a recent 'walk to school Wednesday'. Attendance is below average and in part, reflects the high mobility of children from Traveller families. The school is working hard to improve attendance levels with several effective strategies involving outside agencies. Attendance rates are rising. Children are rewarded for good attendance and their certificates are displayed proudly.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good. Two outstanding lessons were seen, one in Reception and the other in Year 2. Throughout the school, children thoroughly enjoy their learning and make good progress. Through effective monitoring of teaching last year, the school quickly identified inconsistencies in the teaching of subjects such as mathematics and science and took steps to overcome them. Lessons are well matched to the children's needs. This is particularly so in Years 4 to 6, where children are set by ability in English and mathematics. Teachers explain clearly what is to be learned at the start of lessons, relationships throughout the school are very good and children respond well to teachers' high expectations of behaviour. Children listen attentively, concentrate and work productively and enthusiastically. Children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are taught very well and their individual needs are very

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Grade: 2

effectively met by knowledgeable teachers and teaching assistants. Teachers use formal assessment very well to help their planning and carefully check the children's 3 Inspection Report: The Trinity Catholic Primary School, 11 January 2006 to 12 January 2006 work during lessons. They mark work conscientiously and make good use of positive comments to bolster the children's confidence and enable them to clearly understand how they can improve their work.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum matches the needs of the children well and meets statutory requirements. The unsatisfactory nature of the temporary accommodation is a drawback to the overall quality of the curriculum, for example in planning for information and communication technology in classrooms and to the learning of library skills. While awaiting the building of their new school, staff have worked very hard to overcome numerous difficulties and to provide the children with clean and safe facilities. Work is greatly enriched by many opportunities to take part in educational visits, which are planned to enable the children to see and experience things at first hand. Workshops are arranged and led by scientists, artists, dramatists and musicians and all contribute to the children's enthusiasm for learning. There is a good range of extra curricular activities, including creative arts and music. Sporting activities develop the children's

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Grade: 2

fitness and combat obesity. There are very good links with many local organisations, and the children take part in community activities.

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Grade: 1

The school takes excellent care of all the children, who trust staff and know who to turn to if they need help. The welfare assistant provides excellent support for children when they are upset or troubled. The learning mentor and family liaison officer provide extremely valuable support by working closely with the children, their families and external agencies. Parents and carers feel welcome in the school and are strongly encouraged through courses and meetings to be involved in their children's education. Children say they feel safe and are aware of the targets set for them. They know what they need to do to improve their work. Careful records are kept on all aspects of their progress. The arrangements for preparing them for their transfer to secondary school are good. Child protection and health and safety procedures are robust. There are very clear strategies in place for the early identification of children who may be in need of

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Grade: 2

The leadership and management of the school are good with excellent features. Since the amalgamation, the headteacher and governors have created a new community from three quite different Catholic primary schools. It is a tribute to all who have leadership roles that the disruption of this period has been successfully overcome. Everyone is proud of their school. The headteacher's vision for the future is very clear and effective. She has shared this exceptionally well and has had a profound influence 4 Inspection Report: The Trinity Catholic Primary School, 11 January 2006 to 12 January 2006 on the shared commitment of all adults and the self-confidence and enjoyment for learning of all children. In this school every child matters; its Christian ethos is lived out in day-to-day activities. School self-evaluation has been rigorous and realistic. The process is still developing and is providing clear direction, which rightly focuses on raising standards. The

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Grade: 2

headteacher, deputy head and senior managers work very well as a team. The school improvement plan clearly identifies priorities and strategies to address them. A thorough programme of monitoring has been developed, where the children's work and the quality of teaching are carefully checked. The key priority for the leadership of the school now is to do all it can to hasten the completion of the new building and convert the good provision into high standards of attainment and attendance by fully overcoming past underachievement. 5 Inspection Report: The Trinity Catholic Primary School, 11 January 2006 to 12 January 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: The Trinity Catholic Primary School, 11 January 2006 to 12 January 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 2 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 NA 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 3 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 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 4 The attendance of learners NA 2 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 3 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 1 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 your help when we inspected your school and please pass on our thanks to the other children we met and spoke to. We enjoyed our visit very much. Now we want to share with you what we thought about your new school. There are many things that are good in your school and that you can feel proud of, for instance: - Mrs Deus and the staff have done very well to make one successful school out of three schools - they take excellent care of you all and teach you well - you are working hard and it is clear that you enjoy school - you are all growing into sensible children - the staff provide you with good opportunities to learn about living in a healthy, safe way as well as the chance to enjoy activities and clubs after school and to go on trips. We hope Year 6 enjoyed their visit! We want the staff to: - help you all to do as well as you possibly can in reading, writing, mathematics and science

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

- help you improve your attendance Also we want the governors and your headteacher to do all they can to push to get the new building ready as soon as possible. With every good wish to you all for the future in your new school.

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