Ramsgate, Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School

Inspection Report Ramsgate, Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School

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118751 Unique Reference Number Kent Local Authority 291239 Inspection number 10 October 2006 Inspection date Carole Skinner Reporting inspector

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

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Dumpton Park Drive School address Primary Type of school Broadstairs Voluntary aided School category CT10 1RR 4 °11 Age range of pupils 01843 860744 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01843 861290 Fax number 201 Number on roll (school) Peter Adams Chair The governing body Appropriate authority David Haughton Headteacher 16 September 2002 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection date Age group 291239 10 October 2006 4 °11 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 one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Holy Trinity is a one-form-entry primary school which draws its pupils from a wide catchment area. It offers places to children whose parents attend church regularly and is consistently oversubscribed. About 20% of the pupils have learning difficulties or disabilities, which is similar to most schools. A small proportion of the pupils come from minority ethnic backgrounds but none are at an early stage of learning to speak English.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Ramsgate, Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, 10 October 2006

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Grade: 1

This is an outstanding school where teachers are passionate about teaching and pupils are excited about learning. The secret of the school's success is its constant striving to do even better, which means that its capacity for improvement is exceptional. There is no hint of complacency here. In fact, school leaders take a rather modest view of its effectiveness. Parents, on the other hand, are more generous in their praise. One summed up the views of many: 'Holy Trinity is a lovely school. Our children enjoy their lessons and activities and look forward to going to school each morning.' This was obvious amongst the sea of happy faces in the playground before school began. Enjoyment in learning is evident in every class and pupils' behaviour is exemplary. Pupils are eager to learn and excited about taking part in the wide range of activities provided for them. This is in response to the imaginative and often inspirational

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Grade: 1

teaching which motivates pupils and fully engages their attention and interest. Teachers know their pupils very well and plan work that meets every pupil's needs. The exceptionally good rapport and respect between pupils and adults provide a solid foundation for learning and for developing pupils' confidence and self-esteem. The curriculum is planned creatively so that it is often difficult to determine whether one is watching, for example, a lesson about literacy, history or information and communication technology (ICT), so skilfully are the different subjects blended together. Equally impressive is the way the school cares for its pupils and nurtures their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Its Christian ethos shines through, whether in the quiet, reflective mood of worship or the calm, purposeful working atmosphere in every part of the school. It is not surprising that pupils do well in this stimulating and nurturing environment.

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Grade: 1

Their achievement is outstanding, not just because they reach exceptionally high standards in the national tests, but because the school broadens their horizons and extends their knowledge and skills across the whole curriculum. This begins in the Reception Year, where an excellent mix of experiences across all areas of learning lays a very good foundation. Consistently high expectations from all teachers ensure that pupils continue to build on this and make excellent progress. A shared commitment to excellence and highly effective teamwork are the defining features of the outstanding leadership and management. Senior managers provide inspirational and dynamic leadership for a very talented staff team who work as one to provide the best possible education for their pupils. Governors provide excellent support for staff and play a decisive role in evaluating the school's effectiveness and planning its future. The school acknowledges that its systems for tracking individual

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Grade: 1

pupils' progress towards their targets are not sufficiently rigorous.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Refine the systems for tracking pupils' progress to give senior managers a clearer picture of whether individual pupils are on course to meet their targets each year. 2 Inspection Report: Ramsgate, Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, 10 October 2006

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Grade: 1

Pupils' outstanding achievement reflects not only the excellent teaching they receive but also their eagerness to learn. Most children start school with the skills and knowledge expected for their age. They go on to achieve above- average standards in the Reception Year. By the end of Year 2, standards are well above average. The results of national tests in Year 6 are exceptionally high. But it is not only in English, mathematics and science where pupils excel. They also achieve very well in ICT and use technology very competently to enrich their learning across the curriculum. Literacy and numeracy skills are put to very good use in subjects such as science and history. Striking displays of high quality art work brighten the classrooms and corridors and pupils' tuneful and enthusiastic singing testifies to the skills of their specialist music teacher. Children with particular talents in music, drama and sport have further

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Grade: 1

opportunities to shine in after-school activities and inter-school competitions.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' personal development and well-being are outstanding because they are firmly at the top of the school's agenda. Consistently high expectations result in exemplary behaviour. Pupils know what is expected of them and rarely need to be reminded. They are thoughtful and considerate towards others. Pupils' enjoyment of school is reflected in their above-average attendance. Older pupils enjoy taking responsibility for different jobs around the school and help to look after younger ones. Some act as 'mum and dad' for tables of younger children at lunchtime, watching over them and helping to cut up food if necessary. School councillors take their duties seriously. They collect the views of their classmates and put them forward confidently at council meetings. Pupils are currently coming up with lots of good ideas for developing a wild area of land next to the school, as well as suggesting ways to improve the playground.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' excellent spiritual, moral, social and cultural development reflects the school's all-embracing Christian ethos. Pupils appreciate each other's special qualities and differences and take time to reflect on important issues such as bullying and their responsibility for the environment. Their involvement in local community events and in raising funds for a school in Uganda extends their understanding of the world beyond school and helps to prepare them well for their future role in society.

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Grade: 1

The quality of teaching and learning is outstanding throughout the school. Teachers use their extensive knowledge of the pupils' past achievements and current needs to plan work that is challenging and enjoyable for both boys and girls. Always lively, often 3 Inspection Report: Ramsgate, Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, 10 October 2006 inspirational, teachers use their excellent subject knowledge and a rich variety of methods to engage pupils in learning. For their part, pupils are receptive and responsive, and often excited by the activities, as when Year 2 pupils went on an imaginary journey to the Antarctic. This lesson also illustrated why the school has been so successful in raising standards in writing as the teacher used a wonderful combination of drama, film and music to stimulate the pupils' imagination before they tackled a writing task. A fast-moving mathematics lesson in Year 6 was typical of the high expectations set

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Grade: 1

by all teachers and the care they take to match work to pupils' widely differing needs. One pupil summed it up in these words: 'We learn a lot but we have fun at the same time.'

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Grade: 1

The school's outstanding curriculum contributes equally well to pupils' academic achievement and their personal development. It fully meets the needs of its pupils, including those with learning difficulties and disabilities and pupils who have special talents. Skilfully crafted links between subjects have blurred the boundaries and made learning more meaningful and coherent. Pupils are taught to use ICT as a tool to enhance learning, not a subject in isolation. Literacy and numeracy skills are developed very well across the whole curriculum. Art, music and sport enjoy a high profile, both in lessons and through extra-curricular activities. A few parents would like to see more after-school activities, and the school is currently seeking to extend these through its involvement in a local Sports Partnership. Effective links with other local schools provide, for example, specialist teaching in French. Initiatives such as the Healthy

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Grade: 1

School Week contribute well to pupils' understanding of the importance of healthy eating and exercise.

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Grade: 1

The school has wholeheartedly embraced the principle that 'Every Child Matters' and has placed it at the heart of its vision. Consequently, it provides outstanding care, guidance and support for all pupils. Excellent relationships between pupils and adults help to create a productive atmosphere for learning. Very good support for pupils with learning difficulties and those with particular gifts enables all to make very good progress. Clear and consistent rules for behaviour ensure that pupils feel safe and free from bullying. Teachers set challenging targets for pupils to achieve and show them how to improve their work. They assess pupils' progress regularly and use the information to ensure that suitable work is planned.

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Grade: 1

Dynamic leadership keeps the school's performance constantly under review. Senior managers lead by example, setting a very high standard for teaching and learning and 4 Inspection Report: Ramsgate, Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, 10 October 2006 inspiring others by their commitment and vision for the school. Subject leaders play an equally important role in leading new initiatives and evaluating their impact on pupils' learning. Thorough monitoring of teaching and learning, backed up by painstaking analysis of test data to identify gaps in pupils' knowledge and skills, provides a clear picture of where improvement is needed. Governors make regular visits to observe how well the school is doing and these are often linked to specific priorities in the school improvement plan. Parents' and pupils' views are taken into account when deciding where changes should be made. Very good teamwork ensures consistency of approach which, for example, has resulted

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Grade: 1

in dramatic improvements in writing. Care and thought has been taken over the introduction of a new mathematics scheme. This is being closely monitored to ensure it has a marked impact on learning.The headteacher has begun to introduce an electronic system for recording pupils' progress towards their targets as they move through the school. Although teachers frequently assess pupils' attainment, the current paper systems for collating this information do not give senior managers a clear enough picture of individual pupils' progress throughout each year in relation to their targets. 5 Inspection Report: Ramsgate, Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, 10 October 2006 .

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Grade: 1

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Ramsgate, Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, 10 October 2006

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Inspection judgements

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

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 1 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

1 How well do learners achieve? 1 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

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

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and interests of learners?

1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 7 Inspection Report: Ramsgate, Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, 10 October 2006

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 8 Inspection Report: Ramsgate, Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, 10 October 2006

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

I would like to thank you for helping to make my visit to your school so enjoyable. I was very impressed by your excellent behaviour and the way you listen and take part in lessons. Many of you told me that you enjoy school a lot, and I can see why. Holy Trinity is an outstanding school. The teachers are very good at making lessons interesting and fun and this helps you to learn really well. You reach very high standards in all of your work ° I saw some excellent writing, maths and science going on and you have produced some stunning art work. I also enjoyed listening to your very good singing in assembly. I particularly like the way the teachers combine different subjects, for example, when you learn about history by using your reading, writing and ICT skills. All of the adults take very good care of you and help you to do your very best. You help them by taking responsibility for looking after the school and for other children.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

I enjoyed listening to all the ideas you have come up with to improve the school and the wild area next door. The school council is doing a very good job of making sure your opinions are taken into account. The teachers who run the school are doing an excellent job and never stop looking for ways to make it even better. Your headteacher is already working on a new computer system that will show how much progress each of you is making as you move through the school. This is done on paper at the moment and doesn't include all the information that teachers need to make sure that you all reach your targets. I wish you continuing success, both at Holy Trinity and in the future. 9 Inspection Report: Ramsgate, Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, 10 October 2006

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