Holy Trinity CofE Primary School

Holy Trinity CofE Primary School Inspection report

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102665 Unique Reference Number Merton Local Authority 308084 Inspection number 12 June 2008 Inspection date Madeleine Gerard 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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Primary Type of school Voluntary aided School category 3 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 251 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mr G Lea Chair Mrs N Morgan Headteacher 6 December 2004 Date of previous school inspection Effra Road School address Wimbledon London SW19 8PW 020 8542 1591 Telephone number 020 8545 0818 Fax number

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3-11 Age group 12 June 2008 Inspection date 308084 Inspection number .

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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 an Additional Inspector. The inspector evaluated the overall effectiveness of the school and investigated the following issues: achievement of the pupils and the standards they reach, the quality of teaching and learning, the academic guidance given to pupils, and the impact of the school's work on their personal development. Evidence was gathered from a range of documents, pupil progress data, school records, discussions with the headteacher, senior managers, staff, pupils and governors, observations around the school and replies to the parents' questionnaire. Some aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but the inspector found no evidence to suggest that the school's own assessments, as given in its self evaluation, were not justified, and these have been included where appropriate in this report.

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Description of the school

This is an average size primary school with a Nursery. The percentage of pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds is above average although the large majority of pupils are White British. The proportion of pupils learning English as an additional language is above the national figure although few are at an early stage of learning English. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is much lower than the national average. The school has Healthy School status, the Basic Skills Qualitymark and the Activemark for physical education.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 9 Inspection Report: Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, 12 June 2008

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Grade: 2

Holy Trinity is a good primary school. The overwhelming majority of parents are confident their children are safe, well cared for and enjoy their time in school. Pupils' above average attendance reflects this. One parent commented, 'My children are extremely happy and look forward to going to school'. Pupils are polite, confident and keen to learn. They are generous of spirit, support many charities and projects, and show a very good awareness of those who are less fortunate than themselves. They make a good contribution to school life and to the local community. Links with the local church and opportunities to take on responsibilities within the school help pupils develop very good social skills and grow in self-esteem. The Christian culture permeates the whole school and helps pupils to think carefully about spirituality. Relationships with staff and amongst the pupils are strong. Behaviour is extremely good in lessons and around

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Grade: 2

the school. Children join the school with a range of skills and understanding but generally attainment on entry is at the expected levels for their age. Provision in the Foundation Stage is good and ensures that children achieve well. By Year 6 standards are above average. In 2007, national tests results were broadly average in English, above average in mathematics and well above average in science. The school has identified writing as a weaker aspect of pupils' literacy and has taken effective steps to improve provision, including changes to the way writing is taught across the school and the strong emphasis on using letters and sounds in the Foundation Stage. Pupils' progress is carefully monitored. Their current work, as well as the school's own data, shows that as a result of the action taken almost all pupils are working at and the great majority are working above the expected levels for their age in English as well as in mathematics and

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Grade: 2

science. From their average attainment on entry, achievement in English, mathematics and science is good and they meet challenging targets. Their good academic standards and extremely good attitudes and social skills means that they are well prepared for the next stage in their learning. Pupils make good progress because of good teaching. Pupils enjoy their lessons and are highly motivated to learn. Teachers plan a wide variety of interesting work for pupils to do. For example, pupils studying Macbeth sing songs based on some of the well-known speeches. Teachers make clear what pupils are meant to learn from the outset. However, in some lessons work is not always carefully matched to the needs of all pupils. Older pupils have good opportunities to assess for themselves how well they are making progress. There are some shortcomings in marking because guidance on how pupils' can improve their work is not consistently given.

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Grade: 2

Teaching assistants provide good support for all learners, including those who have more difficulty with literacy and numeracy, helping them to make good progress. The curriculum provides a broad and balanced range of work which motivates pupils to achieve well. Pupils speak positively about opportunities to learn French from Year 2 to Year 6 and about swimming in Year 3 and Year 4. Pupils' self confidence grows through participation in a wide range of sports which encourages their very positive attitudes to keeping fit and healthy. Links are developing between subjects although opportunities for pupils to practise their literacy, numeracy and computing skills across a rage of other subjects are not yet consistently planned. Themed weeks, such as international week and arts fortnight, help pupils to develop their very good understanding of world cultures and faiths. Pupils enjoy visits to local places

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Grade: 2

of interest as well as visitors to the school. They speak with particular enthusiasm about the residential visit to France in Year 6 and to an activity centre in Year 4. 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, 12 June 2008 Effective pastoral care and support are centred on staff knowing pupils well and help pupils make outstanding gains in their personal skills. Systems for safeguarding pupils' health, safety and well-being are robust. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe and they feel safe because they are confident that adults will take swift action should any problems occur. Academic guidance is generally good. There are good systems to monitor pupils' progress although the information gathered is not used to plan appropriately challenging tasks in all lessons. Some accurate and helpful target setting is aiding pupils to make the progress that they do but this is not consistent across classes.

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Grade: 2

Good leadership by the headteacher, who is well supported by the senior leadership team, has kept the school moving forward since the last inspection and there is good capacity to sustain this. Initiatives to raise standards in literacy have been particularly effective. The school evaluates its provision accurately. Subject leaders are involved in monitoring the school's work, although priorities for development are not always specific enough to improve the quality of provision further. Governors are committed, helpful and challenging, carrying out their duties well. They have a good understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses. Whilst some parents are naturally apprehensive about some of the changes the school is making, many made a point of writing to confirm their support for the school and their appreciation of the staff.

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Grade: 2

Many have reached the expected level of development by the end of Foundation Stage, particularly in literacy as a result of improvements to the way phonics is taught. Good induction procedures including home visits help children to settle quickly. One parent commented, 'The Nursery team have created a very warm and welcoming early years environment for both children and parents.' Activities are well planned and stimulating. For example, children in Reception were enjoying making paper spiders, counting spiders' legs, hunting for minibeasts hidden in the sand tray and writing their own insect stories based on a song they had learned. There is a good balance between focused teaching tasks and opportunities for children to select activities for themselves. Recently refurbished outdoor areas help physical development to grow although there is limited cover to permit outdoor activities when the weather is bad. While adults know

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Grade: 2

children well and daily records are kept, assessment systems are not yet fully in place to ensure that children's progress is checked systematically to improve progress further.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure the information from tracking systems is used consistently in order to set work appropriately matched to pupils' needs. ■ Use marking and target setting consistently to make clear to pupils what the next steps are in order to move to the next level in their work. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, 12 June 2008 .

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What the school should do to improve further

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, 12 June 2008

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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? Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The effectiveness of the Foundation Stage 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

2 How well do learners achieve? 2 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 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 extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 1 The behaviour of learners 2 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?

2 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 of 9 Inspection Report: Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, 12 June 2008

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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 2 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 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 of 9 Inspection Report: Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, 12 June 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

26 June 2008 Dear Pupils Inspection of Holy Trinity CofE Primary School,London,SW19 8PW Thank you for your very warm welcome and for helping me when I visited your school recently. You were all very polite and friendly and I appreciated talking to you about your school and the help you gave me. I would like to tell you what I found out. Holy Trinity CofE Primary is a good school and these are its strengths.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You and your parents told me that you enjoy coming to school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You behave very sensibly in lessons and around the school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You benefit from good teaching and experience an exciting curriculum.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You do a good job in raising money for charity which shows you care about those who are less fortunate than you. I have asked the school to make sure you know what to do to move up to the next level in your work and to give you more ideas about how to improve your work when they mark your books. I have also asked the school to make sure that the work you are set is always just the right level of difficulty for you in order to challenge you in your learning. You can help by continuing to work hard. Yours sincerely Madeleine Gerard Lead Inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, 12 June 2008

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