Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, Cookham

Holy Trinity CofE Primary School Inspection report

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109961 Unique Reference Number Windsor and Maidenhead Local Authority 325066 Inspection number 15 May 2009 Inspection date John Earish Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare, managed by the governing body, was inspected under section 49 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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Primary Type of school Voluntary controlled School category 5–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 209 School (total) 0 Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the EYFS 0 Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Arthur Burgin Chair Mrs Patricia Bridges Headteacher 8 June 2006 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection School Lane School address Cookham Maidenhead SL6 9QJ 01628 523766 Telephone number 01628 523766 Fax number

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5–11 Age group 15 May 2009 Inspection date 325066 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. 2 of 9 Inspection Report: Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, 15 May 2009

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors. The inspectors looked particularly at the children's progress as they move through the school, as well as the impact of initiatives taken by school leaders to raise standards and the quality of provision. The inspectors met with staff, governors and pupils. Parts of some lessons were observed, parents' questionnaires and a sample of pupils' work were examined, and school information, including self-evaluation, was scrutinised. Other aspects of the school's work were not investigated in detail, but the inspectors 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 the report.

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Description of the school

This average sized village primary school serves the attractive village of Cookham some two miles north of Maidenhead. It is very popular and oversubscribed. Most pupils are of White British heritage, with a small number from different minority ethnic groups. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties, mostly to do with cognitive and learning difficulties, is broadly similar to that found nationally. Six children have a statement of educational needs. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is very much lower than average. The school has achieved the Healthy School Award and Eco-Schools status. There is a breakfast club run by the governors. The headteacher had been in post for three weeks at the start of the inspection.

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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, 15 May 2009

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Grade: 2

This is a good school where pupils achieve well. Pupils in all classes are eager to learn, enjoy coming to school and behave exceptionally well. Parents agree and are overwhelmingly positive in their views of the school. One parent, representing the views of many, wrote, 'I think the school offers my children an excellent and well-rounded education.' Standards are consistently high. The school's performance in the national tests at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 are significantly above the national averages and have been for a number of years. Throughout the school, most pupils make good progress and sustain high levels of performance. This occurs because they have challenging targets to achieve, and work is usually well matched to pupils' individual needs. Those pupils identified as having learning difficulties make excellent progress against their targets. Achievement is good because teaching and learning are of good quality. Pupils achieve well

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Grade: 2

because teachers are skilful at identifying precise learning objectives, varying the activities, and using questions well to challenge and clarify the pupils' understanding of their work. These important features underpin the good progress and achievement. Teaching is good, however teachers do not always capitalise on opportunities for pupils, especially the higher attainers, to learn independently or use their initiative. As a result, these pupils' progress is not always as rapid as it could be. Older pupils explained to inspectors that they learn best when testing out their knowledge in a practical context. For example, in one lesson, pupils were able to explore how gravity, light and time affects understanding of the universe through sharing their own interests, knowledge and enthusiasms. They agreed that it was interesting to link together the different aspects of their understanding so they could gain greater insights into the universe

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Grade: 2

and how it operates. However, they remained unconvinced about the existence of wormholes that might connect distant locations in the universe by bending space-time. The good curriculum provides well for pupils' personal, social and health education and makes a positive contribution to their good personal development. Pupils appreciate the way that teachers are increasing the links between the different subjects, because it makes their learning much more enjoyable and creative. However, the school acknowledges that more work needs to be done. In addition, the focus weeks, residential trips and the excellent range of clubs and extra activities add much to pupils' motivation to learn, work hard and succeed. Personal development and well-being, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are good. Pupils treat each other with great respect, willingly accept responsibility and behave exceptionally well. They make an excellent contribution to their community,

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Grade: 2

participating in local events, involving themselves in charity fund-raising and decision making through the school council and the Eco Group. Their determination to succeed and their very regular attendance is further evidence of their enjoyment and commitment to learning. Pupils benefit from good preparation for future life and learning. Care, guidance and support are also good, and pastoral care is outstanding. There are effective partnerships with the community and with outside agencies to promote learners' well-being. The breakfast club provides an excellent start to the day and is very well run. Older pupils are very knowledgeable about their individual targets and what they need to do to achieve them. They say that this is helpful because 'it helps you measure your success and keep track of how well you are doing'. However, younger pupils are not as aware as their older counterparts of what they must do to improve their work.

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Grade: 2

4 of 9 Inspection Report: Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, 15 May 2009 Leadership and management are good. The new headteacher is providing clear direction for the work of the school and has high expectations of what is achievable. She has maintained a strong sense of community and teamwork so that all adults are working purposefully to improve the achievement of all pupils. Every child is welcomed and included in the school's activities, whatever their ability or needs. The subject coordinators are working well to gain experience in evaluating the school's performance in partnership with senior managers. However, the focus for their activities could be sharper, for example through monitoring specific classes and pupils to ensure greater consistency in the quality of learning. Community cohesion is good. The school has successfully reached out to the wider community here and overseas. For example, pupils have raised considerable sums to provide a classroom

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Grade: 2

for an African school through the auspices of the The Kazi Mingi Foundation. Closer to home, the pupils have been involved in the community Marsh Meadow Environment Project and helped the local Archaeological Society with a dig. However, the school has yet to fully evaluate the impact of its actions on the community, beyond the school itself. Governance is good. Governors have a good knowledge and understanding of the issues facing the school and are diligent at holding the school to account for its performance. They also manage the breakfast club very well. The school's good track record at sustaining high standards, and its success at including all learners and dismantling their barriers to learning, means there is good capacity for further improvement.

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Grade: 2

Children get off to a good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage. The school is very successful in helping children to settle in and to become confident in tackling their learning. Children start school with skills and capabilities that are mostly above those expected for their age, although in some aspects of literacy and numeracy their starting points are lower. Well-planned activities carefully matched to children's needs enable them to make swift gains in independence, social skills and confidence. The highly practical curriculum links learning and promotes all aspects of children's development very well. Although, in some instances, children's independent learning is less effective when adults over-direct the learning. Good provision ensures that children make rapid progress, so that a large number of them by the end of Reception reach standards in all areas of learning that are well above the national levels. Children's writing

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Grade: 2

standards are comparatively lower than in other skills, although still above national levels. Parents fully support the school. One Reception parent wrote, 'Fantastic school...my child loves going there! There is a great community spirit.'

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that teachers capitalise on opportunities during lessons for pupils, especially the higher attainers, to learn independently and use their initiative, in order that they maintain rapid progress. ■ Use the outcomes of monitoring activities more sharply to ensure that the quality of learning is consistently good or outstanding across all classes. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, 15 May 2009 .

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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, 15 May 2009

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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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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 capacity to make any necessary improvements

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EYFS?

2 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 2 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 2 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 2 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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Achievement and standards

2 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/or disabilities make progress

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Achievement and standards

1 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, 15 May 2009

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learners?

2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners enjoy their education 1 The attendance of learners 1 The behaviour of learners 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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learners' needs?

How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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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 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 2 How well does the school contribute to community cohesion? 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, 15 May 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

29 May 2009 Dear Pupils Inspection of Holy Trinity CofE Primary School,Maidenhead,SL6 9QJ Thank you very much for making us so welcome when we visited your school recently. We enjoyed talking to you, and your views and opinions have given us a lot of helpful information. We thought you might like to know more about what we found out. We believe, like you, that you go to a good school. Like so many other visitors, we found you polite, extremely well behaved, and very willing to speak about your school. We particularly liked the fact that you reach very high standards in English, mathematics and science. You enjoy learning and want to do well. You told us that you feel very safe in the school, and that the adults like you to give your views and listen very carefully to you. The teaching in your school is good and this means that, together with your positive attitudes to work, you make good progress in all that you do.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

All of the adults in your school want it to be even better. To help them to do this, there are two things to do next.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ We are asking your teachers to give you even more opportunities during lessons to learn independently and explore your own ideas. ■ We have also asked those teachers in charge of subjects to find out more about the different ways you are learning during lessons. This will help them to make sure that you work even better across all classes. We know that you will continue to work hard, and we are sure that you will help your teachers and new headteacher to make your school even better. We hope that you have great success in the future. Yours faithfully John Earish Lead Inspector 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, 15 May 2009

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