Holy Trinity VC School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 18 March 2025

Pupils are extremely proud of their school. They feel assured that they are cared for well. Pupils value the warm, nurturing relationships that they have with staff as part of the school's close-knit community. Pupils enjoy the ready smiles, celebrations and assemblies that help to make them feel happy and welcome. This includes those pupils who are new to the school, of which there are a high number. Many pupils are polite and respectful to others. They are accepting of other people and friendly towards visitors. In class, pupils are focused and keen to learn. At breaktimes, most pupils play sensibly and kindly together. However, there are occasions when the behaviour of some pupils disrupts the recreational time of others. The school has high aspirations for pupils' academic achievement. However, this is not currently realised in some aspects of the curriculum. The school is sharply focused on educational improvements, although, at present, the impact is not evident as too few pupils are ready for the next stage of their education. Beyond the academic curriculum, pupils are supported in being active, positive members of their community. They support a range of charities and have been involved in projects to enhance the locality, such as planting bulbs in the town and organising food collections for the local food bank. Pupils benefit from the wide range of trips and visits which help to enhance their learning experiences.

What the school should improve

• The reading curriculum beyond phonics currently lacks clarity in its design and organisation. Consequently, staff do not have sufficient guidance on the important information to deliver in lessons. This means that pupils do not develop their reading knowledge and skills as intended, and their access to other parts of the curriculum is hindered. The school should ensure the content and sequencing of the reading curriculum is clearly defined to ensure that staff have the appropriate information on how to teach the curriculum as intended.
• Sometimes the school does not know in enough detail the impact of its actions on pupils' learning. This means that the school does not have an accurate understanding of how well pupils are progressing through the curriculum. The school should continue its work to strengthen subject leadership, including monitoring. This is so that it has an accurate understanding of how to effectively bring about improvements to increase what pupils know and can do in those subject areas.
• Sometimes the information from the checks on pupils' understanding are not used effectively enough to determine if pupils have secured the knowledge that they need to move on. Consequently, some pupils do not build the secure body of knowledge set out in the curriculum. The school should make sure that staff have the knowledge and expertise to effectively identify and address gaps in pupils' knowledge so that they are ready for their next stages of learning.
• Absence rates, including persistent absence, for many pupils remain too high. This means that these pupils miss out on important learning and social opportunities. The school should strengthen the effectiveness of its approaches to support pupils and families to improve levels of attendance.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)