Staff, governors and pupils at Bradley Stoke’s Holy Trinity (Church of England & Methodist) Primary School are celebrating after receiving a ‘good’ grading from Ofsted in an inspection which took place on 24th and 25th October. It was the first primary school in South Gloucestershire to have a short ‘Section 8’ inspection under Ofsted’s new framework, which came into force at the beginning of September 2019.
In her report, the Ofsted inspector says Holy Trinity is a “friendly and welcoming school,” where pupils are “kind and supportive of each other,” and have “positive attitudes to learning and want to do well.”
Parents were found to be positive about the school with the inspector noting how they “appreciate the high standards and pastoral support”. In the online ParentView survey, 96 percent of the 45 respondents said they would recommend the school to another parent.
On the quality of teaching, the report states: “Teachers plan exciting lessons that ignite pupils’ curiosity”, adding that “the teaching of reading in all year groups is well planned” and that “pupils learn to read well because the teaching of phonics is effective”.
The inspector observed that pupils use a wide range of resources to help them understand complex concepts in mathematics.
The report also notes that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) “receive tailored support to ensure that they can learn well”.
Janet Dickson who became the new headteacher at the school in September 2017, said:
“I am really pleased with the comments that the inspector made about the quality of the education that we offer to our children as it has always been our aim to ensure that our children receive a wide range of experiences in order to enable them to become happy and successful adults. Our broad, exciting curriculum and wide range of extra- curricular learning opportunities give children a fantastic opportunity. I also feel very privileged to work with such a talented, committed staff team and board of governors who always go the extra mile to make sure that we do the very best for all of the children at our school.”
In a letter to parents, chair of governors Leah Head said the Ofsted report was testament to the strong leadership in the school and thanked all the people who help make it such a positive environment for the children. She added that the two areas for improvement identified by the inspector – further developing children’s vocabulary and providing more consistent “scaffolding” of learning in mathematics – had already been recognised by the school and appropriate actions put in place through the development plan.
More info: Ofsted reports for Holy Trinity Primary School
Photo: Deputy head Edward Powe and headteacher Janet Dickson pictured with members of the school council on a day of special activities held to celebrate the school’s ‘good’ Ofsted grading.
This article originally appeared in the January 2020 issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal magazine (on page 28). The magazine is delivered FREE, nine times a year, to ALL 8,700 homes in Bradley Stoke. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.
