Trinity Catholic School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Trinity Catholic School provides an inclusive learning environment.

Staff care about pupils, and the majority of pupils are happy at Trinity. Pupils know that staff will support them when needed, including tackling any bullying that happens. A successful specialist course provides students who are new to the country with qualifications and skills to prepare them for their next steps after school.

However, some staff's expectations of pupils' behaviour are too low. This has created a casual culture where many pupils ignore staff's instructions. It has also led to low-level disruption being commonplace.

Despite this, pupils do feel safe. Too many pupils do not ...attend school regularly. Some frequently truant from lessons.

This has a detrimental effect on their education.

Leaders are ambitious for all pupils and the curriculum is well designed. However, there has been a high level of staff turnover which has led to variability in how well the curriculum is delivered.

As a result, some pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), do not achieve as well as they should.

The multi-academy company (MAC) leaders provide the school with exceptional support. This is helping to improve some of the weaknesses quickly.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has faced some significant challenges over the last five years, including a high level of turbulence in leadership and staffing. The excellent support provided by MAC leaders has stemmed the decline in the school's performance. Staffing is now more stable.

School leaders are developing their skills well thanks to additional support from the MAC through 'collaborative groups'. However, there remains much work to do to ensure that all pupils receive a high-quality education.

Warm and caring relationships between staff and pupils are evident across the school.

Pupils trust staff and appreciate the support they receive when needed. Recently, leaders have introduced a new behaviour policy, but this is not being implemented consistently across the school. There is no evidence that it is improving pupils' behaviour.

Pupils regularly ignore staff's requests to follow school rules, including lining up, wearing the correct uniform, moving to lessons punctually and not using mobile phones. Staff do not challenge this defiance and many pupils know that they can flout the rules with little or no consequences. Too many pupils choose not to attend their classes, and staff do not deal with this effectively.

In lessons, some staff do not manage pupils' behaviour well enough and do not insist that pupils complete their work. The lack of effective behaviour management means that pupils' learning is often disrupted. However, there is no aggressive or violent behaviour and pupils do feel safe in school.

Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum. It is carefully organised to develop pupils' knowledge and skills over time. Pupils experience the full range of National Curriculum subjects across key stage 3.

The curriculum is fully inclusive for all pupils, including those with SEND. Leaders have set out clear expectations for how the curriculum should be delivered, including how pupils' knowledge should be checked to identify gaps in learning. However, there is too much variability in how well teachers deliver the planned curriculum.

Some teachers have secure subject knowledge, carefully assess what pupils know and successfully engage pupils in their learning. These teachers' high expectations and effective teaching enable pupils to know and remember more of the curriculum. However, some teachers lack the required knowledge to teach the subject successfully.

They do not check pupils' understanding well enough. Overall, pupils experience a varied quality of education and this does not enable them to achieve as well as they could. However, in the sixth form, the curriculum is delivered more effectively and students' learning experiences are more positive.

Too many pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, have been regularly absent from school for a prolonged period of time. This includes students in the sixth form. Leaders have not tackled these absences well enough.

They have introduced a revised attendance policy which sets high expectations and clear steps to address poor attendance. However, this new system is yet to show any sustained improvement in pupils' attendance.

The leadership of SEND has been through a period of instability.

The new SEND leadership team has been in post from the beginning of this year. They have quickly identified, and have taken action to address, the key areas that need to be developed. This includes how pupils' needs are accurately identified.

Pupil passports set out how teachers should adapt learning to enable pupils with SEND to access learning successfully. Currently, some teachers do not use this information well enough. Extra teaching sessions to help pupils with SEND learn the curriculum, including learning to read, are under-developed.

This means that some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could.

Leaders have designed and implemented clear personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) and relationships and sex education (RSE) curriculums. The programmes cover teaching pupils about keeping themselves safe, including in the local community.

For example, external agencies support leaders to teach pupils about the dangers of knife crime and gang culture. Pupils also develop an appreciation of a range of other faiths and cultures. They benefit from a suitable careers programme, including periods of work experience.

Nevertheless, pupils have variable experiences in how well the PSHE and RSE programmes are delivered. This leads to some pupils not being fully prepared for their next steps.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders now use regular and comprehensive safeguarding audits to pinpoint where safeguarding procedures can be strengthened. Their actions have developed a strong culture of safeguarding across the school. All staff, including temporary staff, understand how to spot if a pupil might be at risk from harm.

They report concerns about pupils and adults. Staff take action when needed and leaders act on their concerns quickly. Leaders work with a range of agencies to ensure pupils receive help when needed.

Pupils feel safe in school. They learn how to keep themselves safe in and outside of school. Pupils know who they can turn to for help, and that it will be provided when needed.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some staff have low expectations of pupils' behaviour and do not insist that pupils follow school rules, including attending lessons punctually. Pupils, therefore, frequently flout the rules and ignore staff's instructions, which causes disruption to both their learning and the learning of others. Leaders should ensure that all staff have high expectations of pupils' behaviour and implement the school's behaviour policy consistently.

• Leaders have not addressed the high rates of pupil absence, especially for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, well enough. A significant number of pupils regularly miss too much school, which adversely affects their education, and some miss lessons when they are in school. Leaders should take all possible steps to ensure that all pupils attend school regularly and attend all of their lessons.

• Some teachers do not follow leaders' expectations of how to deliver the intended curriculum. As a result, pupils' experiences of learning vary and limit the progress they make in a range of subjects, including in PSHE and RSE. Leaders should monitor the delivery of the curriculum to ensure that it is implemented as intended.

• There has been instability in the leadership of SEND. As a result, some of the provision for pupils with SEND is underdeveloped, including additional sessions to help pupils with specific learning difficulties. Leaders should ensure that the SEND provision is fully reviewed and developed to provide high-quality support for all pupils with SEND.