Abbeyfields First School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a welcoming and happy school that pupils are proud to attend.

Pupils know that they are safe here. They are polite and demonstrate self-control in their classrooms and when moving around the school. Pupils say that bullying is rare and are confident staff would deal with it effectively should it occur.

Pupils' relationships with adults are polite and respectful.

The school encourages all pupils to do their best and to achieve highly. Pupils take pride in their work.

They focus well on their learning and listen to advice to help them deepen their knowledge. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive timely and eff...ective support. This helps them to progress through the curriculum and achieve well.

Children in the early years receive an excellent start to their education. They behave well, developing independence and resilience.

Pupils have opportunities to take on leadership roles in the school.

These include opportunities to serve as an Abbeyfields MP or a junior safeguarding lead. These enable pupils to share their ideas and concerns with leaders. There are many additional opportunities to develop individual talents, for example in musical theatre, dance and sports clubs.

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

The school has designed an ambitious, sequenced curriculum that allows pupils to build on their understanding progressively. In some lessons, starter activities enable pupils to review what they have learned and make links between past and new learning. Resources, such as sketchbooks, are designed so pupils can easily review prior knowledge and adapt this to new learning.

The school reviews what pupils should know and remember and adapts plans accordingly.

The school's curriculum is built around the national curriculum. The curriculum meets the needs of the school's pupils.

It has been tailored to ensure that learning is adapted to meet the needs of all pupils. As a result, pupils with SEND learn the curriculum alongside their peers whenever possible. However, the school adapts the curriculum more successfully in some subjects than others.

Where this is done well, the checks that staff make on what pupils have learned are used effectively to inform future learning.

Staff understand and teach subjects, such as geography, well. Pupils are exposed to technical vocabulary that they use in their writing to explain physical processes or locations.

This vocabulary is extended as pupils move through the school.

Reading is at the heart of the curriculum. Pupils start to develop the skills for reading as soon as they enter the school.

In the Nursery, oracy is at the heart of what the children are taught. Adults use rhymes, songs and wordplay to grow the children's vocabulary. In Reception, daily lessons are highly focused on developing initial phonics skills, and children start reading books from the first term.

Staff regularly check what children can read and ensure that teaching is matched to children's individual needs. Those pupils who start to fall behind are given specialist support to help them catch up. Reading books are well matched to pupils' phonics knowledge, and this helps them to read with fluency.

Across the school, staff read to pupils from identified high-quality 'must-read' texts. These help to develop pupils' passion for reading.

The early years learning environment is calm and well resourced.

The school has thought carefully about how this area is used. Children focus on their tasks and interact sensibly with each other. They are well prepared for their next stage of learning.

The personal development curriculum is outstanding. The school has looked carefully at the skills pupils need to live in modern Britain and has embedded these through the curriculum. Pupils are well prepared for life outside of school.

Pupils talk openly about difference and how they can be inclusive. They understand different faiths and beliefs in detail. The interests of pupils are extended through a range of after-school activities.

These provide pupils with the opportunity to act, dance, sing and be physically active. The school gives pupils the opportunity to consider future careers by taking part in a careers week.

The school has prioritised attendance.

Staff follow policies and procedures to promote attendance rigorously. Pupils behave well and focus on their learning in class. Most behaviour in unstructured times is good.

However, some children find it difficult to match the school's expectations consistently.

Staff are appreciative of the actions the school has taken to support well-being and workload. They enjoy working at the school.

Governors are proud of the school and know its strengths. They hold leaders to account through appropriate support and challenge.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The monitoring and evaluation of some subjects is less developed than others. This means the school is not as clear as it could be about what pupils know and remember. The school should improve how it checks what pupils know and remember to ensure that this checking is consistent in all subjects.