Addison Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils flourish in this welcoming school. They benefit from caring and supportive relationships with staff and each other. This helps pupils make friends and feel safe.

Clear routines and expectations are set from an early age. This helps to ensure that the school is a calm and purposeful place. Pupils' behaviour is exemplary during lessons and at social times.

The school is ambitious for pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to thrive. Inclusion is at the heart of this community school. This begins in the early years, where children learn in a nurturing and purposeful environment.

From the very start, they develop... independence and a love of learning. Pupils are articulate about their current and past learning. They achieve exceptionally well.

Pupils relish the opportunities to be actively involved in their school. This includes a range of responsibilities such as school councillors, morning helpers and in the parliament assemblies. Pupils take these roles seriously.

The school uses pupils' ideas, suggestions and feedback to improve their school experience. For example, pupils helped to refine the school's values of 'respect, responsibility, perseverance, honesty and friendship' and they created avatars to represent each one.

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

The school has carefully sequenced and constructed its ambitious curriculum so that it identifies the knowledge and skills that pupils should know and remember from the Nursery class to the end of Year 6.

This ensures that pupils' learning builds on what they already know. The school carefully design learning activities that help pupils to build rich bodies of knowledge. Teachers swiftly identify and address any gaps in pupil's knowledge.

In national tests pupils achieve exceptionally well in reading, writing and mathematics.From the moment children enter the early years they develop their language and early mathematics through rhyme, story and number counting. Throughout school, staff model the language, writing and key vocabulary they wish children to use.

The school's work on developing early writing is highly successful.The school has effective systems in place to identify, at the earliest opportunity, the needs of pupils with SEND. When necessary, leaders seek specialist support to further enhance their understanding of pupils' needs.

Staff expertly adapt the curriculum. Pupils with SEND learn alongside their peers and achieve well.Phonics learning begins as soon as children join the Reception Year.

Well-trained staff deliver the phonics programme with precision. Pupils practise reading with books that match the sounds that they know. Pupils who struggle to keep up with the phonics programme are given the support they need.

Interventions are meticulously designed and implemented. By the end of Year 2, almost all pupils are fluent readers.The school sets high expectations for pupils' behaviour and pupils do their utmost to live up to these expectations.

From the minute children enter the school they begin to learn the values of respect and perseverance. They are attentive to staff and demonstrate highly positive attitudes to learning. Pupils' focus extremely well during lessons and have highly positive attitudes to their learning.

The proportion of pupils who are absent from school has been higher than local and national averages in recent years. The school has taken steps to address this. The school analyses patterns in pupils' attendance.

However, the school's systems to improve pupils' attendance are not effective enough.The wider curriculum supports pupils to develop their character, interests and talents. Regular visits to places of worship support pupils' understanding of different faiths and cultures.

Pupils are respectful of the views and beliefs of different groups of people. They understand and can discuss fundamental British values. The school prepares pupils exceedingly well for their future lives in modern Britain.

The school offers a wide variety of clubs and activities. These clubs are open to all. Pupils know how to keep themselves physically healthy and mentally well.

They learn how to keep themselves safe online in computing lessons. Pupils enthusiastically embrace the multitude of sporting activities such as swimming, boxing and tennis. Music provision is exceptional and the school uses an extensive range of national and local partners to enhance pupils' love of music and singing.

Trips to local historical sites, museums and the theatre enrich the curriculum and help pupils to understand different perspectives.

Governors fulfil their role with commitment and diligence. They monitor the school's continuous improvement closely.

This is shown by the exceptionally high-quality education that the school provides. Staff are proud to work at this school. They spoke of the high-quality training they receive which helps to inform their practice.

Staff value the consideration the school gives to their workload and well-being. Parents and carers hold the school in high regard.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The initiatives to improve pupils' rates of attendance are not having the impact that the school intends. Some pupils' low attendance means that they miss out on important learning. The school should take effective action to improve the attendance of these pupils.