Abbey Infants' School

Inspection of Abbey Infants' School Cleveland Terrace, Darlington, County Durham DL3 8JA

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Inspection dates: 16 and 17 November 2022

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 16 and 17 November 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Abbey Infants is a welcoming and happy school. Staff and pupils are inspired by the school motto to ‘Aim high, Work hard, Achieve together.’ These values run through every aspect of the life of the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe because they know that adults listen to them and care about them. They learn to express their thoughts and feelings in personal, social, health and economic lessons. Pupils can also access Lego and sand therapy sessions delivered by trained members of staff.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Around the school and at breaktimes, pupils are kind and considerate. They respond to the high expectations expressed by staff. Bullying is rare and pupils are confident any concerns would be sorted out quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from the close ties with Abbey Junior School. Older pupils act as role models, supporting younger pupils in their play at lunchtime. Year 2 pupils access the junior building and know what to expect in Year 3. This helps to ensure a smooth transition.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school offers a variety of clubs such as multi-skills, French, football and dance. These are very popular and enable pupils to develop their talents and interests.

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better?

Abbey Infants and Abbey Junior school adjoin each other. One governing body and senior leadership team lead both schools. Some subject leaders are based in the junior building but lead the curriculum from early years onwards. Subject leaders are passionate about their curriculum areas. They offer training and advice to colleagues in delivering the curriculum.

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better?

The curriculum is broad, well organised and ambitious. In most subject areas, specific skills, knowledge and vocabulary have been identified and prioritised. End points and assessment activities are clear. In geography, this includes a structured approach to fieldwork. Pupils enjoy the practical approach to the subject and can recall their previous learning. In mathematics, the curriculum is designed to feature regular recaps to make learning memorable. Pupils are well prepared for their next stage in learning.

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better?

In some subjects, such as history and religious education (RE), leaders are redesigning the curriculum content. Through their monitoring, leaders have recognised that pupils are less confident in these subjects. The history leader is looking to identify subject-specific vocabulary to teach in the planned topics. The new RE curriculum is detailed and ambitious, but still in its infancy.

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better?

Leaders believe learning to read ‘unlocks the rest of the curriculum’. In early years, children develop their language and listening skills through songs, rhymes and 16 and 17 November 2022

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interaction with adults. Leaders have made sure that staff have the expertise to deliver the new phonics programme. Daily phonics sessions are taught consistently well. The books that pupils read are closely matched to the sounds that they know. Pupils who fall behind are given the right support to get them back on track. Pupils learn to read fluently and develop a love of reading. They have opportunities to read for pleasure and enjoy their daily story time sessions.

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The number of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) attending this school has increased in recent years. Pupils join the school from a range of different nurseries. Leaders work with the nurseries to find out about pupils’ individual needs. This helps them to make sure that the right support is put in place. Pupils throughout school develop well socially and academically. Teachers make adaptations so that pupils with SEND can access the curriculum. A personalised curriculum is in place for some pupils with a high level of need.

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Leaders promote pupils’ personal development well. Leaders enrich the curriculum by inviting a variety of visitors into school. Pupils also visit places of interest such as the local mosque, Raby Castle and Hardwick Park. Pupils are taught how to keep physically and mentally healthy. Through assemblies, they learn about fundamental British values. Pupils hear stories about inspirational people and reflect on how they can further improve their own actions.

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Pupils behave well, particularly in early years. The children in Reception have learned the class and lunchtime routines well. They enjoy receiving praise for their positive actions. Leaders have systems in place to follow up any pupil absence. Pupils’ attendance is good.

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Members of the governing body are well informed about the strengths of the curriculum and the areas to develop. They ask pertinent questions when challenging senior leaders and undertake various monitoring roles. Staff appreciate the efforts of senior leaders to reduce their workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that pupils learn about online and offline risks. Leaders regularly update parents with newsletters about online safety and parental controls on electronic devices.

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Safeguarding

Staff are fully aware of the school’s safeguarding procedures and receive up-to-date training on child protection issues. Leaders work with partner agencies to support pupils and families who are in need.

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Safeguarding

Senior leaders who oversee staff recruitment ensure a rigorous selection policy is followed. Thorough checks are made prior to new staff joining the school. 16 and 17 November 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The previous RE curriculum based on the locally agreed syllabus lacked sufficient detail and ambition. As a result, pupils have a limited understanding of faith and the religions they have studied. Leaders should fully implement the new RE curriculum and ensure that this is embedded in the school. Staff require further training to enable this. Leaders should also identify any gaps in pupils’ learning from previous years and include opportunities to catch up in the new curriculum.  In the majority of subjects, leaders have identified the knowledge they want pupils to learn and when. In some subjects, such as history, teachers do not know precisely what should be taught. Leaders should ensure that teachers know the exact content leaders want pupils to learn.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, 'disadvantaged pupils' refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 16 and 17 November 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10229019 Type of school Infant

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Information about this school

 This is one of the two schools that form the Federation of Abbey Schools Academy Trust.  The two schools share members of staff, including senior leaders.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors met with the headteacher, deputy headteachers, the SEND coordinator and the early years leader.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in four subjects: reading, mathematics, history and geography. To do this, they met with curriculum leaders, visited lessons, looked at pupils’ work, listened to pupils read and met with teachers and pupils. Inspectors also looked at curriculum documentation. 16 and 17 November 2022

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 To inspect safeguarding, the lead inspector scrutinised the single central record and reviewed safeguarding paperwork and systems. The inspectors spoke to leaders, teachers, support staff, governors and pupils. The lead inspector met representatives of the local governing body.  The lead inspector met with the trust representatives, including the chief executive officer.  Responses to the pupil, parent and staff surveys were also taken into consideration.

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Inspection team

Mary Cook, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Lynn Chambers Ofsted Inspector 16 and 17 November 2022

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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