Abbots Hall Primary School

Inspection of Abbots Hall Primary Academy Abbotts Drive, Stanford-le-Hope, Essex SS17 7BW

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Early years provision Outstanding Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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The headteacher of this school is Jack Arnold. This school is a single-academy trust. The trust is overseen by a board of governors, chaired by Rita Garner. 29 and 30 April 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils thrive at this happy and welcoming school. The nurturing relationships between staff and pupils shine through. As a result, pupils feel happy and safe here. Pupils are proud of their school and display the ‘Abbots Hall core values’ of confidence, resilience, courage, respect, compassion and responsibility.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), enjoy their learning. They strive to meet the high expectation and ambition that the school has set for their achievement. Across the curriculum, many pupils achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. They are considerate and polite. Rewards, such as tokens given for upholding the school’s values, encourage good behaviour. They motivate pupils to adhere to the school’s rules. Throughout the school, there is a calm and purposeful atmosphere.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The provision for pupils’ wider development is a strength. Pupils take pleasure in the varied opportunities on offer, such as art and crafts, dance and sports. These activities develop pupils’ interests and talents exceptionally well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers are delighted with the safe and nurturing environment that the school provides. Comments such as ‘they truly value every child’ and ‘the school has such a warm and positive atmosphere’ were typical.

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

The school has placed a sharp focus on ensuring that the curriculum is broad and ambitious. Across the curriculum, the school has chosen the most important knowledge it wants pupils to learn. This gives clarity to teachers, who know what to teach and when to teach it. Teachers regularly check how well pupils have learned this new information. Consequently, pupils remember their learning well over time. Teachers have secure subject knowledge. They explain new learning clearly and logically.

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

However, at times work is not adapted as well as it could be, to ensure that pupils securely build on prior learning. This means that, sometimes, gaps in learning or misconceptions are not identified or addressed by teachers. As a result, in some lessons, some pupils do not learn as well as they could.

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

Children in the early years benefit from an excellent start to their education. The school works diligently to identify children’s needs as soon as they begin. This ensures that they receive timely and tailored support. Children benefit from a highly ambitious curriculum that develops their interests. They are highly motivated as a result and eager to join in. For example, children in the Nursery can confidently identify the minibeasts that they find. This approach enables children to develop strong skills in English and mathematics.

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

Reading is prioritised and taught well. The school wastes no time in providing effective, extra support for any pupils who are not keeping up with the school’s programme. Pupils 29 and 30 April 2025

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continue to read and analyse high-quality texts, which they use to inform and shape their writing.

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The school has effective processes to identify and support pupils with SEND. It seeks and provides specialist support where appropriate. Additional needs are swiftly identified, and effective support is put in place. For example, the school’s additional support provision, the ‘Luxembourg Class’, provides a bespoke curriculum within a small, nurturing environment. This provision supports pupils well in developing their early communication, language and social skills.

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Pupils’ positive attitudes to their education ensure that learning is rarely disrupted. This respectful behaviour means that classrooms are purposeful and productive. The school has rightly made pupils’ attendance a key priority. It has a clear picture of pupils’ individual circumstances, including the reasons which might cause higher rates of absence. The school has a range of effective systems in place that support and challenge issues with attendance.

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The school’s programme for pupils’ personal development is exceptional. It is integral to its work. Opportunities to expand and develop pupils’ interests are abundant and open to everyone. Residentials and other trips are planned carefully. For example, the trip to Norfolk is a firm favourite, at which pupils build their resilience and perseverance. Pupils talk with great enthusiasm about the chances they have to develop their leadership skills through the school’s ‘future citizens programme’. They relish the numerous roles and responsibilities afforded to them, which include ‘play rangers’ and ‘IT technicians’. Pupils learn how to become thoughtful young people who respect and promote equality and diversity within the world in which they live.

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Staff are proud to work at the school. They feel supported by leaders. The school accurately understands what it does well and what needs to improve. Those responsible for governance provide effective support. They fulfil their statutory duties well.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Sometimes, the tasks that pupils are given to complete are not appropriately adapted to the needs of the pupils. This means some pupils do not achieve as well as they could and can develop misconceptions and gaps in their understanding. The school should ensure that teachers provide pupils with appropriately adapted tasks so that they can build on prior learning and secure their skills and knowledge effectively. 29 and 30 April 2025

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How can I feed back my views?

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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked-after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 29 and 30 April 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 10 and 11 December 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 A new headteacher was appointed in January 2022.  The school does not use alternative provision.  The school runs breakfast and after-school provision.  Since the last inspection, the school has increased its published admissions number from thirty to sixty.  Since the previous inspection, the school has taken over the running of the on-site nursery and provides nursery provision for two-year-olds.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth-form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade. 29 and 30 April 2025

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors spoke to the headteacher and other school leaders.  The lead inspector met with three members of the school’s governing body, including the chair of governors.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history and religious education. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculum, visited lessons and looked at samples of pupils’ work in some other subjects.

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 To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s staff survey and Ofsted Parent view, including the free-text responses.  The inspectors spoke with pupils and observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons and at social times.

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Inspection team

Joseph Figg, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Paul Fykin Ofsted Inspector 29 and 30 April 2025

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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 looked- after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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