Abbott Community Primary School

Inspection Report Abbott Community Primary School

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105387 Unique Reference Number Manchester Local Authority 287215 Inspection number 6 March 2007 Inspection date Arthur Markham Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Livesey Street School address Primary Type of school Collyhurst Community School category Manchester M40 7PR 3 °11 Age range of pupils 0161 8349529 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0161 8349529 Fax number 205 Number on roll (school) Mr W Hattersley Chair The governing body Appropriate authority Ms H Riley Headteacher 25 June 2001 Date of previous school inspection

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Inspection number Inspection date Age group 287215 6 March 2007 3 °11 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

This average sized school serves an area with a high degree of social deprivation. Two thirds of the pupils claim free school meals, which is well above average. The percentage of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is above that in most schools and there are 25 pupils in the early stages of learning English. The pupils' attainment on entry to the school is very low, particularly in relation to their language development; the proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is about average, although the number of such pupils has increased in recent years. The number of pupils joining and leaving the school throughout the year is greater than that in most schools.The school is part of the North East Manchester Excellence in Cities Action Zone, has been awarded the Activemark, and has Healthy School status.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Abbott Community Primary School, 6 March 2007

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Grade: 1

Abbott Community Primary is an outstanding school, which gives excellent value for money. It is extremely well led and managed and there is a strong focus on ensuring that pupils receive a broad and rich education that enables each individual to succeed. Parents rate the school highly and value the outstanding level of care provided for their children. Comments such as, 'Abbott is an excellent school, where children feel safe and secure' typify the views of parents. Pupils enjoy very positive relations with staff and say they feel confident that there is someone they could go to if they needed help. A strong feature of the school is the way that it fosters pupils' personal development. Staff work hard to develop pupils' self-esteem well so that they become confident learners. Pupils become increasingly mature and responsible as they move up through the school. Their behaviour is exemplary; they are courteous, polite and

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Grade: 1

show care and concern for others. For example, older pupils carry out their roles as 'Special Friends' enthusiastically and well. Pupils have a very good awareness of the importance of healthy lifestyles and participate in physical activities enthusiastically. They are pleased that their views are taken into account through the work of the school council, talking eagerly about the improvements that have been made to lunchtime activities by the provision of play equipment. Pupils say they thoroughly enjoy school and really like their teachers, 'They are fantastic' is a view shared by many. The quality of teaching is outstanding and pupils enjoy a rich and stimulating curriculum. Consequently, pupils work hard and strive to do their best. They present their work neatly and have extremely positive attitudes to learning. Children get off to a good start in the Foundation Stage. Within this good provision close attention is given to providing a rich range of activities in a warm,

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Grade: 1

caring and secure environment so that children quickly develop good learning habits. Most children make rapid progress, but do not reach the standards expected nationally by the time they leave Reception. Throughout Years 1 to 6, pupils respond well to the teachers' high expectations and strive to do well. Although many pupils start school with low level skills, particularly in language, they make excellent progress and reach above average standards by the time they leave the school. Standards in mathematics and science are particularly good, but many pupils have difficulties with writing and, as a result, standards in English, particularly writing, are not as high. A major factor in the success of the school is the determined leadership of the headteacher and the committed support she receives from all staff. Their commitment to raise standards by providing pupils with wide range of learning experiences has

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Grade: 1

successfully resulted in the creation of a rich learning environment in which pupils thrive. They are very well supported in their endeavours by a committed and effective governing body who carry out their responsibilities well. Consequently, leadership and management are outstanding. Great care is taken to meet the differing needs of all pupils. Their progress is continually checked in order that action can be taken to tackle any underachievement. Management systems are very well organised and consequently the school has an accurate view of areas for further development, although it has underestimated its overall effectiveness. There has been good improvement since the 2 Inspection Report: Abbott Community Primary School, 6 March 2007 last inspection, and, taking into account the strong leadership of the headteacher, the teamwork evident in the school and the effective support provided by governors, there

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Grade: 1

is an outstanding capacity for further improvement.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise the standards in writing to a similar level to those achieved in mathematics and science.

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Grade: 1

Achievement is outstanding. Lively and effective teaching enables pupils to make excellent progress from their low level skills on entry to the school. From an early age, pupils develop good learning habits and enjoy their learning because activities are well planned to meet their needs. They make a good start in the Foundation Stage, especially in their social, emotional and physical development, but most do not reach the standards expected for their age in language and literacy and mathematics. In Years 1 to 6, a rich and stimulating curriculum engages pupils, who consequently are very enthusiastic and make very good progress in lessons. By the end of Year 2, standards in reading, writing and mathematics are still below those expected and have declined in recent years as a result of steadily rising numbers of pupils having additional learning needs. However, by the end of Year 6, standards are above average overall. The school's

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Grade: 1

performance in national tests fluctuates because of the small numbers of pupils in year groups, but in recent years, it has often been significantly above average in mathematics and science. Standards in English are not as high because pupils writing skills are adversely affected by their limited language skills when they enter the school.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' personal development and well-being, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, are outstanding. Pupils develop very positive attitudes to learning because teaching is lively and activities are exciting and well matched to their needs.They consequently really enjoy school. Attendance has recently improved as a result of the school's determined efforts and is now similar to that in most schools. Pupils say they feel safe in school and know what to do if they have any concerns. They develop increasing confidence as they progress through the school and work together well on shared tasks in lessons. They enthusiastically undertake a range of responsibilities and show care and concern for others, for example, when older pupils listen to younger pupils read in their work as 'Reading Buddies'. Their well developed personal attributes and excellent achievement in basic skills prepare them well for the

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Grade: 1

next stage in their schooling. 3 Inspection Report: Abbott Community Primary School, 6 March 2007

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Grade: 1

The high achievement of pupils is a result of the outstanding quality of teaching and learning in the school. Teachers know exactly where pupils are up to and have high expectations of what they can achieve. Lessons are meticulously planned and move along at a fast pace. Clear explanations and well targeted questioning ensure that pupils understand what they have to do. Pupils consequently work very hard and obviously gain great pleasure from learning. The use of talking partners and small group work enables pupils to share ideas and develop their understanding very effectively. Pupils respond well to the useful comments on how to improve their work that teachers make when marking their work. Teaching assistants work in close partnership with teachers and make a very positive contribution to learning in the school. They enable those pupils with additional learning needs and those learning English as an additional language to make excellent progress.

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Grade: 1

The school's outstanding curriculum generates a desire to learn in pupils and meets their needs very well. Provision in the Foundation Stage is very good with strong emphasis placed on developing children's personal skills and enabling them to make choices to develop their independence. Throughout the school, close attention is given to the basic skills and the development of effective links between subjects makes learning relevant and interesting. The keen focus on personal, social, health and citizenship education is reflected in the pupils' outstanding personal development. The pupils' very good awareness of the need for healthy lifestyles is reflected in the school's achievement of the Activemark and the Healthy Schools Award. Visits to places of interest, residential experiences and visitors to school enrich the curriculum and add greatly to pupils' enjoyment of learning. A varied programme of after-school

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Grade: 1

activities makes a very good contribution to pupils' enjoyment and achievement.

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Grade: 1

Parents say they are extremely impressed by the outstanding level of care, guidance and support provided for their children. They feel extremely welcome in school and are very strongly encouraged to be involved in their children's education. They appreciate greatly the staff's warm and caring approach which ensures that pupils feel safe and secure. Pupils say they would happily go to one of the 'Special Friends' or a member of staff if they had any problems or concerns. Child protection procedures are in place. Supervision during playtimes and lunchtimes is good and careful attention is paid to health and safety issues. The academic guidance given to pupils is good. Assessment information is used very well to ensure that pupils are set challenging 4 Inspection Report: Abbott Community Primary School, 6 March 2007 targets and tracking procedures ensure that any underachieving are quickly identified and their needs met. The use of developmental comments in the marking of pupils'

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Grade: 1

work successfully helps pupils understand what they need to do to improve. Systems for supporting pupils who have learning difficulties and those at an early stage of learning English are very good. Secure arrangements for the pupils' transfer to the next stage of their schooling ensure that this happens smoothly.

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Grade: 1

The exceptionally strong leadership of the headteacher, very effectively supported by the deputy headteacher and senior staff, is a major factor in the success of the school. A strong team approach is clearly evident with all staff carrying out their management responsibilities enthusiastically and very effectively. The school works closely with parents who are very positive about the quality of education provided for their children. Effective self-evaluation procedures ensure that the school has a good awareness of the areas in need of development. Performance management is used well and is closely linked to priorities in the improvement plan in order to support the raising of standards. The governors fulfil their responsibilities well. They are very supportive of the school and have a good awareness of its strengths and areas for development. 5 Inspection Report: Abbott Community Primary School, 6 March 2007

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Grade: 1

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Abbott Community Primary School, 6 March 2007

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Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

1 How well do learners achieve? 2 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The behaviour of learners 3 The attendance of learners 1 How well learners enjoy their education 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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and interests of learners?

1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 7 Inspection Report: Abbott Community Primary School, 6 March 2007

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 8 Inspection Report: Abbott Community Primary School, 6 March 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

It was a pleasure to visit your school to find out how well you are learning. Thank you for being so friendly and talking to me. I very much enjoyed my day with you and listening to what you had to say. I agree with what many of you told me that Abbott Community Primary is an excellent school. I think your school is a very welcoming place and I was very impressed at the way that it is always trying to improve so that you do well. I particularly liked the warm and friendly atmosphere and the way the staff take good care of you so that you feel safe and happy. This was very clear to me because many of you told me how much you like your teachers and enjoy school. I was also very impressed by the mature approach you have to your learning and how hard you work for your teachers. This is the main reason that you make such good progress and achieve so well. I was also pleased to see how well you behave in lessons and around the

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

school and how older pupils take care of the younger ones. Your awareness of the importance of a healthy diet and how to keep fit and healthy was clearly evident when I talked to some of you at lunchtime. Thank you for helping me so much with the inspection of your school. Your headteacher and the staff work hard to give you a good education so that you achieve well. I have asked them to help you to improve your writing by setting you work that really stretches you in order that you reach even higher standards in English. I hope that you will continue to work hard in school and help the teachers so that Abbott Community Primary becomes an even better school. 9 Inspection Report: Abbott Community Primary School, 6 March 2007

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