Ofsted
Pre inspection report
Ofsted inspection report
We had our first Ofsted inspection on 28th and 29th February 2024. It gives me great pleasure to inform you that the Ofsted inspection team have judged Abbey View to be a ‘Good’ school. This is our first Ofsted inspection since opening in September 2019 and the comments in the report tell us that we are heading in the right direction on our journey to outstanding. We were incredibly close to receiving an overall 'Outstanding' judgement, but due to meeting eighteen out of the twenty objectives in the 'Quality of Education' section, we marginally missed this grading – please see table below for further details. With the current Ofsted framework for inspection, the 'Overall effectiveness' grading of schools cannot be any higher than the 'Quality of Education' grading.
We consider this as an excellent achievement for the academy particularly at a time when the benchmark for ‘Outstanding’ is at the highest level it has ever been. In the year 2022-2023 only 13% of state-funded schools were judged to be outstanding. https://schoolsweek.co.uk/schools-improving-send-failings-and-ap-misuse-9-ofsted-annual-report-findings/. We are extremely proud of this positive outcome which is a testament to the care, hard work and commitment of all our staff, the support of our parents and carers, and of course, a celebration of our wonderful children who absolutely shone during the whole inspection process.
I am delighted that the hard work undertaken by academy leaders including, staff at all levels and pupils has been recognised, including the positive comments regarding our ethos and values, culture of mutual respect, provision for pupils’ wider personal development, exemplary behaviour and prioritisation of reading strategies to ensure pupils catch-up. The staff, and parent surveys showed the support for the academy which was a real strength during this inspection.
Please take the time to read the inspection report in full, as it evidences that Abbey View is not only good, but we are an academy that continuously strives to improve and excel through our high expectations. The report itself highlights the many elements of effective provision at Abbey View, as well the one next step needed to take the academy forward. What is very satisfying is that the next step identified by Ofsted was already within our Academy improvement plan prior to this inspection, and the associated adaptations have already been implemented.
Summary evaluation of the 5 different areas inspected are as follows:
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The Quality of Education In order for the ‘Quality of Education’ to be outstanding, we had to meet all the objectives in the ‘Good’ criteria securely and consistently. Out of the 20 objectives in the ‘Good’ criteria, we fully met 18 and partially met 2. Both of these objectives were around pupils not securing important facts into their long-term memory in a small number of subjects (Art and History). The inspectors spoke to a small number of children who were unable to demonstrate that prior learning has been retained |
Good |
| Behaviour and Attitudes | Outstanding |
| Personal Development | Outstanding |
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Leadership and Management In order for the ‘Leadership and Management’ judgment to be ‘Outstanding’, we had to meet all the ‘Good’ criteria. Out of the 9 objectives, we met 8 securely and one was partially met. This was due to the one point the inspectors raised in the ‘Quality of Education’ re: long term memory in a small number of subjects (Art and History) |
Good |
| Early Years Provision | Outstanding |
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Overall Effectiveness Due to the ‘Good’ grade for the ‘Quality of Education’ and ‘Leadership and Management’, the academy has been judged as ‘Good’ |
Good |
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Next Step: Ofsted have only given Abbey View one point to focus upon: The school needs to strengthen retrieval practice in a small number of subjects, to check that prior learning has been retained, and so ensure pupils know and remember more over time. |
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Danielle Short, our Chair of the Academy Committee, in offering her congratulations, stated that:
“The Trustees and Academy Committee Reps are very proud of the dedication the team at Abbey View show every day to improve the lives of the pupils in the academy and this Ofsted report is a fantastic acknowledgement of the impact of this hard work.”
I look forward to working with staff, students, parents, and trustees to achieve the next steps in our journey. Many thanks for your continued support; as ever we will continue to work hard to take the academy forwards onto the next stage of its journey. I would also like to thank all staff and pupils for their efforts during this inspection, the time leading up to the inspection, and the ongoing performance of the academy.
Should you have any queries or concerns, I would urge you to contact the academy office who will then be able to direct you to the relevant person, to discuss any matters further.
