Amadeus Primary School

The school itself is strikingly attractive both inside and out, with light and airy rooms and spaces to play. It is also well resourced for example, there is a purpose-built IT and library suite and each classroom has its own separate quiet and messy areas. The site has been designed to be fully accessible to all members of the coimnunity it is built on one level with wide corridors and doors, and has good hygiene facilities, low dado rails to support children with visual impairments and a hearing induction loop system. 

In this section we present our findings from the case study of Amadeus School, using the main headings of the Framework for Participation. 

The formal admissions policy for Amadeus is in line with other community schools in the LA that is, all children who live locally are welcome to attend this fully inclusive school. There is no barrier to the admission of children with physical disabilities because of the high level of facilities, specialised equipment and staff expertise in the school. The school has a natural catchment area formed primarily by the housing estate in which it is located. 

The school s 2001 Ofsted report records that in that school year no permanent exclusions and three fixed term exclusions took place. However, different forms of temporary internal exclusions are used to address particular behaviour problems. For example, if a child misbehaves repeatedly during lunchtimes s/he will be sent home for lunch. One Teaching Assistant (TA) described this practice as being an inconvenience for parents , and therefore an effective way of gaining their involvement in supporting the school to address their child s behavioural concerns. 

Attendance at the school was noted in the 2001 Ofsted report as being a matter of concern, with figures for both authorised (6.1 per cent) and unauthorised (0.9 per cent) absences above the national average for that year (5.4 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively). When we visited in 2003, new pohcies and practices had been put into place for recording and monitoring absence. By 2005, attendance figures had shown some improvement (authorised absences, 5.1 per cent unauthorised, 0.8 per cent). 

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Table 6.5 Children in Year 6 at Amadeus Primary School ...

Typically for English primary schools, children at Amadeus are mainly taught in classes organised according to age (by year group), gender (a balance as far... 

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