Project partners - Monks Abbey Primary School

Monks Abbey Primary School

Headteacher: Mrs Vicky Johnson B. Ed. (Hons) NPQH

Monks Abbey Primary School
Monks Road
Lincoln
LN2 5PF
Telephone: 0044 (0)1522 527 705
Email: enquires@monksabbey.lincs.sch.uk

Number of children: 405
Staff: Approximately 55 (teachers and support staff)

Facilities

Monks Abbey Primary School was built in 1905 and was the first council school in Lincoln. Its two story building sits on the hill that leads to Lincoln Cathedral. When it first opened lessons were very formal and girls were taught to wash and iron clothes; skills that they would need as adults. Now our youngest children are taught through play and all children receive the same vibrant curriculum.
School opens at 8.00 am and children can come into have breakfast. We also provide a lot of after-school activities where children can take part in sports clubs, art and dance clubs as well as a child care facility where children can stay at school until 6.00pm.

Activities

The school catchment area is spread out with the majority of children coming from the side streets off Monk’s Road or the Tower Estate. We have a very mixed intake. Many of our children come from delightful backgrounds with supportive parents. A significant proportion come from more deprived families with a high rate of one parent families, unemployment, families living in bed sits etc. Many of these children lead tough lives and the families have significant problems. 27% of our children receive Free School Meals.
We have a high proportion of children on the Special Educational Needs register. In the last three years we have had a significant number of children move in to the area from abroad. 30% of our children have English as an Additional Language (EAL). Our 120 EAL children share 19 languages between them. The context that we work in means that the Comenius Regio ‘Family matters’ project is very relevant.
We have achieved a number of awards in recent years such as our Silver Arts Mark, our International School Status and our Healthy School Award.
In November 2009 we had a visit from OFSTED who found our school to be a “good school”.

Other important matters

Monks Abbey’s support for EAL children is seen to be good and many teachers from other primary schools come to visit to learn about our practice. We are also a lead school for Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning. Our staff contribute to the county wide development of personal, social, health and emotional learning.
We represent the Lincoln primary school’s on the Lincoln Children’s Partnership which ensures that all children in Lincoln are receiving a good quality education.
We currently have links with schools in Guadeloupe, Hungary, Scotland, Poland and Romania. Through our international work our children now understand that they are not just UK citizens but citizens of the world.