WHEN staff at Firthmoor Primary School use the phrase "value-added", it's clear that the currency of education means more to them than most.

The dedicated teachers recently landed an Excellence in Performance award from Darlington Borough Council after the school raced up the standards tables.

The key to the achievement is a vast improvement in value-added scores - the criteria which charts the progress of a child's education from day one.

And by the time pupils at Firthmoor reach 11, the vast majority have exceeded all reasonable expectations.

"The 'value-added' system is about measuring how much the child has improved since the start of school," said Ann Dixon, Firthmoor's deputy headteacher.

"You can predict at the age of seven how that child will develop by the age of 11 and, if the child does better than predicted, our score improves.

"Sometimes, the children's communication skills are not there when they first join us, but we have worked together with specialists to make sure that speech and language is improved.

"Oral literacy is fundamental to everything we do. The children can't read a good story until they can tell one.

"Value-added takes into context the socio-economic background of the pupils, and, from a low base line, we are moving forward at a greater rate than other schools that get better overall scores.

"Working in partnership with the parents has got the best results."

Another Firthmoor award-winner was Dawn Kilpatrick - the newly-crowned Teaching Assistant of the Year in Darlington borough.

A familiar face to pupils and parents, she keeps an eye on all the goings-on in the playground.

"Dawn has done lots of work to improve our attendance record and punctuality," said Mrs Dixon.

"She stands at the school gates every morning, which means she's high profile, and she makes good contacts with parents. If a child is absent, she's straight on the phone to find out why.

"We are always striving to improve attendance. You can never get 100 per cent, but we are getting better all the time.

"Dawn has made such a difference."

Another innovative scheme used by Firthmoor is the school council system, which aims to give pupils a sense of responsibility by getting them involved in the day-to-day running of the school.

Children are appointed as "buddies" - the modern equivalent of the prefect system - with pupils charged with special tasks to keep their classes running smoothly.

"The system works really well," said Mrs Dixon.

"Children are given a rota of tasks to work through, and older children are given younger ones to look after. Not only does it mean that the younger child is safe, but it gives the older child a sense of responsibility.

"It's seen as a privilege to be offered the role, and nobody is excluded from it. Even the most challenging pupils are involved, and it's a job they don't want to lose.

"Our policy is that we always give a child a fresh start every day. They respond brilliantly to the added responsibility."

And the future for Firthmoor Primary looks bright, with a packed enrolment quota for the next year a glowing endorsement of the staff's good work.

"Our numbers are increasing and, hopefully, that's because of our success," said Mrs Dixon.

"It's all down to very good teamwork by the staff, and we have excellent teaching assistants and class assistants.

"We're confident we will keep on improving over the next few years."