Manor Primary Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The quality of education has declined since the last inspection.

Pupils are not doing as well as they could, particularly in reading. Leaders are now taking the right action to improve how well pupils are learning. However, expectations of what pupils can achieve are still not high enough.

Pupils are happy to come to the school. This is because they are safe and well looked after by the staff. Pupils are confident that staff will help them with any concerns they have.

Pupils know what bullying is and they are confident that staff will deal with it if it happens. Pupils have a good understanding of how to stay safe, including on the internet.

There ar...e positive relationships throughout the school.

Pupils show respect to adults and get along well with each other. Behaviour is good in lessons and as pupils move around the school. Pupils play well together at break and lunchtime.

Pupils understand and are proud to model the school's values. These are: manners, aspiration, nurture, open-mindedness and resilience. All staff unite to ensure pupils' personal development is a priority.

Pupils have a very good understanding of the importance of physical and mental health.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders and governors are focusing on the right things to improve the quality of education. The governing body has been strengthened since the last full inspection.

Governors provide highly appropriate support and challenge to leaders. They are ambitious for the school's success.

Pupils experience a broad curriculum.

Until recently the curriculum was not sufficiently organised. Therefore, pupils have not been able to build and deepen their knowledge well enough. New plans for subjects, including history, geography and art, are sequenced well through each key stage.

These plans are not yet being implemented successfully. This is because teachers' expectations of the most able pupils, particularly in key stage 2, are not high enough. In science and religious education (RE), the planned sequence of learning does not help pupils to remember what they have learned in the past.

Teachers have recently had training in science, but this was too recent to have yet had any impact on the quality of education.

Phonics is taught well in key stage 1. Pupils read books matched to the sounds they know.

They practise reading daily to become more fluent. Assessment information is used to provide effective support to pupils at risk of falling behind.

Leaders have introduced strategies to promote a love of reading and to raise standards.

Pupils now read a wide variety of books. Teachers develop pupils' reading skills using high-quality texts.They now have high expectations that pupils will understand and use ambitious vocabulary.

However, the most able pupils are not sufficiently challenged. This affects the amount of progress some pupils make.

Leaders have identified that some pupils make repeated errors with basic punctuation and spelling.

This prevents some pupils from reaching the standards of which they are capable in writing, although there are signs of improvement in pupils' books.

Pupils do better in mathematics. The curriculum is well sequenced to build pupils' knowledge.

There are effective systems in place to provide extra support for pupils who are at risk of falling behind.

Teachers know the barriers that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) face. This group of pupils are supported well to access tasks within the classroom.

Pupils with SEND receive extra support to help them to catch up with their classmates, particularly in mathematics.

Children in the early years are safe and happy. Relationships are warm and positive.

Children enjoy learning in a bright and well-organised environment. Children like to learn outside, where they have opportunities to explore and investigate. Adults ensure that reading, writing and mathematics are priorities in the early years.

However, expectations of what children can do are not sufficiently high. Some children are not as focused as they should be during activity time because they do not know how to complete the set tasks. This means that not all children do as well as they could.

Pupils are keen to have responsibilities. These include school councillor, house and vice-captain, sports leader and eco-ninja. This helps them to develop an understanding of democracy and the importance of working as a team to help others.

Staff find leaders and governors supportive. They value the professional development opportunities they have, particularly over the last year. Most parents and carers are positive about the school.

They say that their children are safe and happy.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff receive up-to-date training about how to keep children safe.

They know what action to take if they have any concerns about a child's welfare. Leaders know what to do and who to contact at the local authority's children's services if they need advice or extra support. Leaders make sure they carry out all the necessary checks on staff before they start work at the school.

Pupils learn about risks to their own safety. They learn about road, water and fire safety and the risks that strangers can pose. Older pupils learn about what safe relationships are.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

Pupils in key stage 2 are not making enough progress to reach the standards of which they are capable in reading. This is because teachers do not have sufficiently high expectations of what the most able pupils can do. Leaders should ensure that they carefully check how well their plans to address this are being implemented.

. Some pupils make repeated errors with punctuation and spelling. Leaders should ensure that teachers consistently tackle this, so that pupils reach the standards of which they are capable in writing.

. Leaders have introduced new plans in subjects including history, geography and art. These plans are well sequenced and aim to build pupils' knowledge and skills.

However, these have only recently been introduced, and not all pupils are yet benefiting from this approach. Leaders and teachers must build on this work to ensure that all pupils, particularly the most able, are being challenged sufficiently. .

In Science and RE, curriculum plans are not sequenced well enough to enable pupils to build and remember knowledge. Leaders should complete the work they have started to improve the curriculum plans, so that pupils achieve the best possible outcomes in these subjects. .

Children in the early years do not achieve as well as they could. This is because expectations of what they can do are not high enough. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum meets the needs of all children and builds successfully on what they already know and can do.