Manor Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at this school. They make friends easily and get on well together.

They said that staff are caring and kind. Pupils are confident that staff will listen to their concerns. They told inspectors that staff do their best to help them to overcome any difficulties.

Leaders deal with bullying quickly and effectively. This helps pupils to feel safe. Pupils are polite and respectful towards staff and each other.

Pupils live up to leaders' high expectations for their behaviour. Typically, pupils behave well in lessons. They conduct themselves well around the school.

Pupils enjoy choosing books from the school's libraries. Pupils participate i...n a variety of events to support local charities. They take on a range of responsibilities within the school, including becoming a head boy or girl, a prefect or a play leader.

Pupils typically try their best in lessons. They aim to live up to leaders' high expectations for their learning and achievement. While children in the early years learn well, pupils in key stages 1 and 2 do not achieve as well as they should in some subjects.

This is because teachers do not design learning activities that help pupils to remember new knowledge over time. Some pupils do not have sufficiently firm foundations on which to build.

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

Leaders and governors are acting with determination to tackle the long-standing weaknesses in the quality of education that pupils receive at the school.

They are making some headway. However, some of the essential changes that are required to improve pupils' learning are new, for example the systems to check how well pupils are retaining new knowledge. It is too early to see the impact of these changes on how well some pupils achieve.

By the end of key stage 2, some pupils underachieve in a range of subjects, including writing and mathematics.

More recently, leaders have developed an ambitious curriculum for pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). In most subjects, leaders have given careful thought to the knowledge that they want pupils to learn and the order in which to teach this new information.

Leaders have also taken effective steps to make sure that the curriculum builds from the early years to Year 6. Despite this, due to the weaknesses in the previous curriculum, some pupils have large gaps in their learning.

Typically, teachers have secure subject knowledge.

They explain new learning well, and they check that pupils understand what is being discussed during lessons. However, leaders' systems for assessing how well pupils are learning new topics and concepts are at a very early stage of development. As a result, some teachers do not know enough about what pupils can recall from previous lessons.

This means that some pupils do not have a secure enough base on which to build new learning. Furthermore, there are times when teachers omit to teach important aspects of the curriculum. Some teachers also do not choose the most appropriate tasks to help pupils to learn new information.

This hampers pupils' progress through the curriculum. It does not help pupils to build on their knowledge over time.Reading is central to the school's curriculum.

Children in the Nursery Year develop their vocabulary and listening skills well. The teaching of phonics starts as soon as children join the Reception Year. Leaders have implemented an ambitious curriculum that introduces pupils to phonics in a systematic way.

Staff deliver this curriculum well, and they assess pupils' reading skills accurately. Teachers ensure that pupils learn phonics in a well-ordered manner. Adults quickly identify any pupils at risk of falling behind in their phonics knowledge.

Staff give these pupils timely and effective support.

Teachers provide lots of opportunities for pupils to read or to listen to stories. This improves pupils' knowledge and understanding of vocabulary.

In key stage 2, well-designed reading sessions expose pupils to lots of different types of books. Pupils talked with enthusiasm about the books that they have read. This has helped to promote pupils' love of reading.

Over time, most pupils develop into confident and fluent readers.Children in the early years, including in the Nursery Year, get off to a flying start. They listen carefully to adults' instructions.

They get on with learning with few interruptions to their lessons. Children enjoy a well-thought-out curriculum that meets their learning needs. As a result, children are well prepared to embrace the demands of the key stage 1 curriculum.

Leaders successfully identify and assess those pupils who need extra support with their learning, including pupils with SEND. They make sure that pupils with SEND access the same lessons as other pupils. However, some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they should.

They too have gaps in their learning.Overall, pupils enjoy learning. They move around the school calmly and sensibly.

They conduct themselves well in lessons and have positive attitudes to learning. Pupils' attendance has improved over time. However, a small number of pupils miss out on their learning because they do not attend school regularly enough.

Pupils learn how they can maintain a healthy lifestyle and how to keep themselves physically and mentally healthy. During 'Thoughtful Thursday' sessions, pupils reflect on how they can be responsible, respectful citizens. They access a wide range of extra-curricular activities.

However, pupils do not have enough opportunities to explore in sufficient depth different cultures, religions or beliefs. Nevertheless, leaders are well on their way to tackling this weakness.

Governors are asking increasingly challenging questions to ensure that the quality of education improves for pupils.

Leaders and governors also take care to manage staff's workload and well-being. Governors ensure that the senior leaders are well cared for. Overall, staff morale is high.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff have regular training in safeguarding procedures, and they are well aware of their responsibilities to protect pupils from harm. Adults know what to do if they have any concerns about a pupil.

They make timely referrals to leaders who act on these swiftly.

Staff know pupils and their families well. They are alert to any changes in pupils' behaviour that may indicate a potential issue.

Leaders work with families and a range of external agencies to identify and manage any potential safeguarding concerns.

Pupils appreciate the support that they receive from their teachers. They understand how to keep themselves safe, including when online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Pupils do not achieve as well as they should by the end of key stage 2. Some current pupils, including those with SEND, continue to have gaps in their knowledge of different subjects. Leaders should ensure that they adapt the delivery of the curriculum to address the gaps that pupils have in their knowledge, skills and understanding of different subjects.

• Some teachers do not deliver the curriculum as intended. Occasionally, they omit to teach important information, and some teachers do not design learning activities that fully meet pupils' needs. This hinders how well pupils learn.

Leaders must ensure that teachers deliver all the essential information that has been identified in each curriculum area. They must also ensure that teachers choose the most appropriate pedagogical activities to fully meet pupils' learning needs. ? Leaders' systems for assessing how well pupils are learning are underdeveloped.

As a result, some pupils do not have secure enough foundations on which to build new learning. Leaders should ensure that the systems that they use to check how well pupils are learning knowledge are fully effective. ? Some pupils do not attend school regularly enough.

This prevents them from experiencing all that the curriculum has to offer. For some pupils, missing school also widens the gaps that they have in their knowledge of different subjects. Leaders should improve the attendance rates of those pupils who fail to attend school as often as they should.