Marist Convent School

Manor Fields Primary School Wilton Road, Salisbury, SP2 7EJ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Manor Fields is a fully inclusive school where ‘Learning for Life’ takes place across the whole-school community. Relationships at all levels are very strong and ensure that pupils and staff work together as a strong team and everyone learns together.  There have been significant improvements since the previous inspection. Consequently, all pupils now make good progress in writing and mathematics and are making rapid progress in reading by the time they leave. Pupils attending the resource base and those disabled or with special educational needs also make good progress and, in some cases, outstanding progress.  Teachers have high expectations of pupils. They plan carefully to give the right level of work so that pupils do well in each lesson. Pupils have a good understanding how to get even better, especially in mathematics.  Pupils behave well in lessons and are motivated to learn, clearly enjoying the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

interesting work that is planned for them. They say, ‘We’re great learners.’  The headteacher, senior leaders and the governing body work seamlessly together, have a clear view of the strengths of the school and good plans to continue its improvement. They are enthusiastic and ambitious with all the skills they need. Parents and carers say that their children are doing well.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teaching is not outstanding. There are not yet enough opportunities for outstanding practice to be fully shared with colleagues across the school to improve teaching further.  Some pupils do not attend regularly enough and a few are late too frequently.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team observed 20 lessons taught by seven teachers, of which three were joint observations with the headteacher. In addition, short visits were made to other lessons and inspectors listened to pupils read.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior managers, the Chair of the Governing Body, the Chair of the curriculum and staffing committee and the governor responsible for special educational needs and a group of pupils.  There were 34 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and the team took account of feedback from parents’ and carers’ questionnaires undertaken by the school.  The team looked at school documents, including data relating to assessment and pupils’ progress, planning for school improvement, monitoring of teaching and learning and records about behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Janet Dinsmore, Lead inspector Additional inspector Jonathan Shields Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller than average-sized primary school.  There is a larger than average proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and there are also pupils from service families and looked after children who receive additional government funding through pupil premium.  There is a much higher-than-average proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational needs and supported at school action plus.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action is below average.  More pupils arrive or leave the school at times other than would be normally expected.  There is a resource base with 20 places for disabled pupils and those with complex special educational needs.  The school did not meet the government’s floor standard for the attainment and progress for pupils at the end of Key Stage 2 in 2011.  There is no alternative provision.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching by increasing the proportion of outstanding lessons by: - ensuring that teachers have the skills to accelerate progress for all groups of pupils in lessons - by using observations of how well pupils are doing to restructure activities within the lesson when necessary -telling pupils exactly what to do to improve their work -teachers having more opportunities for sharing good practice through mentoring and coaching.  Strengthen work with parents and carers to improve attendance and punctuality so that all pupils benefit from the education that is provided.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 There have been significant improvements in pupils’ achievement since the previous inspection. For example, and at the end of Key Stage 2 in 2012, pupils achieved the standards expected in English and mathematics. Consequently, in 2012 the school exceeded the floor standard that it missed in 2011. This is a measure of how quickly the school is improving.  All groups of pupils now make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics from starting points which are generally below average overall. Pupils at the end of Key Stage 1 achieve above average standards in reading and the proportion of pupils achieving expected progress in mathematics has increased dramatically over the last two years.  Children make a good start in reading in the Reception class and Year 1 and use their knowledge of letters and the sounds they make well in working out how to read new words. They applied this accurately when writing lists of toys for Father Christmas and when playing and recording

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The achievement of pupils is good

their names. Pupils enjoy reading, most read regularly at home and Year 6 pupils use good reading skills when researching famous people from different religions and in an extensive choice of fiction read for pleasure.  Pupils learn to communicate well and can express their feelings and imagine the feelings of others. This was applied particularly well in Year 2 when using reading skills to decide how Mary must have felt and describing this as they learnt about the Christmas Story. They frequently talk in pairs in lessons and assembly, for example, showing good understanding of perseverance and endurance.  Pupils in Year 5 learn to write well using their imaginations to create stories about ‘Pandora’s Box’ and in Year 6 developing journalistic writing about a suspicious event that had taken place in the school playground. Information and communication technology skills are well developed using tablet computers to record photographic evidence and make notes that they later use to

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The achievement of pupils is good

write an article about the event. Pupils are also learning to write simple programs as well as using a range of equipment that utilises their programming skills.  Pupils apply their mathematical skills well, for example, pupils in Year 2 used counting and sharing skills well to determine whether there were the right number of presents in Father Christmas’s sacks. Pupils in Year 3 used their understanding of the relationship between multiplication and division well in determining how to calculate fractions of numbers.  Pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals, service families and looked after children benefit from careful use of the pupil premium to fund additional support so that they achieve as well or in some cases better than their peers. Consequently, the attainment gap (average point score) is narrowing compared with other pupils. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, who the school considers, differently abled, also make good progress

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The achievement of pupils is good

from their starting points and some pupils in the resource base make outstanding progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers use data well on what pupils can already do. Especially in mathematics they plan learning activities that are at the right level for all pupils. ‘Next steps’ are reviewed at the end of each lesson to ensure that pupils fully understand what they have learnt. Pupils are becoming increasingly skilled at assessing their own learning, indicating whether they have understood and reviewing their work against criteria that need to be included in writing. The skills of pupils who arrive at times other than would normally be expected are assessed quickly and they are given a ‘buddy’ so that they settle and continue learning.  Teachers have high expectations for pupils and set tasks that make pupils think hard. They devise interesting activities that ensure pupils are well motivated and enjoy learning. In a few lessons tasks are not adapted quickly enough and teachers lack the skills to accelerate pupils’

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The quality of teaching is good

progress more rapidly so that is maximised. Consequently, some pupils spend too long on aspects that they have already mastered. Occasionally, teachers’ guidance does not help some pupils to know exactly how to improve their work.  The topics are well planned across the whole school so that all subjects are integrated and pupils acquire new skills. They learn through meaningful experiences involving visits, for example, adventure residential and the visit of a ‘Viking’, which can be shared with everyone. In such ways the school fosters pupils’ love for learning.  Teaching assistants are well trained and deployed therefore contribute strongly to the learning in lessons. They discuss how well pupils are doing with teachers and so contribute usefully to the planning of the next lesson. They are knowledgeable about disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, working in the school and resource base to enable these pupils to be

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The quality of teaching is good

fully included in the life of the school.  All adults use questioning well, giving many opportunities for pupils to explain what they are learning. This enables pupils to understand and to develop good language and communication skills.  Learning activities are particularly well designed for individual pupils in the resource base so that they also make rapid progress in managing their social and learning behaviour. They also make good progress in acquiring skills in understanding number and developing language. There are strong links with speech and language therapists that support pupils and the training of teaching assistants.  Teachers and senior leaders use checks on how well pupils are doing well to ensure that they continue to make good progress. Meetings are held with class teachers six times each year to do this, which quickly identifies any slowing of progress so that pupils can have support in reading

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The quality of teaching is good

or mathematics so that they catch up. This support is well planned, targeted and effective.  In outstanding lessons there is a rapid pace of learning as teachers explain and question well so that pupils understand more complex concepts quickly. Investigation activities are designed so that pupils apply their previous learning well and they review what they have learnt and how they will make further progress.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behave well in lessons and are motivated to learn. They have good emotional and social awareness and there is a strong mutual respect between all members of the school community, relationships are excellent and they say that school is ‘the place to be’. Highly skilled support is provided for individuals whose circumstances make them more vulnerable so enabling them to continue at school and manage their feelings and behaviour.  Pupils report that incidents of bullying are rare, only consisting of name-calling, and are dealt with well. The school has been proactive in making pupils aware of prejudice and homophobic language so that pupils fully understand the meaning, and the harmonious atmosphere and value of each individual is maintained. Members of the governing body, pupils, parents and carers all report that behaviour has improved significantly in the last two years.  Pupils understand how to stay safe when using the internet, feel very safe at school and there

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

are good relationships with police and other supporting agencies to ensure that this is maintained.  Attendance is steadily improving but there are still a few pupils who are persistently absent or arrive late and overall attendance is below average. The school works closely with the education welfare officer and there have been some recent marked improvements for a few individual pupils. The school recognises that it needs to strengthen the partnership with a few parents and carers to raise overall attendance to an average level.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders and managers at all levels have an accurate view of how well the school is doing. Teachers’ performance is managed well through regular meetings to review pupils’ progress, lesson observations and checking pupils’ work in their books. Teachers are continually developing their skills as a result of training being closely matched to any areas of weakness that are identified. Teachers and senior staff review their teaching continually and are always looking to improve it.  The school has international links that provide opportunities for pupils to travel abroad and to learn Spanish in school. The whole curriculum is very well planned to provide stimulating experiences for pupils in all subjects so that they are very well linked and promote a good understanding of the wider world and modern Britain. Pupils report that they ‘do lots of fun things’ and ‘get to go to great places’.  School improvement plans are focused accurately on the priorities for improving pupils’

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The leadership and management are good

achievement and the progress toward these targets is checked accurately and regularly and reported to the governing body. Leadership responsibilities are shared well and the team has been effective, securing a rapid increase in progress in mathematics across the school and higher levels of achievement in reading in Key Stage 1, so that by the time pupils leave they are well prepared for the next stage of their education.  The school has received considerable support from the local authority in the past. This support has been significantly scaled down because this is now a good school. Inspectors agree. The school works effectively with a cluster of local schools and in partnership with local authority initiatives to improve standards and the sharing of good practice. Members of school staff provide valued support for colleagues in other schools relating to Key Stages 1 and 2 tests.  The school meets the statutory requirements for safeguarding and works well with a range of

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The leadership and management are good

agencies for some of the pupils facing circumstances that make them more vulnerable. The school also ensures that equality of opportunity is vigorously promoted.  Parents and carers are pleased with the work of the school and say that their children are settled and doing well. They are particularly pleased with the changes that the new headteacher has brought about and they know that they can come into school at any time. The school provides a good range of workshops to help parents and carers support their children’s learning and whole- school events when everyone can be involved.  The governance of the school: Governors contribute very well to the continuing school improvement by being fully involved in the life of the school and undertaking training when needed. They visit frequently and record their findings about teaching and pupils’ learning well so that they have an accurate picture. This enables them to check how well the school is doing and to hold it to account well; they are also

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The leadership and management are good

aware of how the school performs compared with others. They are ambitious for the school and work well to set good targets for the performance of the headteacher. They ensure that salary progression is linked to teachers’ performance. They monitor the use of pupil premium well, ensuring that all groups of pupils make good progress as well as ensuring equality of opportunity for visits and extra activities. Governors said that ‘The children and their learning are at the centre of all the school does.’

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 126625 Local authority Wiltshire Inspection number 381201

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4−11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 203 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sandie Jenkins Headteacher Jo McMorrin Date of previous school inspection 30 June – 1 July 2010 Telephone number 01722 322832 Fax number 01722 342063 Email address admin@manorfields.wilts.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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School details

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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