Manorbrook Primary School

Manorbrook Primary School Park Road, Thornbury, Bristol, BS35 1JW

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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.  The quality of teaching is usually good and some is outstanding, so that most pupils make good progress in their learning.  The excellent experiences that children enjoy in the Reception class mean that they have the very best start to their time at Manorbrook Primary.  Teaching assistants are very skilled and make a valuable contribution to pupils’ learning through the support they provide.  Reading is given high priority and consistently good teaching in this subject results in high standards throughout the school.  Pupils’ behaviour is consistently good and pupils feel safe in school. The school value of ‘respect’ is seen in action through pupils’ politeness, good manners and relationships with each other and with adults.  Leaders and the governing body are ambitious for their school and understand what needs to be done to make it even better.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because:

 There is not yet enough excellent teaching in the school to ensure that achievement is outstanding.  Information about how well pupils are doing is not always used quickly enough to identify those who need extra help to catch up with their peers.  In mathematics, teachers do not always assess fully enough whether pupils have a clear understanding of all the concepts they need to apply in their independent work.  Teachers do not always give pupils time to put into practice the advice they give them when marking their books.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in 15 lessons and parts of lessons.  Discussions were held with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, other leaders in school, members of the governing body, a representative of the local authority, parents and carers, and pupils.  Inspectors took account of 45 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) as well as the views of parents and carers in the playground.  Information about how school leaders know how good the school is and their plans for making it better, as well as assessment information, minutes of meetings of the governing body, teachers’ plans, pupils’ work and safeguarding procedures, were examined.  Inspectors analysed 20 questionnaires completed by staff.

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Inspection team

Jeanne Simpson, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Lesley Voaden Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Manorbrook is a smaller than the average-sized primary school.  A new deputy headteacher has been appointed since the last inspection.  About one in six pupils is eligible for the pupil premium, which is additional funding provided for children in local authority care, children of service families and those who are known to be eligible for free school meals. This is slightly less than average. There are no children from service families currently on the school’s roll.  Most pupils are of White British heritage  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported through school action or at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs, about one in 12 and one in 20 respectively, is below average.  In 2012 the school did not meet the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching from good to outstanding by:  checking that pupils understand all the concepts they need to know before they start their independent work in mathematics lessons  giving pupils time to improve their work based on the comments teachers make when marking pupils’ books.  Use information from assessment about how well pupils are progressing, to:  identify more swiftly those who need additional support  evaluate how well the support pupils are given is helping them to catch up with their peers.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 When children start school their skills are broadly in line with those expected for their age. They make very good progress in Reception because there is a strong focus on developing their social skills and their ability to communicate with each other and with adults. As a result they enter Year 1 with levels of skill which are slightly above those expected for their age.  The school’s focus on developing early reading skills continues in Year 1, and in 2012 a far higher proportion of pupils than was found nationally reached the expected standards in the phonics screening check.  By the end of Year 2, pupils’ continued good progress means that standards are rising year on year, and in reading are significantly above those found nationally. In writing and mathematics, standards are also high and this has been the case in all subjects for the last three years.  During their time in Key Stage 2, most pupils make good progress, though this has not always

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The achievement of pupils is good

been the case for all groups, particularly boys and pupils eligible for pupil premium support. School leaders are now ensuring that all pupils make at least good progress in all year groups.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs achieve well because they are well taught and receive good support from teaching assistants, which meets their specific needs very well.  In 2012, attainment in English and mathematics in tests taken at the end of Key Stage 2 was well below average at the expected level for pupils of this age, though it was above average at the higher level. All leaders, as well as governors, had identified at an early stage these pupils’ low standards of attainment. They had put many strategies in place to accelerate progress but not all had been successful. Pupils currently in Year 6, however, have made good progress and are on track to reach standards well above current national averages in reading, writing and

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The achievement of pupils is good

mathematics.  The standards and progress of pupils eligible for pupil premium support have been inconsistent across the school. Though they are now making better than expected progress, this does not always enable them to catch up with the rest of the pupils and at the end of Key Stage 2 last year, they were nearly two years behind their peers nationally in both English and mathematics.  Progress for these pupils has improved this year, so the gap between their attainment and that of all pupils nationally is narrowing. This is because the school’s recently introduced system for tracking pupils’ attainment and progress is providing leaders with the information they need to identify pupils who are at risk of falling behind. However, this has not yet had time to result in all those pupils concerned making as much progress as they could.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is good overall and is rapidly improving in Key Stage 2 because of the effective training which has been provided for all teachers. Teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve and they use the results of checks on pupils’ attainment and progress to plan lessons so that the work is not too easy or too difficult.  Teachers have good subject knowledge, especially about how to teach reading, and this means that they know which questions to ask pupils to help them move to the next steps in their learning.  Teaching assistants are very skilled and give very good support to pupils of all ability levels, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. They use questioning effectively when working with individuals and with groups and they make sure that they give the pupils good opportunities to learn to work on their own.  The teaching in the Reception class is extremely effective and there is a very good balance of

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The quality of teaching is good

direct teaching and chances for children to follow their own interests. Every learning opportunity is fully exploited. For example, during the morning ‘welcome’ time, children were fully involved in counting and using correct mathematical language when comparing the numbers of pupils present that day with the previous day’s total. They were confident enough to suggest ideas and made very mature observations, such as when a child asked the teacher the percentage of pupils in the class who had walked to school that day. When he was told it was 95% he commented enthusiastically, ‘That’s amazing. We’ve never had that many before!’  Teachers set challenging targets which are displayed in exercise books as a reminder about what pupils need to think about when they are completing their work. Work is marked carefully, following the school’s policy, and teachers’ comments give clear guidance about how pupils can

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The quality of teaching is good

further improve their work. However, teachers do not always give the pupils opportunities to put their suggestions into practice, which means that when pupils revisit the same ideas later, they sometimes make the same mistakes again.  Teachers also give pupils opportunities to assess their own learning using the success criteria that have been agreed at the beginning of the lesson. This is very effective in helping pupils to think about how well they are doing and also lets the teacher know when pupils need more help.  In mathematics lessons, teachers do not always check that pupils have fully grasped all the concepts they need to understand before beginning their independent work. As a result, pupils are not always sure about how to overcome the problems they meet when they are working on their own, and so the pace of learning sometimes slows.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils mostly behave very well, and teachers rarely have to remind pupils of how to behave because they understand and live up to the school’s high expectations. Pupils come into the classroom ready to learn and they usually persevere well, though they are sometimes restless if the pace of the learning in lessons slows. They are calm when moving around the school and are very polite, opening doors for adults and each other.  Pupils who find it difficult to manage their own behaviour are given excellent support to improve and, as a result, there have been no exclusions for nine years. Pupils are given responsibilities appropriate to their age beginning with ‘special helpers’ in Reception class and Key Stage 1.  Behaviour in the playground is also very good. There are reminders displayed on the walls about the way pupils are expected to treat each other, and the oldest pupils help younger ones willingly and sensibly.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance has been consistently above average and there are good procedures in place to contact parents and carers on the first day of absence. Meetings are held with parents and carers if attendance falls unacceptably low.  The school positively develops personal qualities such as thoughtfulness, honesty, moral principles and the school value of ‘respect’. Pupils put this core value into practice because it is regularly discussed in assembly and because teachers show what it means in the relationships they build with pupils. These good relationships, which are just as good between the pupils, contribute very strongly to the positive school ethos and pupils’ sense of belonging.  Pupils say that they feel safe and parents and carers agree. They say that bullying of any kind is extremely rare and they are confident that when it does happen, it is dealt with well by teachers. They are taught how to keep themselves safe on the internet and are aware of issues such as

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, senior leaders and governors have a clear shared vision and strive to make the school the best it can be. They have a realistic view of the ways in which the school is successful and what needs to be done to make it even better. They have been successful in making Manorbrook Primary into a school where pupils feel valued, safe and are well prepared for the next stage of their education, especially in their reading skills.  Leaders have put in place an improved system for tracking pupils’ attainment and progress. However, they do not yet analyse in sufficient detail the information they collect to make comparisons between the rates of progress of different groups of pupils, or evaluate the quality of the extra support that is provided and modify it when necessary,  The school has been through a difficult period because of a significant number of changes of staff, including several who had leadership responsibilities. Some parents and carers spoken to

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The leadership and management are good

in the playground expressed concern about the number of class teachers their children had in one year, but recognised that the school had managed the situation as well as possible.  The headteacher is aware that the disruption this caused affected the rate of school improvement, including the achievement of pupils last year. However, leaders have made concerted efforts this year to make up for lost time. They have provided effective training to improve the quality of teaching and put in place more rigorous systems for tracking and recording pupils’ progress. These strategies have been successful, as seen in improved rates of progress and higher standards of attainment. This shows that the school has the capacity for further improvement.  Performance management provides teachers with accurate information about their strengths and the areas they need to improve further, and the outcomes are used to decide whether they

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The leadership and management are good

progress through the pay scales. Governors are appropriately involved in and informed about this process.  The curriculum is broad and balanced and pupils have good opportunities for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The school encourages pupils to reflect and to learn from reflection, promoting teaching styles which value pupils’ questioning and help them to develop confident communication skills. There are regular visits to places of interest linked to topic work as well as special themed weeks. The help they receive from teaching assistants means that pupils of all abilities have equality of opportunity and access to a curriculum which meets their varying needs. There is no evidence of any discrimination.  Parents and carers who responded to the Parent View survey, as well as those spoken to in the playground, were very positive about all aspects of school life. Parents and carers who find it

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The leadership and management are good

difficult to approach the school are very well supported through the work of specialist staff who help them through difficult times and also organise special courses to enable them to give more help to their children at home.  The local authority has provided very good support to the school, which has successfully contributed to the improvements it has made.  Arrangements for safeguarding children fully meet requirements.  The governance of the school:  The governing body provides effective support and challenge which are based on secure knowledge of the school’s strengths and weaknesses and an accurate understanding of the school’s performance compared to that of schools nationally. Though many governors are relatively new to their roles, attendance at relevant courses has ensured that they are well informed about their responsibilities. They regularly visit the school and have conversations with teachers and leaders about specific aspects of the school’s work. This enables them to

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The leadership and management are good

know how good teaching is, and to understand what leaders are doing to improve its quality through the use of performance management and training. Governors monitor spending carefully and are aware of how the school is using the pupil premium funding to improve pupils’ achievement.

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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 130978 Local authority South Gloucestershire Inspection number 412186

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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 173 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jane Horseman Headteacher Angela Evans Date of previous school inspection 7–8 July 2009 Telephone number 01454 867225 Email address manorbrookprimary.school@southglos.gov.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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