Manorfield Primary and Nursery School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Nicola Jones Headteacher Manorfield Primary and Nursery School Sangers Drive Horley Surrey RH6 8AL

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Short inspection of Manorfield Primary and Nursery School

Following my visit to the school on 25 June 2019, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in October 2015.

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Short inspection of Manorfield Primary and Nursery School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Based on the evidence gathered during this short inspection, I am of the opinion that the school has demonstrated strong practice and marked improvement in specific areas. This may indicate that the school has improved significantly overall. Therefore, I am recommending that the school’s next inspection be a section 5 inspection.

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Short inspection of Manorfield Primary and Nursery School

Since the last inspection, you and your leadership team have gone from strength to strength to secure a high quality of education within a safe and stimulating environment. The large majority of parents who completed the online survey, and wrote comments on free-text, fully appreciate the work that you and your staff do. This is summed up in the comment made by one parent who wrote, ‘Manorfield is an exceptional school, looking after the individual learning needs of every child in a happy and positive environment.’

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Short inspection of Manorfield Primary and Nursery School

You and other school leaders have very high expectations for yourselves and for pupils. You have created a culture in which the expectation is that every child will succeed, regardless of circumstance. The school motto, ‘Together we succeed’, underpins all aspects of the school’s work. You, together with your skilled team of staff, give pupils the confidence to take risks and to challenge themselves to be the best they can be. As a result, pupils make progress that is well above average by the end of Year 6.

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Short inspection of Manorfield Primary and Nursery School

Teaching is typically lively and engaging, and captures pupils’ interest. Teachers know their pupils exceptionally well. They make very effective use of assessment information to plan work that builds on and extends what pupils already know and can do. One of the many strengths of teaching is the way in which pupils are expected to learn and use their skills across a range of subjects. For example, pupils create line graphs recording temperatures of climates in other countries, and so link mathematical understanding to geographical topics.

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Short inspection of Manorfield Primary and Nursery School

Pupils thoroughly enjoy school. They feel very safe. They trust staff and say that all adults listen to any concerns or worries they may have, and that they take these concerns seriously. Pupils have exceptionally positive attitudes to school and consequently they behave well in class, in the playground and when moving around the school. Because teaching is so good, pupils develop learning skills including perseverance, resilience and a determination to succeed. They are curious and keen to find out about the world around them. The school is a very harmonious community in which pupils from all backgrounds get on very well together.

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Short inspection of Manorfield Primary and Nursery School

School leaders and governors have responded very well to the areas for improvement identified in the last inspection. Leaders and teachers use performance information very effectively to improve teaching and so raise standards. As a result, disadvantaged pupils attain levels that are equal to those achieved by other pupils nationally. The gap in attainment between boys and girls in the early years and Year 1 has closed. The most able pupils make good progress from their relative starting points. School leaders have also worked closely with parents to improve attendance, so that it is now broadly in line with the national average and few pupils are persistently absent.

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Short inspection of Manorfield Primary and Nursery School

However, leaders are not complacent. They know that there are a few instances where some pupils do not present their work as well as they should. Leaders have plans in place to increase the resilience of pupils in order to secure a greater proportion of pupils reaching the higher standard, particularly in writing and mathematics.

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Short inspection of Manorfield Primary and Nursery School

Policies and procedures for keeping children safe underpin all aspects of the school’s work. There is a strong culture within school of ensuring the safety and well-being of pupils. Leaders and teachers know pupils and their families very well and are well trained to pick up early signs that a pupil may be in need of help. There is a strong team of staff that oversees the needs of vulnerable pupils and ensures that, wherever possible, these pupils get the right support in a timely way. The safeguarding team works very effectively with external agencies so that there is a coordinated approach to safeguarding pupils. Leaders and staff are fully aware of the potential risks locally. They ensure that all staff are fully up to date with safeguarding knowledge through briefings that are held weekly, and more often if a need arises. Records are held electronically and are fit for purpose.

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Short inspection of Manorfield Primary and Nursery School

Pupils say they feel safe in school and they have a good understanding of how to stay safe. As part of ‘healthy living week’, pupils in Year 5 were learning about the potential dangers associated with the internet. As a result, they have a very good understanding of how to stay safe when online. Pupils told me that there is no bullying, but that some pupils occasionally fall out. They said that they can often sort this out themselves, but that adults are always on hand to help. The large majority of parents who responded to the online survey agreed that their children are happy and safe in school and that they are well looked after. Staff and governors also agreed with this.

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Inspection findings

 At the start of the inspection we agreed to focus on the following aspects of the school’s work: – the extent to which pupils are provided with a high enough level of challenge, especially in writing and mathematics – how well teaching caters for the needs of boys in the early years – the extent to which the curriculum promotes pupils’ cultural and spiritual development – the extent to which leaders have maintained the high rates of progress.  Work in pupils’ writing and topic books, as well as other work on display around the school, shows that pupils make strong progress in writing. They write clearly and neatly using accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar. There are plenty of opportunities for pupils to write in a variety of ways, including using notes and annotations, and doing extended pieces of writing where they demonstrate a high level of skill. Pupils write confidently and fluently. They use a wide

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Inspection findings

vocabulary to express their ideas when writing creatively, or when writing factual accounts of what they are learning.  Most teachers provide pupils with a high level of challenge in mathematics. In a Year 6 mathematics lesson, for example, pupils used their understanding of angles to create pie charts based on their favourite physical activities. This was a demanding activity as they translated data into the correct size of angle to create an accurate representation of their favourite sports. Work seen in pupils’ books shows that, in most classes, pupils work exceptionally hard and reach high standards. Just occasionally, this standard is not maintained consistently across the school and so progress slackens. Very occasionally, work is not presented as well as it should be and this can lead to errors.  School performance information shows that the previous gap between girls’ and boys’ attainment has closed owing to actions taken by the early years leader.

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Inspection findings

Since joining the school two years ago, she has reorganised the classroom and outdoor area to provide activities that meet the needs and interests of boys. The leader has created plenty of opportunities for boys to read and write outside, as well as indoors, and this has improved their motivation and raised their attainment. The early years leader has also introduced ‘forest school’, which provides plenty of first-hand experiences that have particularly engaged boys.  The early years leader and the key stage 1 leader have changed the way in which phonics is taught. This new approach is well structured and so matches the needs of boys, as well as maintaining the interest of girls. Boys are fully engaged in phonics lessons, and are eager to take part and get on with their work. This approach has been instrumental in improving boys’ attainment in the early years and their outcomes in phonics at the end of Year 1.

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Inspection findings

 School leaders are proud of the rich and exciting curriculum they offer pupils. It is founded on providing pupils with cultural experiences that inspire and engage them. As a result, pupils gain knowledge and understanding of the world, as well as stimulating their imaginations. They study subjects including history, geography and science to some depth, and increase their knowledge incrementally as they move through the school. This prepares them exceptionally well for the future.  Work in pupils’ books shows that the curriculum is very well planned to incorporate spiritual, moral, social and cultural development into many aspects of pupils’ learning. Pupils are provided with opportunities to reflect on their learning and so deepen their understanding. They compare and contrast key features of the different religions, and so gain a clear insight into the faiths and beliefs of those from other backgrounds. Pupils’ work is very well presented and shows a

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Inspection findings

variety of activities, including investigations, note making, drawings and diagrams, that enable pupils to make choices about how they present their work.  School information and work in pupils’ books show that pupils currently in school have maintained the high rates of progress established last year. Teachers across the school have high expectations, and this is reflected in the quality of work seen in classrooms and on display around the school. Provisional data for pupils across the school indicates that pupils make strong progress in reading, writing and mathematics. There is very little difference in outcomes for different groups of pupils, including those who are disadvantaged. Pupils make equally strong progress in other subjects, including history, geography and science. The quality of art on display around the school is high.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 the high level of challenge in mathematics seen in most classes is consistently seen in all year groups  pupils present their work clearly and neatly to avoid unnecessary errors.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Surrey. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

During this inspection, I visited a sample of classrooms with you or your deputy headteacher. I observed pupils working and I looked at work in pupils’ books. I met with a group of pupils to gather their views on the school and I observed pupils in the playground and during a singing assembly. I met with three governors, including the chair of governors. I met with three school leaders at the end of the day. I took into account the views of parents by analysing the 48 responses to the online survey, Parent View, as well as the 48 written comments on free-text. I took into account the 34 responses to the staff survey.

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Information about the inspection

I evaluated the effectiveness of the school’s arrangements for safeguarding pupils. A wide range of documents was scrutinised, including the school’s own evaluation of its performance, school development planning, a recent parent survey and minutes from governors’ meetings. I also examined the school’s website.

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