Sunbury Manor School

Inspection of a good school: Sunbury Manor School Nursery Road, Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey TW16 6LF

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Outcome

Sunbury Manor School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a happy and welcoming school. Pupils, staff and parents agree that it feels like belonging to an extended family. Pupils are safe, well cared for and valued. The headteacher and other staff are always there for pupils or parents to talk to. Leaders and pupils are proud of the inclusive nature of the school. Pupils show respect for each other and for adults in the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Members of the school community appreciate the way the headteacher consults them about proposed changes. They feel that their views matter. A recent change to the timings of the school day has been managed successfully and welcomed by all.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. There is a calm and productive atmosphere in lessons and around school. Pupils say that bullying and incidents of poor behaviour are rare.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders want the very best for all pupils. Staff know individual pupils well and work tirelessly to help pupils overcome any difficulties they face. Pupils study the full range of subjects for three years. They choose which subjects to study for GCSE from a wide range to suit their interests and abilities. Pupils are learning more and achieving higher standards due to improved teaching at the school.

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

The school still provides a good and improving quality of education. Leaders are ambitious for all pupils to achieve well. Pupils study the full national curriculum through Years 7 to 9. Also, pupils enjoy many visits and other activities which relate to what they have been learning. This includes trips abroad, and parents told inspectors how much these trips build pupils’ confidence. The curriculum is well designed to help pupils appreciate and understand the world. Citizenship is one of the most popular subjects. Leaders ensure that many pupils enjoy experiences which they might otherwise not have, such as going to the theatre. 2–3 October 2019

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Leaders have successfully created an ethos of respect and tolerance. Pupils are clear that everyone should be treated equally. Pupils want to learn, work hard in lessons and low- level disruption is rare.

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Leaders have recruited more specialist teachers of languages and science, and they have provided more effective staff training. This has improved the quality of teaching. The previously high turnover of teachers has now slowed down. As a result, achievement has improved in many subjects, including mathematics. Achievement in English has reached even higher levels than before. However, the curriculum is not as well planned and sequenced across all subjects. Some pupils do not learn the important knowledge well enough and cannot remember it over the long term. This means that pupils’ learning is variable across the school.

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All pupils study three separate sciences at GCSE and have a free choice of other subjects. A few years ago, most pupils dropped languages, so that the proportion of pupils who study the full set of EBacc subjects is lower than national levels. However, leaders are working to improve this, with more pupils now choosing Spanish due to improved teaching. Before, weaker teaching in science led to gaps in pupils’ knowledge. Teachers are now given useful training, so that science teaching is now improving, although there remains more to do to raise achievement.

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Teachers understand how to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Teachers work closely with skilled leaders and staff from the SEND specialist teams to plan lessons and resources. They ensure that this group of pupils receive the support they are entitled to and achieve well.

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The leadership of the school is driven by a strong moral purpose to help every pupil do their best. Leaders act with integrity. Their ambitious vision is shared by the whole school community, including governors. Staff are overwhelmingly positive about leaders’ concern for their workload and well-being. Leaders changed the way that pupils’ progress is monitored, away from frequent tests to fewer assessed tasks. Time previously used for testing is now better used for teaching.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding has a high profile, and there is a well-established safeguarding culture throughout the school. Clear systems exist to identify and support pupils at risk, so that pupils are safe in school. Pupils are confident that there are trusted adults they can speak to if they are worried about something. Well trained staff know what to do if they have concerns about a pupil. The safeguarding team use their wide expertise to provide effective support for pupils. Leaders also work relentlessly to enable families to get the support they need from other agencies

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 Pupils’ learning in a few subjects is not sequenced as coherently as others. Teachers should ensure that curriculum plans for all subjects contain the knowledge, understanding and skills that pupils should know in a logical order.  Across the curriculum, pupils are not always able to remember or describe their learning well enough. This lack of knowledge limits their outcomes. Leaders should ensure that pupils are enabled to recall what they have learned and explain their thinking accurately. Leaders can draw on the strong practice that exists in the school.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged Sunbury Manor School to be good in June 2012.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 2–3 October 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10111243 Type of school Secondary comprehensive

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School details

Number of pupils on the school roll 1137

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 22 March 2016

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Information about this school

 The number of pupils on the school’s roll is increasing annually.  The school has a specially resourced provision for up to 20 pupils with speech, language and communication difficulties. Currently, 12 pupils use this provision.  The school uses the following alternative providers: Brooklands College, North East Short Stay School, Thamesmead School, The Hope Service and Academy 21.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher and other leaders. Inspectors also met with a range of teaching and support staff.  Inspectors evaluated the quality of education by looking in detail at the teaching of English, mathematics, science and history. Inspectors discussed curriculum design with leaders, carried out lesson visits, scrutinised pupils’ work and spoke to pupils and teachers from the lessons visited about the curriculum.  Inspectors evaluated the effectiveness of safeguarding. The school’s single central record was reviewed. Inspectors met with the designated safeguarding lead and her deputies. 2–3 October 2019

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 The lead inspector met with three governors, including the chair of the governing body.  Inspectors considered the views of 93 members of staff who responded to Ofsted’s online staff survey.  Inspectors took account of the 93 responses to the Ofsted Parent View survey and the 46 free-text responses.  Inspectors met with groups of pupils to discuss their views about the school and talked to pupils informally about the school. Inspectors took account of the 149 responses to Ofsted’s online pupils’ survey.

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Inspection team

Theresa Phillips, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Anne Murray-Hudson Ofsted Inspector 2–3 October 2019

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regulates and inspects to 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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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