Manor Primary School

Inspection of Manor Primary School Beechwood Drive, Greenfields, Beechwood, Prenton, Merseyside CH43 7ZU

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement 22–23 October 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils from Nursery to Year 6 really enjoy learning at this school. They are polite and showed excellent manners when talking to us. In lessons and at playtime and lunchtime, they listen carefully to teachers and teaching assistants. They do what they are told straight away because staff insist on it.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils told us that teachers make sure that they are safe and that pupils are kind and respectful to everyone, especially people who are different from them. They know whom to go to in the school if anything is worrying them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The headteacher and staff take great care that pupils who have difficulty learning, concentrating or getting on with others have the help that they need. Staff make sure that these pupils happily and successfully take part in everything that the school offers.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils told us that there is no bullying in their school and that because behaviour in and outside lessons is good, their learning and play are not disturbed.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils of all ages enjoy taking on responsibilities such as being class prefects or playground buddies. Teachers make sure that pupils work hard. However, pupils do not know and remember enough for them to do as well as they should in the subjects that they study.

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better?

In mathematics and English, the school has plans for learning which make sure that pupils learn things in a logical order. These plans show teachers what pupils should know and remember at the end of each term. The plans for teaching reading from the start of Nursery show in detail the letters and sounds which pupils should be learning at each stage as they move through Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. In subjects such as science and geography, plans are very clear about which skills pupils should develop each year. However, they are not always specific enough about what pupils should know and remember. For some subjects, the headteacher and governors have not checked well enough that teachers plan learning in ways which build up knowledge gradually as pupils move up the school.

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better?

Teachers skilfully make sure that all pupils concentrate and enjoy lessons. The school provides training so that teachers are up to date with the latest ideas for teaching the subjects that pupils study. Pupils benefit from teaching by external specialists in music and Spanish. The headteacher has welcomed help from expert teachers from other schools, especially in reading. However, some teaching staff do not use questioning skilfully enough to draw out answers from pupils who are unsure, especially when pupils are learning to read. Some teachers do not notice soon enough when pupils are falling behind. As a result, some pupils do not get the help that they need to catch up quickly. 22–23 October 2019

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Test results and teachers’ assessments last year show that pupils are beginning to do better in reading. Hearing pupils read and looking at their work showed us that their reading has improved even more this year. Standards are beginning to rise in other subjects, but they are still below what the pupils in this school ought to be achieving. Last year, results in national tests at the end of Years 2 and 6 were not good enough in mathematics and writing, and too many pupils did not reach the expected standard in the phonics check at the end of Year 1.

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This year, there is a new plan for learning in Nursery and Reception. It is very ambitious for the children and gives teaching staff clear guidance on the order in which they should teach things. As a result, children in the Nursery and Reception have been learning well since the beginning of the school year. They enjoy learning through playing and are settled, happy and excited about being in school. Staff creatively take advantage of opportunities to develop pupils’ vocabulary and use of numbers.

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Governors, the headteacher and the special educational needs coordinator make good plans for pupils who need help to behave well, concentrate and learn. They use external specialists very well to work with pupils and give guidance to staff, especially when pupils have emotional problems or face challenges with speaking and listening.

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The headteacher and staff carefully plan opportunities to help pupils to cope when they are not feeling happy or strong. They also encourage them to be caring towards others. Pupils know the difference between right and wrong. Teachers emphasise the importance of healthy eating and exercise. The school arranges meetings and workshops for parents and carers to help them to be emotionally strong while bringing up their children.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The governors and the headteacher take safeguarding very seriously and make sure that everyone else in the school does too. They check carefully that everyone who works in the school has been confirmed as suitable for working with children. All staff regularly learn about how to keep pupils safe and how to spot if anyone may not be. They bring in experts from outside the school to give help if they need it. Teachers make sure that pupils are knowledgeable about keeping themselves safe. For example, they know about the dangers posed by people who may wish them harm, including on the internet.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In designing the curriculum for some subjects, leaders have left too much of the content to be decided by individual teachers. As a result, in some subjects, 22–23 October 2019

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leaders’ intentions for the curriculum are not always clear. Leaders, including governors, should ensure that, for all subjects, topics and activities are logically planned from Nursery to Year 6. Curriculum plans in all subjects should identify what pupils ought to know and remember at specific points as they move up the school.  Leaders, including governors, should check that teachers and subject leaders are implementing their intentions for the curriculum and teaching consistently across all subjects.  Teachers should use the school’s formal and informal systems for assessing pupils to identify quickly when and why pupils are falling behind. They should intervene swiftly to help them catch up, particularly in phonics.  Some teachers and teaching assistants do not use questions skilfully to help pupils to understand. This is particularly true of phonics teaching in the school. Leaders should ensure that all teachers and teaching assistants are skilled in

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questioning pupils. This will help teachers to develop pupils’ understanding and clarify any misconceptions.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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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How can I feed back my views?

If you're not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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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. 22–23 October 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10087811 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 21–22 March 2017

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Information about this school

 There have been no significant changes at the school since the last inspection.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 We visited classrooms to observe teaching and pupils’ learning.  We observed and spoke to pupils during lessons and at playtimes.  We met formally with four groups of pupils to talk about their work and their experiences in the school. An inspector heard a range of pupils read.  We held discussions with staff, middle and senior leaders, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  We looked at a range of documentation, including arrangements for safeguarding.  We could not consider responses to Parent View (Ofsted’s online questionnaire) as there were too few. However, we considered the school’s surveys and spoke to a 22–23 October 2019

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range of parents as they brought their children to school. We considered 15 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for staff and 27 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for pupils.  As part of this inspection, the subjects which we considered in detail were reading, mathematics, English and geography. In these subjects we met with subject leaders, visited samples of lessons, looked at pupils’ work and held discussions with teachers and groups of pupils from the lessons visited.

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Inspection team

Liz Kelly, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Maureen Hints Ofsted Inspector 22–23 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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