Setting

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Simon Cotterill Headteacher Manor Park School and Nursery Manor Park North Knutsford Cheshire WA16 8DB

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Ofsted visit to Manor Park School and Nursery

Following my visit with John Tomlinson, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), to your school on 20 October 2020, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the visit’s findings. Thank you for the time you made available to discuss your actions since September 2020, when the government expected all schools to open fully to all pupils.

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Ofsted visit to Manor Park School and Nursery

This visit was conducted under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 (as amended) and in accordance with Ofsted’s published procedures for visiting schools while routine inspections are temporarily suspended.

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Ofsted visit to Manor Park School and Nursery

Ofsted’s visits to schools during the autumn term are not inspections. We are not giving graded judgements. We did not undertake the usual range of inspection activities and were unable to check other sources of evidence, such as visits to lessons or looking at pupils’ work. The content of this letter gives an overview of our discussions about what has happened in your school this term.

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Ofsted visit to Manor Park School and Nursery

During the visit, we spoke to you and other members of the senior leadership team. We did not speak to pupils because of the protective measures in place.

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Context

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills is leading Ofsted’s work into how England’s education system is managing the return to full education for pupils, following an extended break in formal schooling due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

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Context

In undertaking this focused work, HMI are visiting a broad range of schools. HMI will visit a sample of:

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Context

 approximately 1,200 schools across all Ofsted grades (outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate)  maintained schools, academies and free schools, special schools and centres of alternative provision, including those in cities, and coastal, town or rural communities.

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Context

The information from this visit will feed into Ofsted’s national reporting so that the insights can be shared with the government and the education sector. We did not find any significant concerns during the visit. In such a case, an inspection report would be published on our website and available to parents and carers.

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Context

We did not consider your response to COVID-19 during the spring and summer terms 2020, when the school was not open to all pupils.

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

 You opened the school to all pupils on 3 September 2020. All pupils are expected to attend full time.  Pupils’ attendance is broadly similar to that of the same period last year.  Although pupils are studying the full range of subjects, some aspects of music and physical education are not currently being taught. You plan to reintroduce these later, during the spring term.  Teachers have recently assessed pupils’ reading abilities. These checks have shown that some pupils’ abilities are much lower than you would expect them to be at this point in the school year. Teachers are providing additional support for these pupils, particularly those who need to regain ground with their knowledge of phonics.  Teachers are assessing pupils’ new starting points in mathematics as they begin each new topic. Teachers have identified weaknesses in pupils’ ability to recall number facts and make mental calculations. Pupils are now spending

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

time each day working on these aspects of their learning.  Teachers in the early years have identified that many children need additional support with their communication skills. Teachers are focusing on this area of learning by providing more opportunities for children to interact with each other.  You recognise that some aspects of the school’s curriculum were not taught during the last school year due to the local restrictions. You plan to make checks on pupils’ learning in each subject as the school year progresses.  You told us that teachers have developed the necessary expertise to lead remote learning in the event of any future restrictions. You have begun to develop online and paper-based resources so that pupils will be able to continue their learning at home should the need arise.

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

Thank you again for contributing to this important national work. The views and experiences you have shared will help to inform future policy.

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From this visit, inspectors noted that:

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

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