Manor Field Infant School

Inspection of a good school: Manor Field Infant School Haydn Road, Brighton Hill, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG22 4DH

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Inspection dates: 10 and 11 November 2021

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Outcome

Manor Field Infant School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Manor Field Infant School provides pupils with a fine start to their education. Pupils throughout the school are well behaved, polite and kind. They exemplify the school’s STAR values through their actions, celebrating their success, teamwork, aspiration and respect. This behaviour is evident in class, where pupils listen carefully and readily share and discuss ideas. At break, pupils play games and chat, safe in the knowledge that others will respond with kindness. Pupils overcome their disagreements through discussion. Bullying is not a problem here.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the school’s curriculum as it broadens their horizons and experience. They love to learn and lap up the knowledge that staff present. They learn about unfamiliar topics, helping them to expand their understanding of the world outside the school gates. For example, pupils have learned about the experience of migrants and asylum seekers, reading stories that describe the challenges of their journeys. In recent months, staff have challenged the pupils to do even better through the introduction of the school’s revised curriculum. Pupils have responded to this positively, showing they are up for the challenge. As one pupil explained, ‘I am excited to come to school every day.’

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

The curriculum builds pupils’ knowledge in a precise and meticulous way. Plans are clearly mapped and refer back to the knowledge that pupils have acquired previously. This helps staff to set tasks that briefly recall what pupils already know before deepening their knowledge.

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

Staff have been well trained by subject leaders to deliver the curriculum. This helps them to provide clear and direct teaching, particularly in subjects outside of their specialism. One example of this was seen in Year 2, where pupils learned about musical ‘texture’, considering how a range of instruments can be played in unison to create a mood.

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

Staff use assessment well to check that pupils have gained the knowledge they require to move on. Staff know what to check and when. In some instances, where the curriculum 10 and 11 November 2021

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has been revised significantly, older pupils have not been taught the basics they need to understand new content. When this is the case, pupils’ achievement is not as high, because they are building knowledge on shaky foundations.

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Pupils across the school read well. Children in Reception begin to learn phonics from the off, and quickly get to grips with the building blocks of words and language. They practise reading daily, moving on to books and texts as they learn to blend sounds and then recognise whole words. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 build on this further, using well-matched books to practise their reading. Staff assess pupils’ knowledge carefully and a skilled team of teaching assistants provide extra support, to give pupils a boost should they fall behind.

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Pupils behave well because staff notice and reward good behaviour. Teachers ‘sweat the small stuff’, picking up on any off-task behaviour and gently guiding pupils to follow the rules. By addressing the minor issues, staff prevent these from getting out of hand. Classes are productive and calm spaces where pupils can focus and ask questions without distraction. However, pupils do not hold back when they need to applaud achievements or use their ‘big voice’ to share their ideas with the group.

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Pupils develop a useful knowledge of the world around them. They learn that diversity is a benefit to society. Pupils are respectful and kind to others, regardless of their differences. Leaders are revising the curriculum to include more opportunities for pupils to learn about those who are from a range of ethnicities and religions. This work is at an early stage and its effect has yet to be realised.

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Staff carefully assess and screen children from Reception onwards to identify any learning needs that need to be addressed. Staff draw up plans to help children to overcome any barriers to learning. The school enjoys close links with specialist colleagues who provide paediatric and speech and language support. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities do well because they are identified quickly and supported well.

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Leaders have overseen significant change in the school curriculum. This has been managed well, ensuring that staff have received appropriate training, support and resources to enact these improvements. Governors have kept an eye on this throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that staff do not become overloaded. The staff’s workload has been managed well and morale is high.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff are carefully vetted before they start at the school. They receive comprehensive training which helps them to know the signs of abuse and how to report these. Importantly, staff know that no concern is too small. Leaders receive useful and accurate information from staff. This helps them to work with families and external agencies to identify any support they require. 10 and 11 November 2021

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In Reception, children learn to manage risks and use tools and equipment safely. Pupils learn the risks associated with the local area, particularly the need to ‘be bright and be seen’ when walking at night.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Revisions in the foundation curriculum mean that older pupils have not learned some of the content outlined in the plans. This sometimes confuses pupils as they try to understand new concepts without the required prior knowledge. Leaders should ensure that staff take this into account, teaching or revisiting missed prior learning when needed.

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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 or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in October 2011. 10 and 11 November 2021

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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 are the school and you are 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. 10 and 11 November 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10200325 Type of school Infant

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Deborah McKinnon

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School details

Date of previous inspection 8 November 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the previous inspection, a new headteacher has joined the school.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and has taken that into account in his evaluation.  The inspector met with senior leaders and five governors, including the chair. He held a phone call with an officer from the local authority.  The inspector did deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and music. He talked to subject leaders, staff and pupils, visited lessons and looked at pupils’ work. He then considered a wider range of evidence.  The inspector reviewed the arrangements for safeguarding by scrutinising safeguarding records, interviewing staff and through discussions with pupils. 10 and 11 November 2021

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The inspector considered the views of parents shared through the Ofsted surveys. He gathered the views of pupils and staff through surveys, interviews and discussions conducted throughout the inspection.

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Inspection team

Daniel Lambert, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 10 and 11 November 2021

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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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