Manor Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Manor Primary School Briar Avenue, Streetly, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands B74 3HX

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Outcome

Manor Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Manor Primary School is a warm and welcoming place for visitors. A comment made by one pupil echoes the views of many others: ‘The school is a very friendly community.’ Pupils look out for each other. For example, if a pupil is sitting in ‘the friendship station’ at breaktime or lunchtime, Year 6 pupils know that they are feeling upset and will go over and help them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Relationships between staff and pupils are based on mutual respect. As a result, the school is a calm environment in which to learn. Pupils behave well. Bullying does not worry pupils. They know that leaders will respond to reported incidents and take effective action. Consequently, this helps pupils to feel safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school motto, ‘To be the best that we can be’, is reflected in the high aspirations leaders have of the pupils. Pupils live up to these expectations. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders teach pupils how to be responsible, active citizens. They do this by giving them roles and responsibilities, such as sports leaders, librarians, school ambassadors and eco- champions. Pupils are proud to take on these roles.

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

Leaders have created an environment in which pupils enjoy learning. They think carefully about what pupils will learn in different subjects. Pupils, including those with SEND, learn a broad range of subjects alongside their peers. This prepares pupils well for their next steps.

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

Teachers have a good understanding of the subjects they teach. They use assessment strategies well to check pupils’ learning. This is particularly effective in mathematics. Teachers use questioning well in lessons to deepen pupils’ understanding. Lessons are well planned and sequenced. Teachers regularly revisit pupils’ prior learning. Pupils say 2 and 3 February 2023

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that teachers link their learning well across subjects. For example, Year 6 pupils learn about the Caribbean in geography and link this to art, where they sketch Caribbean landscapes. This helps learning to stick in pupils’ minds.

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Leaders promote a love of reading. This starts in Nursery. Adults base children’s learning around different stories each week. There is a phonics reading programme in place that helps pupils to learn letter sounds. This starts in Reception. Staff receive regular training. Leaders check how pupils are doing. Staff put effective support in place for those who need it. Leaders help pupils to successfully develop their vocabulary by having a ‘word of the day’ and dedicated time for reading comprehension lessons. The school library is well resourced, with a wide range of fiction and non-fiction books. Pupils visit the library regularly and choose books to take home and read. This whole-school focus on improving reading, including pupils’ love of reading, has been very successful. Pupils consistently make good progress in reading fluently and confidently.

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Pupils enjoy coming to school. They have very positive relationships with staff, and want to please them. Staff praise pupils’ hard work and efforts. Pupils wear their achievement stickers with pride. This helps pupils to behave well around the school and in lessons.

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Staff know pupils well. The headteacher, acting as the SEND coordinator (SENDCo), helps staff to identify pupils’ needs so that the right support can be put into place to help them learn. Support includes the use of specialist resources, such as sand timers, sensory breaks and individual workspaces. Pupils with SEND are supported to achieve well.

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Leaders provide pupils with the right support to help keep them physically active, healthy and ready to learn. The daily 10-minute ‘energise’ sessions between some lessons help to boost pupils’ concentration and keep them active. Pupils join in with these activities enthusiastically.

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Staff speak highly of the support leaders provide for them. Staff say that leaders consider their workload and well-being. They gave many examples of how leaders have supported them with personal issues. Leaders make staff’s workload more manageable. For example, they give teachers time to plan together. Staff value this support.

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Governors are committed to the school. They have a clear and ambitious vision for the school. They are keen to support leaders in making the school the very best it can be. However, the realisation of this ambition is, sometimes, not fully achieved. This is because the capacity of the leadership team has not increased in line with the growth in size of the school. For example, the headteacher takes on many responsibilities beyond her role.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff take pupils’ welfare seriously. There is a shared responsibility for safeguarding. Leaders make sure that staff receive regular training. Staff report concerns confident in the knowledge that leaders will take effective action. 2 and 3 February 2023

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Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe through lessons and assemblies. This includes learning about road safety and about how to stay safe when working online. Pupils know, for example, to check if a website is safe by looking for the padlock sign.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The leadership team lacks sufficient capacity to sustain the effectiveness of the school. Leaders take on many responsibilities beyond their roles. This limits the potential for the school to sustain its effectiveness and to improve further. Governors should persist in their efforts to recruit at both senior and middle leadership levels so the school has the leadership capacity it needs.

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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 an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in September 2012.

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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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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 and 3 February 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 14 June 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 A temporary assistant headteacher was appointed in November 2022.  The school does not use alternative provision.  The school has a breakfast club and an after-school club operating on the site. This provision is managed by the school.

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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 leaders and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, other leaders, the chair and vice-chair of the governing body, staff and pupils.  The inspector carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and physical education. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. 2 and 3 February 2023

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 The inspector talked to pupils and staff at unstructured times during the day.  The inspector talked to parents at the school gate.  The inspector evaluated a range of school documents and looked at information on the school’s website.  The inspector checked the single central record of checks on adults in school and met with the school’s safeguarding lead.  The inspector reviewed responses to Ofsted Parent View, including free-text responses.

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Inspection team

Lesley Yates, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 2 and 3 February 2023

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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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