Manifold Church of England Primary School

Inspection of Manifold Church of England Primary School Off Leek Road, Warslow, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 0JP

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Inspection dates: 20 and 21 February 2024

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

The executive headteacher of this school is Kelly Stanesby. This school is part of The Moorlands Primary Federation, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Jared Eccles, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Nick Chesters. 20 and 21 February 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

This small primary school serves a rural community. It is a warm and welcoming place for pupils to learn. There is a strong ‘family feel’, which, parents and carers say, enables their children to ‘bloom and flourish’. Pupils enjoy coming to school. They feel safe and trust adults to help them when needed.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has recently joined a new trust. Pupils enjoy the new rewards system and appreciate how their positive behaviours are celebrated. The positive behaviour and conduct around the school demonstrate that the new expectations are securely established.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school ensures that all pupils study a broad range of subjects. A new curriculum is now in place. This focuses on high-quality texts that seek to broaden pupils’ understanding of the wider world. Staff work hard to bring the curriculum to life, and pupils enjoy the active learning opportunities on offer. All pupils learn well and are prepared for the next phase of their education by the time they leave.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides a variety of educational trips, visits and clubs. These enable pupils to explore new talents and interests. Pupils are also invited to apply for a wide range of leadership roles. They value these and talk enthusiastically about opportunities to help across the school and community .

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better?

Trust leaders have put in place a new curriculum. This identifies the information that pupils are expected to know and remember in each subject. Pupils build this knowledge from early years onwards. For example, they learn about the lives of people who are familiar to them, moving on to events and people that shaped British history. This helps pupils to make connections through the curriculum so that they have better understanding over time. However, in some subjects, teachers are still developing their understanding of the new curriculum. In these cases, pupils do not always recall and apply their learning effectively.

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better?

The school makes reading a priority. Pupils benefit from a text-rich curriculum, much of which they enjoy and remember. The new phonics scheme gives opportunities for children to practise reading. Books are well matched to their knowledge and stage. The majority of pupils are fluent readers by the time they reach Year 3.

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better?

Vocabulary develops from early years in a clear and deliberate way and is linked to topics and themes. Teachers present new information in clear and exciting ways. They provide useful explanations and activities to help pupils remember concepts. For example, in key stage 2 science, pupils linked healthy eating to reducing the build-up of fat deposits in the arteries. In addition, ‘Muddy Mondays’ enable pupils to learn through the local environment. 20 and 21 February 2024

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Teachers successfully adapt learning activities to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff know the children well and have a secure understanding of their needs. They often break information down into smaller steps and use extra resources to support pupils’ learning. As a result, pupils with SEND make good progress from their starting points. They are able to access the full curriculum and all aspects of school life.

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The trust promotes a collaborative approach to school improvement work. Trust subject leaders work alongside school staff to help them with the implementation of the new curriculum. They coach and mentor staff on both subject knowledge and pedagogy. Staff know whom they can speak to for support and value the training and guidance that the trust brings. However, the school’s approach to monitoring the curriculum is not as well developed as it might be. The checks made do not always focus sharply enough on how well the curriculum is delivered or its impact on what pupils know and remember in all subjects.

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The school provides a calm and orderly environment. New systems implemented by the trust and school leaders set out clear expectations for behaviour. Pupils live up to these expectations. They are kind to each other, look after one another and respect each other’s differences.

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A wide variety of leadership roles help pupils to think about their responsibilities in the school and the community, such as those of eco-warriors, digital leaders and community carers. However, some pupils have not yet gained a sufficient understanding of how British values relate to other cultures and communities. Leaders are now focusing on supporting pupils to gain a fuller understanding of how British values relate to less familiar cultures and communities.

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Those responsible for governance fulfil their roles well. The trust supports school leaders to grow and develop in their roles. They have fostered a purposeful school vision that benefits pupils. This vision is recognised by parents and children, along with the staff, all of whom are proud to belong to and work at the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, teachers have not fully developed their understanding of the learning required in the curriculum. This means that pupils do not build their knowledge and make links across the curriculum as well as they might. The trust should continue to support teachers to develop a deeper understanding of the curriculum and learning links across subjects so that pupils can enhance their recall and apply their learning more fully. 20 and 21 February 2024

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 The school has not ensured that there are precise checks on how well the curriculum is being taught. As a result, some inconsistencies in how well the curriculum is delivered and how well pupils are achieving are not identified well enough. The school should ensure that all leaders carefully check how well teachers are delivering the curriculum and pupils’ achievements and provide any additional support to make improvements where needed.  While the curriculum is planned to prepare pupils for life in modern Britain, this is at the early stages of implementation. As a result, some pupils have not yet gained sufficient understanding of other cultures and communities and how these relate directly to fundamental British values. The trust should continue to develop this aspect of the curriculum so that teachers can ensure that pupils are fully prepared for life in modern Britain.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to 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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 20 and 21 February 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 19 and 20 June 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of The Moorlands Primary Federation.  The school is a Church of England primary school in the Diocese of Lichfield. Its most recent section 48 inspection for schools of a religious character took place in January 2018.  Most pupils transfer to middle school at the end of Year 4. At the time of this inspection, there were no pupils in Year 5 or Year 6.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision. 20 and 21 February 2024

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 This was the first routine inspection the school had received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the executive headteacher and other senior leaders.  The lead inspector met with the trust’s CEO. She also held discussions with representatives of the board of trustees and those responsible for governance.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, inspectors 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.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive

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culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first. Inspectors reviewed a range of safeguarding information, including the school’s safeguarding policy. The lead inspector spoke to the designated safeguarding lead and looked at records of safeguarding incidents.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in a range of different classes and at different times of the day.  Inspectors considered responses on Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. Inspectors also took account of the responses to staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Rachel King, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Sarahjane Cuncannon Edwards Ofsted Inspector 20 and 21 February 2024

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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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