Manor Community Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Manor Community Primary School Keary Road, Swanscombe, Kent DA10 0BU

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Inspection dates: 30 April and 1 May 2024

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Outcome

Manor Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

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Outcome

This school is jointly led by two headteachers, Indira Naidu and Natalie Hill. This school is part of the Cygnus Academies Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Danielle Lewis-Egonu, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Ryan Clifford.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The vision for pupils to ‘learn and believe, aspire and achieve’ is proudly fulfilled across all ages in this thriving school. Despite the school being larger than average, parents say that it feels like a family. This togetherness is achieved through consistently high expectations and a shared commitment to inclusivity. Pupils accomplish strong success in reading, writing and mathematics. Across other subjects, pupils work hard and achieve well. This includes disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), who benefit from strong support to fully access the school’s rich curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Relationships are nurturing and supportive. Expectations are well understood, ensuring kind and respectful behaviour from children blossoming in early years to the role models in Year 6. School life is enriched with experiences, such as museum visits to enhance pupils’ historical knowledge. ‘Virtual’ visits to Shanghai and a mosque are also highlights. Pupils love welcoming inspirational visitors, such as authors, police officers and dog charities. The school ‘careers fair’ empowers pupils with high ambitions for the future.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say, ‘This school really cares about us.’ They appreciate the extensive pastoral care provided by the caring staff. Pupils feel safe, special and valued because they are at the heart of everything at this school.

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

The school has embedded a broad and engaging curriculum, which includes and enthuses pupils in exciting learning opportunities. From art and design to geography, subjects across the curriculum build pupils’ knowledge and skills over time through well-planned activities. Teachers present information clearly and check pupils’ understanding using a 30 April and 1 May 2024

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range of strategies. Many pupils show impressive recall of their learning, but occasionally staff checks of pupils’ learning are less precise, and some pupils require extra help to remember key knowledge.

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Reading is highly prioritised. Children in the caring Nursery swiftly thrive as they happily adapt to high expectations and opportunities to develop their language skills from the start. Staff across the school are well trained to deliver the phonics scheme, so this strength continues through Reception and beyond. Catch-up support is sharp for pupils who struggle. Staff identify gaps and support individual pupils with precise practice to ensure that nobody is left behind. As a result, pupils acquire confidence, fluency and a passion for books. Pupils achieve significantly above national averages for reading in both key stages 1 and 2. This success further enhances pupils’ writing, where they also excel.

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Support for pupils with SEND is a strength. All classes pride themselves in being inclusive for all. The school has designed a robust system to share any concerns about pupils that may signify the need for additional help. Support is expertly planned and delivered through thoughtful adaptations and high-quality adult support. As a result, pupils with SEND flourish across the curriculum.

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Behaviour expectations are consistently high and met, ensuring that learning time is never lost. From the classroom to the playground, pupils are polite, friendly and enthusiastic. If pupils need help with their emotions, pastoral care is impressive. Leaders’ actions to improve attendance must be commended. Persistent absence has declined greatly, with attendance increasing for all groups of pupils. This particularly benefits disadvantaged pupils, including pupils with SEND, who attend highly as a result of effective work with families.

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Pupils blossom with many opportunities to develop as citizens ready for modern Britain. The ‘citizenship project’ offers them accessible ways to make a difference to their local community, such as visiting someone elderly or enhancing sustainability with recycling projects. Pupils embrace diversity through ‘culture days’, which celebrate a range of faiths and traditions. Older pupils love supporting younger children through roles, including reading buddy and playground leader. The school responds to local risks, teaching pupils how to stay safe online and in the community. Transition support is another strength. Children settle joyfully into early years, and disadvantaged pupils receive valuable help to prepare them for secondary school. Everyone benefits from a diverse club offer, and the school ensures that nobody misses out. From the school dogs to a range of therapeutic interventions, provision for mental health is superb.

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Leaders are inspirational, reflective and effective, seeking the best in everyone. This ensures a happy and well-supported workforce. Governors and trustees provide robust challenge and support. They know the school in depth, ensuring that standards are high, and duties are met with diligence. Training is shared across the trust to boost teachers’ subject knowledge, including those early in their careers. The pride and expertise modelled by staff promote pupils’ own aspirations for the future. Parents say that their children ‘beam with happiness’ when attending this highly inclusive and successful school. 30 April and 1 May 2024

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Assessment is not fully embedded in every subject. This means that teachers may not always precisely identify gaps in pupils’ long-term knowledge. The school must continue to embed its assessment approach to inform teaching and ensure that pupils can securely recall key content across the whole curriculum.

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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 predecessor school, Manor Community Primary School, to be good in November 2013.

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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' 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, 30 April and 1 May 2024

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looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 30 April and 1 May 2024

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School details

Headteacher Natalie Hill and Indira Naidu (joint headteachers) Website www.manor.kent.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 31 October 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This school is one of eight primary schools in the Cygnus Academies Trust.  There is a Nursery for three-year-old children.  The school offers a before- and after-school club, led by an external provider.  The school currently uses no alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this ungraded inspection under section 8 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.  This was the first routine inspection the school 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. 30 April and 1 May 2024

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 Inspectors met with the heads of school, assistant headteachers, subject leaders, teachers and support staff.  The lead inspector met with the CEO and deputy CEO of the trust, trustees and the co- chairs of governors.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: geography, art and design, early reading and mathematics. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The lead inspector listened to a range of pupils read. He observed catch-up interventions to evaluate how staff provide extra support for pupils.  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 culture around

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safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors considered the responses to the staff survey and spoke to a range of staff about their views on the school.  Inspectors spoke with a range of pupils in meetings, lessons and breaktimes.  Inspectors spoke to a range of parents and took account of responses to the Ofsted Parent View questionnaire and the free-text responses.

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Inspection team

Scott Reece, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Paul Bateman Ofsted Inspector 30 April and 1 May 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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