Mansfield Primary Academy

Inspection of Mansfield Primary Academy Newgate Lane, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire NG18 2LB

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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 principal of this school is David Jane. This school is part of Greenwood 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, Wayne Norrie, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Michael Hamlin. 9 and 10 July 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

This school emphasises the importance of building strong relationships with the community. Staff get to know pupils and their families exceptionally well. Pupils are happy here. They say the staff really care about them and they feel well looked after. Parents appreciate this.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff help pupils understand the school’s high expectations for behaviour by being continual role models. Pupils typically behave well. They try their best to live up to the school’s ‘3Rs’ of respect, responsibility and resilience. For those pupils who find this difficult, staff provide caring and constructive support.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many exciting trips bring the curriculum to life and provide memorable experiences for pupils. During the inspection, older pupils excitedly departed for a camping trip at a seaside school. Many had never been camping or to the seaside before. Year 3 pupils visited the Tropical Butterfly House to learn about animals and conservation. Children in the early years recently visited a wildlife park to see exotic animals from books they were reading. All pupils enjoy the forest school, where they look after the chickens and share social time when they toast marshmallows.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a very inclusive school, where ambitions are high for every pupil. Current pupils are in receipt of an engaging curriculum, which is helping them to achieve better than what has been reflected in published outcomes. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do particularly well.

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better?

The school is committed to making sure pupils learn to read well. They prepare pupils for this journey in the Nursery Year. Staff make sure pupils listen carefully for sounds and say them clearly. Trained staff teach phonics well. Younger pupils concentrate hard to apply their knowledge in their reading groups. Their books are well matched to the sounds they know. Ample practice helps them become more fluent readers. Where pupils find it hard to remember or blend sounds, they receive additional expert support. Teachers carefully select books to ignite pupils’ love of reading. Pupils thoroughly enjoy their class novels. They are proud to be recognised for their achievement in the reading assembly. Pupils are excited to ‘spin the wheel of names’ to find out who will win tokens for the book vending machine.

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better?

The school has been working hard to develop a broad and inspiring curriculum. In the early years, there is a strong focus on developing language and communication skills. This focus continues through the school and teachers highlight important words on the ‘vocabulary cake’ in every classroom. Putting communication at the heart of the curriculum is having a positive impact on pupils’ progress across and within subjects. There was great excitement in the Reception Year when some children discovered a carrot had grown from the seeds they had planted. They explained how they looked after the plants and helped them grow. They talked about washing their hands and cleaning the carrot so they could eat it. 9 and 10 July 2024

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The school has set out the core knowledge they want pupils to learn. Their curriculum plans largely enable teachers to design effective lessons. Some subjects are still in the earlier stages of development. In these subjects, the plans are not yet precise enough about the knowledge pupils need to acquire, or the exact sequence for learning it. Where this is the case, lessons are less effective, and pupils do not gain the necessary knowledge for future learning.

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When teachers have clarity about what pupils should learn, they provide appropriately engaging activities that capture pupils’ interest. Teachers identify pupils with SEND swiftly and adapt lessons and activities well for them. This enables these pupils to learn the same ambitious curriculum alongside their peers. Teachers often use ‘sentence stems’ to help all pupils explain clearly and deepen their understanding. Sometimes, teachers do not check what pupils think or record in their books thoroughly enough. Teachers miss the opportunity to address the misconceptions that can hinder pupils’ learning.

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Through the well-considered personal development curriculum, pupils learn about responsibility. Some pupils have opportunity to hold important roles. The school parliament helped design the small parts play area for playtimes. They also decide what after-school clubs to offer. There are many clubs for pupils to develop their talents. The school encourages pupils to aspire. Guest speakers introduce them to a range of careers. Each term pupils write their aspirations on their leaf of the ‘career tree’.

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Pupils’ attendance is not as high as it should be. The school works with parents to find out the underlying reasons. Helpful support is reducing the number of absences.

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The school is determined to keep improving. Staff are eager to take extra responsibility to support this. The school is considerate of their workload and makes sure they have additional time to fulfil their responsibilities. Training activities are well focused on development areas.

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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, the curriculum does not identify precisely enough the important knowledge and vocabulary that pupils need to know and remember. It does not always make clear the sequence for building knowledge over time. As a result, lessons do not help pupils to gain a deeper understanding over time. The school needs to identify precisely what pupils need to learn, and when, to ensure that lessons focus sharply on this. 9 and 10 July 2024

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 In some lessons, staff do not check pupils’ understanding as well as they might. Some work in pupils’ books is not checked carefully enough. As a result, staff often do not identify and address pupils’ misconceptions and this hinders pupils’ learning and progress. The school needs to ensure that staff check pupils’ learning more carefully so they systematically identify and address pupils’ misconceptions.

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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). 9 and 10 July 2024

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School details

Local authority Nottinghamshire County Council

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 7 and 8 March 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is a member of the Greenwood Academies Trust.  The school does not make use of alternative providers.

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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.  This is 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.  The lead inspector met with governors, the CEO, other trust leaders and spoke with the vice-chair of the trust. Inspectors met with senior leaders of the school and considered a range of documentation provided. 9 and 10 July 2024

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 Inspectors conducted deep dives into the following subjects: early reading, mathematics, design and technology, and history. 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 as pupils read to a familiar adult. Inspectors also considered evidence about other curriculum subjects, such as art and design and English.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site during playtime.  The inspectors spoke with groups of pupils and staff. Inspectors spoke to parents and considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey for parents, as well as the staff survey.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and

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considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.

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Inspection team

Claire Stylianides, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

John Spragg His Majesty’s Inspector 9 and 10 July 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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