Manor Field Infant and Nursery School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Manor Field Infant and Nursery School Manor Road, Long Stratton, Norwich, Norfolk NR15 2XR

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Outcome

Manor Field Infant and Nursery School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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Outcome

The executive headteacher of this school is Heather Haines. This school is part of Clarion Corvus 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), James Adams, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Christine Nichols.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils like coming to this school. They enjoy the range of subjects they learn about and making friends. Pupils benefit from staff that care about them and want them to succeed. Staff work hard to support pupils to settle into school and be ready to learn. Most pupils are demonstrating improvements in their reading, writing and mathematical knowledge from their starting points. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) also have appropriate adjustments in place to assist them in accessing their learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

In the Nursery and Reception classes, children enjoy learning about the world around them. They are supported ably in learning new vocabulary through stories and topics that interest them. Throughout the whole school, pupils enjoy reading. They are proud of the range of books they can choose from.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know the school’s rules. Pupils who need help with their feelings and emotions are thoughtfully supported. Pupils are not worried about bullying. If there is unkind behaviour, pupils know adults will help them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils appreciate chances to broaden their horizons through trips to the museum, farm or zoo. The school rewards pupils who show resilience and consideration for others. Pupils like earning badges for these rewards. 7 May 2025

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

Since the last inspection and following the COVID-19 pandemic, the school has updated its curriculum to ensure it is suitably ambitious and relevant for the current pupils’ needs. The school has made sure staff know this revised curriculum content. It checks that pupils are learning the necessary knowledge in the right order. This starts from Nursery upwards. As a result, most pupils of all ages are becoming more confident and independent readers, writers and mathematicians. Pupils are also strengthening their recall of knowledge in other subjects, such as history and science.

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

In early years, staff encourage children to build on their interests when applying new knowledge. This helps to sustain children’s curiosity. Staff appropriately intervene in children’s play to help them succeed with an activity. However, sometimes adults do not consistently maximise these opportunities to extend children’s understanding even further. This means some children do not achieve as highly as they could.

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

Further up the school, staff check how fluently pupils read, can write accurate sentences and know key number facts. Pupils read books matched to the sounds they know. Staff spot gaps in reading, writing or mathematical knowledge and provide interventions so pupils catch up. Pupils are responding well to this. However, the work set for some pupils does not build on or deepen their learning well enough. Sometimes, the expectation of what some pupils can achieve is not yet consistently high enough.

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

In recent years, there has been an increase in pupils with SEND in all year groups, including many with social, emotional and mental health needs (SEMH). The school has used its own expertise and that of external agencies to identify accurately and support these pupils’ needs. Pupils with SEND have carefully tailored provision. Staff assist pupils well, and in most instances, this enables pupils with SEND to realise their support plan targets. This includes pupils who attend the school’s specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND (specially resourced provision).

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

The school is taking effective action to address some recent behaviour incidents. As a result, the school has seen improvements in behaviour. The school is a calmer place to learn now. All pupils know the school’s expectations for, for example, lining up, playing sensibly and listening in class. However, the school is not ensuring that these known rules are consistently followed. While it does not disrupt learning, it does unsettle other pupils.

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

Pupils benefit from a well-thought-out personal development programme. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the school has also placed a greater emphasis on supporting pupils’ mental well-being. When needed, pupils use known calming strategies effectively and independently. Pupils appreciate time with staff who listen to any worries. The school’s actions to support pupils and families have also helped to improve pupils’ attendance.

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

Pupils are taught how to stay safe online and when crossing the road. They learn about fundamental British values in assemblies and represent their views through the school council. This helps them understand democracy. 7 May 2025

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The trust and local governing board successfully hold the school to account for pupils’ outcomes, behaviour and attendance. Leaders are mindful of staff well-being and workload, as well as responsibly managing resources.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Sometimes, learning activities do not sufficiently extend or deepen pupils’ knowledge. This limits how highly some pupils can achieve. The school needs to ensure that the work set for pupils across the school consistently meets the high expectations of the curriculum and enables pupils to achieve the very best outcomes.  Pupils know the school rules. However, these expectations are not upheld consistently in the way leaders intend. This means, on occasions, school routines are not always followed, which can be unsettling for some pupils. The school needs to support staff to ensure that routines, including transitions between lessons and at social times, are more consistently well managed.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 third ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Manor Field Infant and Nursery School, to be good for overall effectiveness in October 2011. 7 May 2025

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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, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 7 May 2025

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 7 and 8 January 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This school is part of Clarion Corvus Trust. In this trust, the school is also part of the South Norfolk Federation. This means the school’s leadership team also oversees another local school, Aslacton Primary School.  The school is also supported by the trust’s school improvement team.  The trust board and a local governing board provide governance oversight of this school. The federation shares the same local governing board.  The school has a Nursery class for pupils aged three to four. These pupils attend either part time or full time.  The school has a specially resourced provision. This is known as the specialist resource base (SRB). This supports up to eight pupils on temporary placements from local schools who have SEMH needs. Places are allocated by the local authority. Some pupils from this school currently attend the SRB.  The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors met with the executive headteacher, executive deputy headteacher, senior leaders, the special educational needs coordinator, the leader of the specialist resource base, class teachers and support staff.  The inspectors met with the trust’s CEO, standards officer and teaching and learning leader.  The lead inspector met with the chair of the board of trustees, the chair of the local governing body and three other trustees.  As part of this inspection, the inspectors met with staff, visited all classes, looked at pupils’ work and spoke to pupils from across the school.

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Information about this inspection

 The lead inspector also reviewed documentation provided by the school, including the school development plan and reports to the governing board and trust.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and children; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The lead inspector met with a group of staff to consider their views on workload and well-being.  The inspectors took account of the views of parents expressed through the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments.

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Inspection team

Sara Boyce, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Charlie Fordham His Majesty’s Inspector 7 May 2025

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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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