Schools & FE · Report card

Manor Community Academy

Inspected 11 Nov 2025 · URN 141686

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Summary

No overall grade in this frameworkSafeguarding met

What we read, and from where

Click a reading to see it highlighted in the report.

Achievement verified
Strong standard
Attendance and behaviour verified
Expected standard
Curriculum and teaching verified
Expected standard
Inclusion verified
Strong standard
Leadership and governance verified
Strong standard
Personal development and wellbeing verified
Expected standard
Framework verified
Report card
Inspection datesingle source
11 Nov 2025
Inspectors under review
Readings disagree
Postcode verified
TS25 3PS
Name on report verified
Manor Community Academy
Safeguarding verified
Met
URN verified
141686

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Deep dive

What this report says

In plain English

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Grade profile

Each judgement on its scale, weakest to strongest.

AchievementStrong
Attendance and behaviourExpected
Curriculum and teachingExpected
InclusionStrong
Leadership and governanceStrong
Personal development and wellbeingExpected

Tone of the report

How positive or critical the inspectors' language is, from the words they chose. No AI involved.

+66Positivemore positive than 38% of reports of this type

In line with other reports of this type.

Praisestronghighly effectiveexcellentthriveconsistentlyvery wellwell preparedambitious

Criticismconcernsgapsvariablenot high expectationsinconsistentweakernot strongnot confident

How the report reads, start to finish

Every paragraph in order, sized by length. Tap one to see it on the page.

FindingsSafeguardingAbout the inspectionLeadershipWhat needs to improve positive critical

Findings1341w+64
Leadership254w+79
Safeguarding51w−11
What needs to improve77w+64

Strengths

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Concerns

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No strong criticism found.

Next steps

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What the report dwells on

Topics by how often they come up, coloured by how they are described. Open one for an example.

Anatomy of the report

How the report is built, against others of the same type and grade.

Pages: 14
Words of findings: 1,721; about usual (typical 1698)
Reading level: Hard; Flesch 42, typical 43
Average sentence: 14 words
Next steps: 3; typical 3
Hedged sentences: 9%; “some”, “not always”, “most”…

Where the words go

Findings 48%Leadership 9%Safeguarding 2%What needs to improve 3%About the inspection 38%

Full report text

Manor Community Academy

Address: Owton Manor Lane, TS25 3PS Unique reference number (URN): 141686

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Achievement Strong standard

The school's inclusive culture and tailored provision enables vulnerable pupils to achieve well. They make significant progress from their starting points, academically, socially and emotionally.

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Achievement Strong standard

Leaders acted immediately in response to a dip in disadvantaged pupils' GCSE grades in 2024. The improvements put in place had an immediate impact. By the summer of 2025, for example, the proportion of disadvantaged pupils who achieved standard and strong passes in GCSE English and mathematics was well above the national average. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities also achieved well.

p.2

Achievement Strong standard

The development of pupils' foundational knowledge and skills, such as being able to read fluently, is highly effective. Skilful support is in place to ensure that gaps are addressed. There is clear, sustained and demonstrable impact from this work. Pupils, including those who are most vulnerable, are well prepared for their next steps in education, training and employment. They are expertly supported to secure appropriate and ambitious destinations when they leave school.

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Inclusion Strong standard

A highly-inclusive culture underpins life at Manor Community Academy. Leaders have excellent oversight of this aspect of their work. They work closely with external agencies so pupils get the help that they need. Pupils known to social care, and those with other notable vulnerabilities, are extremely well cared for.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), including those supported in the specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND, are fully integrated into day-to-day life at school. Staff identify the needs of individual pupils precisely. Staff are well trained to put the right adaptations in place. Expectations of pupils with SEND are high. They access the same ambitious curriculum as their peers.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The school’s pupil premium funding is strategically planned and monitored to benefit pupils. Where the school may use alternative provision, there is a clear rationale and leaders have effective oversight of this.

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Inclusion Strong standard

As a result of the school’s culture of inclusion, pupils who benefit from this support achieve well, both academically and otherwise. Disadvantaged pupils demonstrate their learning through high-quality work. The performance of vulnerable pupils in recent external examinations is impressive. The most vulnerable pupils make excellent progress from their starting points.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders, including those with responsibility for governance, work collectively to ensure that pupils have a sense of belonging and thrive at Manor Community Academy. This is the case for all pupils, but particularly for those who are the most vulnerable and those who face additional barriers to their learning and wellbeing. The commitment from school and trust leaders to nurture the most vulnerable pupils is demonstrable, both recently and over time.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders use the information available to them to accurately identify, implement and monitor school improvement priorities. For example, a professional development programme to strengthen teaching in English and mathematics has led to the attainment of disadvantaged pupils, including those with additional needs, outperforming the national averages for all pupils in these subjects. Similarly, leaders' actions to increase rates of attendance have had a sustained impact.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Staff are exceptionally positive about life at the school. Many staff who have worked at the school over time refer to the transformational differences that leaders have brought about. Staff at the school who are new to teaching speak very highly of the support they receive. The professional development opportunities for staff are well considered.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

School leaders are supported effectively by colleagues from the trust, with appropriate oversight from the board of trustees, and locally from the academy council. At all levels, leaders are highly motivated and committed to the school, its pupils and the wider community. Most parents and carers rate the school highly. They recognise the notable impact that the school is having on their children.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Recognising changes in patterns of attendance following the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders have focused heavily on reducing rates of absence. This has been successful. Pupils now attend school more regularly than was previously the case. Rates of absences are reducing over time. All groups of pupils are benefiting from these improvements, including more vulnerable pupils, such as those from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with special education needs and/or disabilities. When pupils do not attend, staff take swift action to follow-up on this.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

The school environment is routinely calm. Lessons are settled and purposeful. Praise is used extensively to motivate and reward pupils. Applause is frequently heard throughout the school as pupils celebrate each other's achievements. Bullying happens infrequently. Pupils know that support is available to them when it does happen. Records show that staff act appropriately when concerns are raised. Most pupils have positive attitudes towards their learning and behave well. Where this is not the case, staff apply the school’s behaviour policy consistently well. They support pupils to reflect on and improve their behaviour when needed. Rates of suspension, while falling, remain higher than leaders want them to be.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have focused the curriculum on the core skills that pupils need for life after school, including reading, writing and mathematics. As a result, the curriculum in these subjects is embedded and successfully implemented. Pupils who are less confident with reading get expert guidance and help. This support is well led and consistently delivered effectively. Reading for pleasure is a high priority. Older pupils set an example by listening to younger pupils read.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The quality of the curriculum in other subjects has improved since the school's previous inspection. For example, in history, leaders have restructured the curriculum so that pupils learn key knowledge and skills effectively. In some subjects, where improvements are underway, the depth of pupils' learning is variable. Leaders are aware of this. They have set out further changes to address this.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Teaching in lessons is purposeful. The needs of vulnerable pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are well known and addressed by teachers and support staff. Teachers identify misconceptions, both in lessons and through carefully planned assessments. They take appropriate actions to address gaps in pupils' knowledge.

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Personal development and well-being Expected standard

The school puts an appropriate personal development programme in place. Much of this is taught through the school’s well-planned ‘LIFE’ curriculum. This includes coverage of statutory content such as healthy relationships. Leaders provide training for staff to teach the ‘LIFE’ curriculum but the impact of this is inconsistent. The personal development programme also provides opportunities for pupils to become active citizens, learning more about the world around them, while reflecting on their own views and the opinions of others. Although the intentions of this offer are high, there is variation in the extent to which all pupils benefit.

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Personal development and well-being Expected standard

A range of extra-curricular opportunities are available at school. For example, a forthcoming whole-school performance of 'Legally Blonde' enables some pupils to showcase their talents and interests. The school's 'iAspire' challenges promote character building. However, pupils' interest in some of these initiatives and opportunities is variable. As such, the impact of this programme is not as strong as other aspects of the school's offer.

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Personal development and well-being Expected standard

Pupils benefit from the careers education programme. They receive independent, impartial advice and are very well prepared for their next steps. The number of pupils who go onto a sustained destination, such as education, training and employment has risen rapidly. This is the case for all pupils, including the most disadvantaged. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), including those who access the specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND, are well prepared for life after school as they begin to enter adulthood. In line with the school's highly inclusive culture, the pastoral support provided to pupils is highly effective. Day-to-day arrangements means that there is always help on hand when pupils need it. Pupils speak highly of the pastoral system.

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