Manor Primary School

114437 Unique Reference Number East Sussex Local Authority 289911 Inspection number 11 July 2007 Inspection date David Collard Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Primary Type of school Community School category 4 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 397 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Kim Savage Chair Margaret Coleman Headteacher 1 June 2001 Date of previous school inspection Downsview Crescent School address Uckfield TN22 1UB

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01825 763041 Telephone number 01825 768107 Fax number

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4-11 Age group 11 July 2007 Inspection date 289911 Inspection number .

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Manor is an above average sized school serving the local town. A new headteacher was appointed in April 2006. The proportion of pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is above that found nationally. There is a Hearing Support Facility (HSF) based at the school. The number of pupils supported by the facility varies each year and at present there are only a very small number of hearing-impaired pupils. Whilst the hearing-impaired pupils are on the roll of the school, the school does not manage the facility and has no responsibility for monitoring the work of its staff.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Manor Primary School, 11 July 2007

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Grade: 2

This is a good school that is improving rapidly. Pupils are achieving well and leave Year 6 with standards above those expected for their age. The very strong direction of the headteacher has been instrumental in identifying and bringing about those changes that will make the most difference. She has enabled senior managers to use their good expertise in the best way and as a result, the quality of teaching, leadership and management are all good. The success of this good quality of education is now evident in the latest national test results. These are some of the highest the school has known. The good level of provision, the rising achievement of pupils and the better results all indicate an excellent capacity for the school to continue to improve. Pupils enter with standards broadly similar to those expected for their age. The good provision in the Foundation Stage means that they leave the Reception Year well equipped to deal with

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Grade: 2

the more formal work in Year 1. A significant proportion of them are working at levels above those expected. Through Years 1 and 2, teachers consolidate this good start, particularly building up the basic skills in reading, writing and mathematics. By Year 2, standards in these basic skills, as well as in a number of other subjects such as information and communication technology, are above those nationally. In the past, progress between Year 2 and 6 was not good enough. However, the excellent bringing together of assessment data has identified and targeted those pupils who were most at risk of underachieving. Regular assessments indicate that the fruits of this effort are now being seen. Raising the expectations of teachers and assistants has been at the root of the improvement. In addition, senior staff have been given the power to develop their own areas very effectively. They, along with the pupils, have had the opportunity to suggest ideas and be responsible for

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Grade: 2

following them through. All this has resulted in creative planning for the good curriculum and very strong day-to-day assessments. Because of the excellent care, guidance and support that pupils receive, their personal development and well-being are outstanding and pupils are prepared well for their future lives. Pupils make a good contribution to the life of the local community and greatly enjoy being involved in local and international activities. The school knows itself very well. The excellent self-evaluation centres on explaining the impact any new initiatives have on pupils and ensuring that problems are tackled at an early stage. For instance, issues about the progress through the junior years, particularly in writing, has meant rigorous examination of the provision in all years and setting stringent targets for each class. In the last six months, many pupils have not only made the expected level of progress

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Grade: 2

but have caught up on their previous underachievement. While the many recent improvements are commendable, the school has correctly identified the need to ensure that this process is sustained over the longer term by making sure all work matches the needs of individuals. Pupils' achievement in the Hearing Support Facility (HSF) is satisfactory. When compared with those nationally, standards are well below average because of the nature of their special needs. They benefit from attending lessons with their peers and participating in many activities. As a result, they make good gains in developing their personal and social skills. They are gradually improving their basic skills in literacy and numeracy and the recent focus on developing pupils' writing skills has been effective. There is, however, a lack of clarity concerning the use of different communication strategies and this prevents these pupils from making better progress

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Grade: 2

in their communication skills. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Manor Primary School, 11 July 2007

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that the good progress of all pupils is sustained by tailoring work to their individual needs.

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Grade: 2

Pupils' achievement is much improved. It has been most rapid since the better identification of pupils' needs has resulted in more appropriate support. Assessments confirm that different ability groups make similar levels of progress. In the Foundation Stage, the provision has been rearranged to provide many activity areas that balance the need for both independent and teacher-directed activities. Across all areas of learning, pupils are developing well. This flying start is built upon through good transition into Year 1 and then into Year 2, where teachers also use similar strategies to develop a rounded approach to learning. Until 2006, the national test results in Year 6 showed that standards remained at or above average, but pupils were not achieving well through their junior years, particularly in English. Thorough analysis of the reasons for this and the actions taken to address them mean that achievement is now good.

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Grade: 2

For example, nearly half of the present Year 6 pupils gained levels above those expected for their age, thus meeting their highly challenging targets. Nevertheless, the school has identified the need to sustain this improvement and evolve the good practice in English and mathematics to all other subjects. The HSF staff appropriately use signing with some pupils, but there is a limited expectation that the pupils will respond through signing and/or voice. It is to their credit that many mainstream pupils are keen to learn sign language.

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Grade: 1

Pupils' outstanding personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development has come about through the very good relationships, combined with giving pupils real responsibility and many opportunities to help improve the school. Pupils look after one another exceptionally well and really do enjoy their learning. The highly active school council, for example, has been instrumental in instigating and running the stationery shop and buying playground toys. Pupils feel safe, saying that there is a 'zero tolerance to bullying'. Pupils not only fully understand about healthy lifestyles but help make sure it happens. For instance, younger pupils were aghast during a role-play activity when their teacher suggested eating two packets of crisps and a packet of biscuits. They quickly explained that these foods 'were not nutritious'. Pupils are expected to play a full and active part within the school community. They in turn are willing to

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Grade: 2

The school's sophisticated monitoring of teaching correctly identifies an increasingly high proportion of common strengths. These include well considered lesson plans linking specific subject skills, good management of the class and pertinent questioning techniques. These, along with the good marking and assessment procedures, are ensuring that pupils now make 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Manor Primary School, 11 July 2007 continuously good progress as they move through the school. While there is still some minor variability remaining in the expectations of what pupils are capable of, good quality professional development is addressing this. Teaching assistants are deployed very well. Pupils are made very aware of how well they are doing and how they can improve, a good example being the use of a 'two stars and a wish' system. This allows pupils to judge each other's work and to make suggestions for improvement. As a result, the aspirations of pupils about what they can

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Grade: 2

achieve have been raised and pupils are more confident in their endeavours. The quality of teaching is satisfactory in the HSF. Although pupils benefit from being included in mainstream lessons, this is not always effective. On occasions, communication aids are not used correctly and the use of support staff does not always ensure that pupils understand what is going on.

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Grade: 2

The school has been addressing the need to raise basic skills in English and mathematics. Although there are some exciting activities happening, the school rightly feels that there are not enough of these learning opportunities that encompass more practical, relevant and lively themes. Nevertheless, pupils say they really enjoy lessons, feel challenged by what they are asked to do and say that their days are interesting. Good use is made of specialists, visitors and extra-curricular opportunities, such as the use of an advanced skills teacher from a local technical college to help develop the teaching of French.

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Grade: 1

A key reason why the care and support of pupils are outstanding is the excellent balance between personal and academic guidance. The school has developed highly sophisticated systems to look at individual needs as well as trends in performance over time. This has been at the heart of improving the provision and so raising the achievement of pupils. A senior member of staff has effectively developed pastoral guidance ensuring any personal problems do not become a major issue. Parents are highly supportive and recognise the difference this has made. The pastoral care and safety of pupils are paramount; they are very effective but unobtrusive. The excellent systems for academic guidance have been used both to set very challenging targets and to help encourage staff, as they can see evidence of the impact from improved teaching and standards.

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Grade: 2

The headteacher's very strong lead and highly analytical approach to school improvement has increased the self-esteem of both staff and pupils. On her arrival, the most significant priorities were quickly identified and excellent processes put in place to address them. The very able and effective senior leadership team has been given the responsibility to manage these changes. The aim is to build sustainable improvement and so reduce the variability in pupils' progress. The realistic self-evaluation correctly identifies that while underachievement has been stemmed this year, it is only a start and some pupils are still capable of achieving more. To drive this, the 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Manor Primary School, 11 July 2007 role of middle managers is being developed so that they have a clear understanding about how much impact there is from any new initiatives. Governance of the school is good. Decisions are taken following extensive first-hand analysis

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Grade: 2

and using the good expertise of some governors. The school has effectively dealt with a significant overspend, but this will take some time to resolve and will require careful management over the next four years. The management of the HSF is satisfactory. There is an increasing awareness of the need to use information about pupils' achievements to ensure that work is planned appropriately to enable them to build upon their skills. Satisfactory links with mainstream staff have been established and regular reminders provided about the use of communication aids. Although there has been some monitoring of the support provided to pupils this has not been formalised or used effectively to recognise the strengths and areas for improvement in provision. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Manor Primary School, 11 July 2007 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Manor Primary School, 11 July 2007

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Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The quality and standards in the Foundation Stage 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

2 How well do learners achieve? 2 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The behaviour of learners 2 The attendance of learners 1 How well learners enjoy their education 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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and interests of learners?

1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Manor Primary School, 11 July 2007

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Manor Primary School, 11 July 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

12 July 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Manor Primary School, Uckfield TN22 1UB Thank you for looking after us so well during our recent visit. We enjoyed talking to so many of you and seeing you at work. As I promised some of you in Year 6, I have written the main points of our report below:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ You told us that you thought your school was good and we agree. There have been lots of changes for the better so your school is improving well. ■ You thought that your behaviour was good. We think it is excellent. We could see that you are all very polite children. You look after one another well and really do enjoy your learning. ■ We have said that you make good progress through the school. By the time you leave many of you are working at levels that are above those expected for your age. ■ Your teachers work hard to make sure you are given all the best opportunities. They plan good lessons that will interest you and make you think hard. We thought that some of the ways that they help you improve are really good. For instance, you told us about the 'two stars and a wish' system. When we looked, some of the things you have written are really helpful. ■ We can see that you are looked after really well so that you feel safe and secure in school.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

This is all helping prepare you for when you move on to your next school. ■ Your headteacher and her staff know what to do to make things even better. They have started to look at how they can make sure that your school continues to get better each year and how you will make good progress in all your subjects. Finally, we wish you all the best for the future. You can help by continuing to suggest good ideas, for instance through the school council. Yours sincerely David Collard Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Manor Primary School, 11 July 2007

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