Manor Green Primary School

Inspection Report Manor Green Primary School

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126162 Unique Reference Number West Sussex LEA 293480 Inspection number 5 July 2006 to 5 July 2006 Inspection dates Steven Parker AI Reporting inspector

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

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Lady Margaret Road School address Special Type of school Ifield Community School category Crawley, West Sussex RH11 0DU 2 to 11 Age range of pupils

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01293 526873 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01293 510363 Fax number 80 Number on roll Mr John Robinson Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr David Reid Headteacher 18 June 2001 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 293480 5 July 2006 - 2 to 11 5 July 2006 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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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 Green Primary is a day special school that was established in new purpose built premises in April 2004, adjoining its sister secondary school and sharing some common facilities, such as a hydrotherapy pool. It provides for pupils from across Crawley and the surrounding areas who have moderate and severe learning difficulties, many with additional needs, such as autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and impairments in social and communication skills. There is also a small group with profound and complex difficulties. All have statements of special educational need. Most pupils come from areas of social deprivation, 10 speak English as an additional language, four are looked after by the local authority and there are twice as many boys as girls.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Manor Green Primary School, 5 July 2006 to 5 July 2006

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Grade: 2

Manor Green Primary is a good and rapidly improving school. It has prioritised the development of its outstanding care and pastoral support, good curriculum and excellent assessment systems. As a result, teachers and their assistants provide good, and sometimes excellent, teaching for pupils with diverse and often complex needs. Consequently, pupils become confident, independent individuals, who behave well and enjoy school very much. They make good progress, from a very good start in the Foundation Stage, to achieve well as they go through the years and on to the neighbouring secondary school. Some pupils with ASD make striking progress in some subjects in which they have particular strengths, sometimes achieving average national standards. Other pupils who join the school later in their career, often as late as Year 6 after experiencing failure and unhappiness in mainstream schools, are transformed

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Grade: 2

in a very short time, thrive, and go on to make excellent progress in their studies. One such pupil spoke for all his peers in describing the school as ‘wicked’. In this context, it is not surprising that attendance is good. Staff know their pupils very well and use that knowledge to plan their learning effectively. Most pupils are not, however, fully involved in setting their own targets and assessing how well they are getting on. The headteacher’s outstanding leadership and vision have enabled the whole school community to work very well together, in a short time, to create this successful school, which parents feel is just what their children need. The school knows itself well and agrees with the inspectors’ judgements about quality. It gathers a considerable range of information about its work and uses this knowledge to inform improvement planning. In this way it has, for example, identified the need to adapt its curriculum to meet the

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Grade: 2

needs of the highest and lowest attainers more effectively. Leadership and management are good overall and becoming even more effective as responsibilities are increasingly shared across the school. Governors are supportive, but not yet fully involved in finding out about how the school works. Manor Green has developed and sustained successful partnerships with parents, other services, agencies and schools. It provides good value for money and has outstanding capacity to continue improving its provision.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Provide opportunities for pupils to become more involved in setting their own targets and evaluating their progress towards meeting them. • Extend learning opportunities for the lowest and highest attaining pupils. • Ensure that governors have a clear picture of the work of the school, so that they can hold the school fully to account.

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Grade: 2

Pupils make good progress and achieve well in all subjects. Many join the school at different times, often towards the end of their primary education, because they have had significant difficulties in mainstream schools. These pupils often make outstanding 2 Inspection Report: Manor Green Primary School, 5 July 2006 to 5 July 2006 progress in a short time, because of the excellent support and guidance and very well focused teaching they receive. All pupils’ attainment on entry is well below national expectations. Those that start in the foundation and early years classes are given a particularly good start. An important concentration on developing their emotional, social, play and communication skills enables pupils to benefit fully from learning opportunities as they move through the school. Pupils with autism often have particular ability in, for example, mathematics and science, and their teachers ensure that they

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Grade: 2

achieve very well in these aspects of their learning. The school is ambitious for all its pupils to succeed and sets relevant and challenging targets for them to work on, in collaboration with parents and carers. Girls and boys, pupils with different needs and children in the care of the local authority all achieve their targets equally well.

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Grade: 2

Pupils make good overall progress in their personal development as the school gradually embeds personal, social, health and citizenship education across the curriculum. Their well-being is assured through outstanding care, guidance and support. They are becoming increasingly aware of how to keep themselves safe and adopt a healthy lifestyle. The latter need is well supported by good quality, nutritious food served at lunchtimes and a wide range of physical activities. It is clear from their responses that pupils very much enjoy school and their good attendance proves this. Assemblies and circle time contribute well to pupils’ spiritual sensitivities, clear understanding of right and wrong and how to conduct themselves properly as good citizens. Both in class and around school their behaviour is good and they respond positively to the star reward system. Their relationships with each other and all staff are of high quality,

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Grade: 2

resulting in a calm and orderly atmosphere across the school. Pupils’ understanding of different cultures is well developed and they are aware of the need to protect their environment through, for example, recycling and saving water. Older pupils are encouraged to contribute their views of school life through a well managed school council. The recent involvement of elected members in the appointment of a new deputy headteacher was outstanding, and demonstrated how much the school values their views. The school rightly has plans to extend this opportunity for younger pupils to represent their peers. Pupils are gradually developing all the necessary skills to ensure their future economic well-being.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good overall, and sometimes excellent, helping pupils to learn successfully. A good deal of thought has gone into the organisation of classes. There are, for example the two ASD groups and one for pupils with more complex learning difficulties. This means that there is a very good match of work and teaching approaches to meet their particular needs. Frequent opportunities for these 3 Inspection Report: Manor Green Primary School, 5 July 2006 to 5 July 2006 pupils to socialise and play with other pupils ensure that they are properly included in the life of the school. There is very strong teamwork between teachers and their assistants to support learning and manage any challenging behaviour effectively. Well developed teaching materials, good use of computers and lively presentation, make learning fun and motivate pupils. Outstanding assessment systems were developed at

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Grade: 2

a very early stage of the school’s history and this has ensured that teachers are aware of, and take careful note of, individual needs in their planning. Occasionally, however, the least and most able pupils are not as well served as they could be. This means that some pupils struggle and others find the work does not fully stretch them. There is regular checking of pupils’ work. Helpful feedback praises good work and provides guidance on how to improve. A small number of older pupils are involved in setting their own targets, but, at the moment, this is not a general policy. As a consequence, pupils are not always aware of or consciously focus on their targets every day.

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Grade: 2

The school has worked hard to create a good curriculum. It is regularly reviewed to ensure it meets the increasingly complex needs of pupils being referred to the school. Hence, the range and relevance of learning opportunities are rapidly improving. Some adjustments are currently being planned to ensure that the highest and lowest attainers are properly catered for. The range and quality of experiences provided for pupils are wide, highly relevant and evident in the high quality displays around the school. Very detailed planning of a twoyear- cycle of work provides teachers with a clear picture of what pupils should learn and the approaches to employ to ensure learning is accessible to all, including pupils in the early years and specialist classes. As well as including all subjects, the curriculum is enriched by making full use of the attractive, well designed and equipped new building and outside environment. Pupils go on well

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Grade: 2

planned visits to the community and residential experiences, and attend a growing range of clubs.

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Grade: 1

Manor Green Primary provides an outstanding level of care, guidance and pastoral support for both pupils and their parents and carers. Parents recognise and particularly value this aspect of the school’s work. It is very evident from the excellent information provided to parents that staff understand very well where pupils are in their learning, what next steps should be planned and the particular support needed to ensure that pupils, including those who speak English as an additional language, make good or better progress. This support is enhanced considerably by the excellent collaborative work of therapists and other professionals, such as the school nurse. New pupils to the school, and their families, especially those who join at the Foundation Stage, benefit from a highly supportive induction process. Pupils moving on to secondary education enjoy an exemplary transition package throughout the whole of their last

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Grade: 1

year. The school provides a very safe environment. Comprehensive behaviour 4 Inspection Report: Manor Green Primary School, 5 July 2006 to 5 July 2006 management plans are closely followed to good effect. Risk assessments are thorough and effective, and child protection procedures are rigorously applied. Arrangements for safeguarding pupils through checking the background of all staff fully meet local authority guidelines.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good, and have ensured that the school has made significant progress in establishing a clear, positive, inclusive ethos and high quality provision in the short time since it opened. The headteacher, working in close and productive partnership with his very able senior management colleagues, has provided vision and outstanding leadership. Management responsibilities have been delegated gradually right across the school. By encouraging and supporting colleagues to undertake appropriate professional development, the headteacher has nurtured the leadership skills of staff. By identifying the strengths of individual staff, including those of teaching assistants, he has created a team that now has excellent capacity to keep the school moving forward. The school has a clear picture of its strengths through rigorous monitoring and knows the areas that require further attention. It

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Grade: 2

recognises, for example, that it does not yet check effectively enough on the progress of particular groups of pupils and follow up any identified weaknesses where necessary. The school takes full account of the views of parents and other stakeholders in identifying areas for improvement. The school improvement plan reflects a thorough approach to ensuring that pupils’ needs are properly met, so that they can make the best progress possible. Very good links have been established with other agencies and with the wider community. The school is leading a campus-wide inclusion project, which will lead to even more effective partnerships. It is also expanding its outreach work to provide support for pupils with learning difficulties and their teachers in mainstream schools. The governing body provides good support, but has not always asked challenging questions of the school. Through recent restructuring of its

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Grade: 2

committees and development of more focused involvement in the school’s work, governors are now in a better position to hold the school to account. 5 Inspection Report: Manor Green Primary School, 5 July 2006 to 5 July 2006 .

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set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s

website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Manor Green Primary School, 5 July 2006 to 5 July 2006

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Overall

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

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learners?

NA 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 2 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA NA Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 4 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

NA 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

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

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needs and interests of learners?

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

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needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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and supporting all learners?

NA 1 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 2 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 2 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 2 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy

Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health

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The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe

Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them

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The extent to which learners make a positive contribution

Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the wider community

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The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being

Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Dear PupilsThank you for making Mr Byrne and myself feel so welcome when we visited yourschool recently. Particular thanks must also go to the school council for giving theirtime to talk to us. This letter is to tell you some of the most important things wefound out about during our visit. It was obvious to us that you enjoy school very much and get on well with eachother. This is probably the reason that your behaviour and attendance are sogood. The staff give you a good range of exciting and useful things to do. You are lucky to have good teachers and lots of other adults to encourage youand look after you extremely well. Teachers know about you as individuals and always try to plan work for youthat you can all do, so that you get on as well as possible. For a small numberof pupils this does always work as well as it could. We think that you could all be more involved in setting your own targets andmeasuring how

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

well you get on with them. Those pupils that have had bad experiences in their last school change veryquickly for the better, like their new school very much and get on exceptionallywell. The school’s governors should visit the school more often to find out moreabout how it works. Your headteacher had a very clear idea about the sort of school he wantedManor Green to be when it opened, and he has helped everyone to make thishappen in a very short time. Your parents are very happy that it is such a good school.Yours sincerelySteven ParkerLead inspector

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