Manor Green Primary School

Manor Green Primary School Inspection report

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126162 Unique Reference Number West Sussex Local Authority 328458 Inspection number 4 June 2009 Inspection date Mike Kell Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare, managed by the governing body, was inspected under section 49 of the Childcare Act 2006.

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Special Type of school Community special School category 2–11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 135 School (total) 0 Government funded early education provision for children aged 3 to the end of the EYFS 0 Childcare provision for children aged 0 to 3 years The governing body Appropriate authority Julia McGregor Chair David Reid Headteacher 5 July 2006 Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous funded early education inspection Not previously inspected Date of previous childcare inspection Lady Margaret Road School address Ifield Crawley RH11 0DU 01293 526873 Telephone number 01293 510363 Fax number

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2–11 Age group 4 June 2009 Inspection date 328458 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. 2 of 11 Inspection Report: Manor Green Primary School, 4 June 2009

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by two additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

Manor Green is a purpose built school that opened in 2004. It shares a site with a special secondary school that was built at the same time. The two schools are attached by a common foyer and they share some facilities, such as the hydrotherapy pool. The school caters for pupils with a wide diversity of learning difficulties. All of the pupils have a statement of special educational needs. In over half of cases this is for moderate or severe learning difficulties and these pupils are grouped broadly by age and capability. In addition, there are four specialist classes. A small number of pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties are taught separately, as are a significant number of pupils with autism. There are three distinct classes for these pupils with the most severe social and communication difficulties. There are far more boys than girls in the school. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage provision account

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Description of the school

for about a fifth of the total school roll. The majority of pupils are of White British origin. Approximately a third of pupils are entitled to free school meals. A tiny number of pupils are in public care. The school has Active School status and the Healthy School Award. It has also been awarded an Inclusion Quality Mark and it has just achieved the Gold Artsmark award.

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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 Green Primary School, 4 June 2009

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Grade: 1

Manor Green is an outstanding school. It is an orderly and yet vibrant community in which both staff and pupils get great delight from the pleasure of learning. Excellent leadership and management ensure that all learners flourish. Outstanding Early Years Foundation Stage provision encourages children to make excellent progress in their learning and personal and social development. All parts of the spacious accommodation are used to very best effect, from very well equipped outdoor classrooms to corridors that contain very high quality displays of pupils' work. Not surprisingly, parents and carers are unanimous in their praise of what the school enables their children to achieve. Typical of their views are comments such as: 'Manor Green has made such a huge difference to our lives' and 'My child thoroughly enjoys going to school as her needs are completely catered for and her self-esteem and confidence are high.'

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Grade: 1

The pupils confirm that they love going to school and their attendance rate is high except for the days off required due to the needs of individuals' medical conditions. Pupils make excellent progress in their personal development. Their enthusiasm and excellent behaviour and attitudes enable them to make the most of everything that the school has to offer. They respond exceptionally well to adults' very high expectations and so they learn at a very rapid rate. Excellent teaching and an extremely good curriculum accelerate pupils' learning and so they make excellent progress. Pupils' achievements are outstanding, although the severity of their learning needs means that standards are well below the national averages for all age groups. The very impressive pace at which pupils learn and develop as young people is underpinned by the school's outstanding level of care, guidance and support. Relationships are outstanding

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Grade: 1

throughout the school. The school is a very safe and supportive community and so pupils thrive. Much of the school's success in this respect is due to the excellent teamwork between staff and their colleagues from other agencies, such as a range of therapists and social care staff. Very close liaison provides a coordinated and structured approach to working with the pupils and their families. Pupils' behaviour is generally managed very well and in line with the school's procedures. However, very occasionally a very small minority of staff are not consistent in following to the letter the protocols for managing pupils' behaviour. On these very few occasions pupils do not get the full opportunity to work on self-correction of their behaviour. Very strong links with other partners are also used to very good effect. Local mainstream schools are used to extend pupils' social and learning opportunities, and to ease pupils' transition into the

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Grade: 1

adjoining secondary special school as much as possible. The school is so effective because self-evaluation procedures are rigorous and accurate in identifying the major priorities and in measuring the extent of progress towards achieving challenging targets. Governors support the school leaders very well and are actively involved with helping plan future developments. They have a clear view of the school's strengths and weaknesses. However, they recognise the need to formalise arrangements for monitoring the school's work to strengthen their overview even more. Despite this, the school remains ambitious and progressive and has an excellent capacity to develop further. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Manor Green Primary School, 4 June 2009

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Grade: 1

Children get off to a flying start when they enter the Early Years Foundation Stage provision. Very high quality facilities and resources support the full coverage of the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum and enable staff to achieve outstanding results. This phase of the school is superbly led and managed with a passion that permeates throughout the provision. Staff are firmly fixed on providing the very best that they can for the children while ensuring that learning remains fun. As a result, the promotion of children's welfare is outstanding and they feel safe and secure at all times. Planning and assessment are highly effective and ensure that each child is given the very best opportunity to learn. Consequently, their achievements are outstanding. Very close attention to children's communication and social skills promotes exceptional personal development. This puts the children in very good stead for moving into the main school at the

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Ensure that all staff at all times follow the agreed protocols and procedures for managing pupil behaviour. ■ Formalise governors' current procedures to monitor the work of the school to strengthen their overview of its performance.

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Grade: 1

Standards are well below average because of pupils' often severe learning difficulties. However, pupils make excellent progress academically and just occasionally a pupil reaches expected levels in the national tests at the end of Year 6. The school meets the learning needs of all of its pupils equally effectively. The results of very good assessment procedures are used to best effect in planning learning activities. Therefore, pupils' achievements are outstanding as they gain key literacy, numeracy and information and communication skills at a very rapid rate. They then have the confidence to build on these skills very effectively by using them across all subjects of the curriculum. This helps to prepare them very well for moving on to secondary school. Pupils make great progress in acquiring practical mathematical and literacy skills. They learn to use money, recognise time and understand day-to-day signs, information and

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Grade: 1

instructions. This makes a very important contribution to pupils gaining the necessary independence and self-help skills. Pupils gain maximum benefit from community-based learning opportunities that enable them to practise in real life situations what they have learned in the classroom. Those pupils who are part of the very well planned and monitored inclusion programme with mainstream schools also achieve very well as they rehearse their newly acquired skills working alongside pupils in these schools.

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Grade: 1

Pupils make very great strides in acquiring social awareness, in becoming competent communicators and in raising their self-esteem and confidence. One pupil showed all of these traits in a conversation with the succinct comment: 'I get the education that I need because of the teachers, and my mum agrees with this.' The pupils demonstrate an excellent understanding of what they can do to remain healthy, and they have a very clear perception of how to stay 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Manor Green Primary School, 4 June 2009 safe. They are active throughout much of the day and a number attend exercise-based after school clubs, such as gymnastics. They use the playground and its very good equipment very safely and play together purposefully and constructively. The pupils in the four specialist classes have a number of opportunities to be included with other pupils in the school in both recreational activities and lessons, such as the art club and horse riding. These events make a very important

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Grade: 1

contribution to these pupils' social development, as does the long-standing arrangement with an adjacent mainstream primary school. This enables a group of approximately 10 Manor Green pupils to visit the school on two lunchtimes each week to integrate and play with the children there. Planned social integration opportunities such as this do much to promote pupils' personal development, and they respond very positively. Pupils make a good contribution to the school community through, for example, representing their classmates on the school council. Ways in which older pupils might be given more responsibilities is something that leaders are considering.

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Grade: 1

The way in which classroom staff work together as teams is a key characteristic of the excellent quality of teaching and learning across the school. Teachers' excellent planning is communicated to teaching assistants and so they are very well briefed about their precise roles, which they carry out very well. The planning focuses very firmly on what the pupils are expected to learn and is based on what they have achieved previously. As a result, the activities provided meet the needs of different groups of learners very effectively and all pupils are enabled to learn quickly. Speaking and listening skills are developed very well and, where necessary, the promotion of these skills is supplemented by additional means of communication such as the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). Strategies such as this ensure that all pupils are able to participate and contribute. Pupils in the specialist classes learn as effectively as

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Grade: 1

others because skilled teachers support and challenge them very well. For instance, carefully chosen sensory resources encourage the full engagement of pupils with profound and multiple difficulties, and highly structured sessions for pupils with autism develop the ideas of making choices, consequences and coping with change.

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Grade: 1

The pupils receive an excellent range and quality of learning opportunities. These are provided through a very well planned and delivered formal curriculum, and enriched extremely well by a variety of other activities. Themed weeks, such as a science and engineering week, which are held throughout the year provide many opportunities for creative and investigative learning. Educational visits bring class-based learning to life and they are an integral part of all teachers' planning. Visits to places such as farms, theatres, and places of worship help pupils to make excellent advances in developing knowledge of their own culture and that of others. Such occasions also extend pupils' horizons, as does their participation in the Forest School Project, run by the Sussex Wildlife Trust, which adds a new dimension to outdoor education. Prior to leaving the school, all that pupils get the opportunity to go on a residential visit to Hindleap

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Grade: 1

Warren. This gives a big impetus to pupils' personal development as well as introducing them to many outdoor activities that they might pursue as they get older, such as canoeing. Visitors into school are used very well to promote different aspects of pupils' development and learning. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Manor Green Primary School, 4 June 2009 The visit of a police officer contributed to their understanding of citizenship, while African drummers gave an insight into the traditions of another culture.

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Grade: 1

At a whole school level, Manor Green provides a very good level of care. Pupils' welfare is ensured through secure child protection and safeguarding arrangements, high levels of supervision and risk assessments. Individual pupils' particular needs are met equally well and this is due primarily to the work of what the school calls the 'Team Around the School'. In practice, this means very regular meetings of all those who work with the child in order to guarantee a shared understanding of the best way forward to meet all of their needs, which could include learning, social, therapeutic, medical and behavioural. The outcomes of these meetings generally result in a concerted approach to pupil management but on a very few occasions not all staff follow the agreed protocols and this results in rare instances of inconsistent practice. If it is suspected that a pupil may be underachieving and is unlikely to

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Grade: 1

reach their learning targets, senior leaders react swiftly. They try to identify the possible cause, which could be home or school-based, and then implement and monitor targeted intervention strategies that address the problem and which support the pupil to reengage with learning.

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Grade: 1

School leaders responded very well to the findings of the previous inspection, which took place shortly after the school opened. They consolidated that promising start and have since gone from strength to strength. Underpinning all of their actions is a commitment to equality of opportunity, and this is shared and implemented in practice by all staff. Leaders analyse assessment data to make sure that all groups of pupils, irrespective of the nature of their learning needs, gender, ethnicity or social circumstances achieve equally well. Pupils all have the same excellent level of achievement because resources are used very efficiently to identify and then dismantle potential barriers to individual pupils' progress. The school then puts into place the systems that enable these pupils to experience and celebrate success. Such effective practice within the school is one element of the school's overall good contribution to promoting

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Grade: 1

community cohesion. Insofar as it is able, the school is active and works well within the local neighbourhood even though few of its pupils live in close proximity to the school. Leaders are aware that now is the time to extend its boundaries and develop international links as it prepares for the introduction of a modern foreign language into the curriculum next year. Governors work well to aid the school's development but rightly recognise the need to increase the rigour of their current arrangements to monitor the school's performance. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Manor Green Primary School, 4 June 2009 .

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Grade: 1

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Manor Green Primary School, 4 June 2009

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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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needs of learners?

Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well being? 1 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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EYFS?

1 How well do children in the EYFS achieve? How good are the overall personal development and well-being of the children in the EYFS? 1 How effectively are children in the EYFS helped to learn and develop? 1 How effectively is the welfare of children in the EYFS promoted? 1 How effectively is provision in the EYFS led and managed?

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Achievement and standards

1 How well do learners achieve? 4 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make progress

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Achievement and standards

1 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 Green Primary School, 4 June 2009

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learners?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners enjoy their education 2 The attendance of learners 1 The behaviour of learners 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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learners' needs?

How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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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 1 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 1 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 2 How well does the school contribute to community cohesion? 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 Green Primary School, 4 June 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

5 June 2009 Dear Pupils Inspection of Manor Green Primary School, Crawley, RH11 0DU Thank you for making us feel welcome when we visited your school. There is a special thanks to members of the school council who gave up their time to speak with us. You told us that your school is excellent and that you love going there. We can see why you think that and we agree with you. Manor Green is a very, very good school. Lessons are really good because your teachers give you lots of interesting and fun things to do. You listen carefully and work very hard and most of you go to school as often as you can. Therefore, you learn a great deal and make lots of progress in your work. All of the staff take very good care of you and help you a great deal with your work. They also help you to grow up as young people so that you learn how to make the right choices. You know how to stay safe and how to live a healthy life. You also learn a lot about how to get along with other

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

people. The people who run your school are doing a really good job. They have lots of ideas about how they can make your school even better. We have given them two more things to do.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Make sure that all the staff do the same thing at those very few times when one of you needs some help to control your behaviour. ■ Encourage governors to come into school more often to see how well you are doing.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

You can help them to make sure that Manor Green stays this good by going to school as much as you can and behaving very well while you are there. Finally, thank you once again and I wish all of you the very best of luck in the future, especially if you are going to a new school in September. Yours faithfully Mike Kell Lead inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Manor Green Primary School, 4 June 2009

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