Manners Sutton Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Ensure that teachers use assessment more precisely to accelerate pupils’ progress further.
• Ensure that pupils respond to feedback to improve and deepen their understanding.
• Ensure that leaders sharpen the focus of priorities for improvement.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The school has been through a time of significant change since the last inspection. The head of school and key stage 2 teacher (all the class teachers in this small school) joined the school 18 months ago. The current executive headteacher took over a two-day commitment to the school five months ago. Five out of seven governors joined over the past 18 months and the chair of governors was new to role in summer 2016. During this time of turbulence, the local authority has provided consistent and effective guidance and support.
• The executive headteacher has brought an unwavering clarity and relentless focus on improving pupils’ outcomes. She has drawn upon her considerable experience and skill to bring renewed rigour to the overall leadership of the school.
• She has successfully galvanised the school team to understand the importance of pupils’ progress as well as personal care. She complements the care and conscientious commitment of the head of school who, since his appointment, has augmented the tangible ethos of care.
• The executive headteacher has used her prior experience, external advice and research to overhaul school systems and policies to sharpen improvement. The school has been proactive in engaging with effective support and guidance and has brokered school-to-school support through the local authority.
• The executive headteacher is holding teachers to account for the progress of each pupil. Teachers are committed to using her guidance and effective training to ensure that all pupils achieve their best. The improved rigour of tracking means that identification of pupils is now much more accurate. However, it is not being used precisely enough for interventions or planning adjustments to be as effective as they could be.
• The executive headteacher has worked closely with governors and the head of school to plan wide-ranging actions which have established cohesive procedures and routines as a sound basis for improvement. However, leaders have not refined priorities sufficiently to ensure that all staff have a clear understanding of how they contribute to accelerating pupils’ progress.
• All staff are active in contributing to a curriculum that is shaped by the overarching aim ‘to be better by working together’. There is a clear sense of collaboration and mutual responsibility which contributes to pupils having a strong social and moral awareness. Leaders are determined that the small-school context does not limit pupils’ access to a wide range of interesting experiences. Whole-school themes enable leaders to make the most of opportunities across the whole school, such as the visit from a BBC weather presenter that stimulated pupils to create their own weather documentaries.
• The school provides particularly well for pupils’ spiritual, moral and social development. The school also builds opportunities into the curriculum for understanding other cultures. Leaders are ensuring that the teaching of British values is contributing to equipping pupils to be thoughtful citizens. Pupils relish opportunities to lead through roles such as school council. They are very proud of their fundraising for national and local charities.
• Leaders use the pupil premium funding effectively. Direct adult support within the classroom and for specific interventions, including pastoral support, is targeted to improve the outcomes of disadvantaged pupils. The school has been particularly effective in carefully and sensitively supporting pupils who have fragile self-esteem. Recent improvements to assessment are beginning to improve the impact of interventions and adjustments to move pupils’ learning on more swiftly.
• Leaders have ensured that all pupils have every chance to participate and be successful in all aspects of timetabled and extra-curricular activities. The school provides a breakfast club that ensures a calm and enjoyable start to the day. Leaders use this well to help those pupils who need support at the start of the school day.
• Leaders use the additional funds from the physical education and sports grant particularly well. They have ensured that teachers have worked alongside sports coaches to improve their teaching skills. The use of specialist coaches and collaboration with other schools enable leaders to give all pupils access to a range of sports experiences. This has included tennis coaching and contributes to clubs such as yoga and dog walking. The school is also ensuring that pupils learn the necessary swimming skills.

Governance of the school

• The governing body has continued to strengthen since the last inspection with a very clear ambition and commitment to the school. Members share the determination of school leaders to secure high-quality education for all pupils.
• Governors have a secure understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development, particularly the need to improve the quality of teaching and progress for all pupils. Minutes from governing body meetings show they ask school leaders challenging questions to hold them effectively to account.
• The governing body is well organised and uses governors’ range of skills and expertise well to test out and check the information they receive. Governors visit the school and diligently record their findings against school improvement priorities. They use this information well to support leaders in evaluating actions and planning next steps.
• Governors fulfil their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding and have oversight of the effective use of the pupil premium and physical education and sport premium. They support senior leaders’ commitment to providing appropriate staff training to continue to improve teaching and pupils’ outcomes.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. All staff receive regular relevant training and reminders, including on radicalisation and extremism. There are clear systems and procedures in place. All adults understand their responsibilities.
• The culture of safeguarding in the school is evident. Pupils say that they feel safe and parents are unanimous in their confidence that this is the case. Teachers regularly plan learning across the curriculum that helps pupils know how to keep themselves safe, including online and fire safety.
• Case studies and records show the school provides sensitive support to potentially vulnerable pupils and families. The school ‘goes the extra mile’ to be inclusive. Leaders are building on the care that has ensured that pupils flourish personally to sharpen identification of learning needs further.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Since the previous inspection, there has been a significant improvement in the quality of teaching across the school. The previous headteacher and governors, supported by the local authority, made successful appointments in 2016. Their actions stemmed a decline following the last inspection. This immediately improved teaching across the school. The executive headteacher has introduced increased rigour and focus to assessment and planning for pupils’ progress. As a result, teaching is now consistently good.
• Leaders have made good use of links with other schools. The local authority brokered collaboration with Rampton Primary School to provide a range of effective training. Teachers have effective subject knowledge. Teachers are consistent in systematically securing age-appropriate skills for pupils within mixed-age classes.
• The executive headteacher has overhauled the school assessment and tracking systems. This has quickly improved teachers’ accuracy in identifying what pupils need to learn next in reading, writing and mathematics, to be able to attain age-related expectations. Teachers are using this insight to ensure that gaps in prior learning are targeted.
• The executive headteacher has recently taken over the role of special educational needs coordinator and has worked closely with teachers to identify pupils who need further support. As a result, most identified pupils are making good progress. However, leaders are not ensuring that assessment information is used as precisely as it could be to secure more rapid progress.
• Effective teaching of grammar and punctuation is now being used consistently to improve pupils’ written responses across the curriculum. Teachers are linking this effectively with interesting texts and topics. They provide purposeful writing opportunities which have improved pupils’ enjoyment and motivation to write.
• Leaders have put training in place to improve teachers’ skills and confidence to involve pupils more effectively to improve and extend their work. The inspector observed some effective paired teaching, where pupils relished the opportunity to improve. A pupil told the teacher he wanted to add more ‘panache’ through varying his sentence structures.
• Teachers are implementing the school’s chosen approach to teaching reading consistently. They are building pupils’ abilities to develop effective comprehension skills, including using specific evidence from the text to support their responses. Vocabulary extension is a consistently strong feature across the school.
• The inspector listened to a sample of pupils, from across the school, reading. They expressed a positive attitude to reading and explained how reading rewards have really motivated them to read more. Their books were suitably matched to their abilities. An older pupil commented on an author’s use of ‘short snappy sentences’. A younger pupil was able to explain ‘SPLASH!’ was all capitals and had an exclamation mark, because it was ‘a big happening’.
• In mathematics, teachers have sound subject knowledge and explain concepts clearly. They have had effective training that has ensured that they use a range of strategies consistently, in line with school policy. These include, for example, using a range of equipment to model or pictorially represent mathematical ideas. Teachers’ planning for different levels of challenge is a regular feature of lessons across the school.
• Teachers are not consistently ensuring that pupils improve, extend and explain their understanding.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. All adults contribute to a family ethos of care. This ethos is appreciated by pupils. Pupils spoke warmly to the inspector about their school. The school council told the inspector that adults always have time for them.
• Pupils say that incidents of poor behaviour, bullying and the use of discriminatory or derogatory language are rare. This is consistent with the school’s behaviour records. Pupils trust all adults to sort things out quickly. They were reflective about what they learn about diversity and were adamant that all are welcome and included at their school.
• All parents who spoke to the inspector and responded to Parent View, the online questionnaire, were confident that their children are safe, happy and looked after well. Their praise for current staff was effusive. Several parents shared that they had chosen Manners Sutton Primary School after their children had lost confidence at other schools. They could not praise enough the ‘real care’ that they credit with transforming their children into confident, rounded individuals.
• Pupils collaborate well. They are increasingly able to develop their learning independently when teachers precisely guide them to improve and extend their learning.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils follow consistently high expectations that are set by all staff. They show courtesy and consideration towards each other and adults, including visitors in school.
• Pupils behave well around the school and at playtimes. They cooperate well, play happily and show care and responsibility towards each other. This ensures a calm approach across the school day.
• Pupils show pride in wearing their smart school uniform. There is also a consistent pride in their books and the range of learning that is celebrated around the school. Pupils were particularly enthused about the school reward system and incentives such as ‘reading rewards’, where they earn treats such as stories and marshmallows around the campfire.
• Pupils understand and take responsibility for school expectations and rules. Older pupils enjoy the responsibility of helping and guiding younger pupils and taking on such chores as helping serve in the lunch hall.
• Pupils’ attitudes to learning are positive, consistently showing that they want to do their best. Attendance continues to be above the national average, showing that pupils are keen to be in school.
• Pupils showed best engagement and took the greatest responsibility for their learning when teachers gave them clear guidance on how to improve and to explain their thinking. These opportunities are not consistent across the school.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Leaders are now able to show robust evidence that pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics across the school is good, with some accelerated progress. The rigorous systems for pupil tracking and assessment demonstrate good or better progress for the majority of current pupils. This is consistent with the evidence gathered during the inspection.
• Published data since the last inspection continues to show variability in comparison to national averages. However, the very small cohorts and variable profiles of each cohort mean that this information is not statistically reliable. After very poor outcomes in 2016, there were improvements in 2017. Evidence of what pupils could do at the end of key stage 2 and key stage 1 in 2017, compared to September 2016 starting points, showed significant progress. However, the legacy of previous staffing issues means that progress data did not fully reflect this.
• Leaders’ self-evaluation is consistent with local authority reports, explaining that historic assessment, prior to the current teaching team being in place, does not provide a consistently accurate baseline for progress.
• Local authority moderation of assessments at the end of 2017, ongoing local authority advisory support and school cluster moderation all verify the accuracy of current teachers’ assessments.
• These were consistent with a detailed work scrutiny carried out by the inspector alongside the executive headteacher and teachers. Work in books was checked against September assessments and current assessments on the school’s tracking system. Teachers were able to explain the progress that was clearly visible. The majority of pupils are securing age-appropriate attainment, showing they are being consistently well prepared for their next phase of education.
• The consistent approaches to basic skills development across the school have included a more systematic focus on spelling, which has been consistently weak for pupils over time. The accuracy of spelling is now much improved in pupils’ books.
• Work in books and on displays shows that teachers regularly provide opportunities to develop skills across the curriculum. Teachers make purposeful links between reading, writing and interesting topics. Where appropriate, some opportunities are taken to link mathematics to other curriculum areas, for example Year 1 and 2 pupils were working out what amount of stamps the office manager would need for letters of varying weights and sizes.
• Robust tracking systems have ensured that there is improved identification of pupils who have fallen behind or are at risk of doing so. This is starting to inform more precise interventions and adaptions to teaching in order to build on the tailored sensitive personal support that is an established feature of the school.

Early years provision Good

• Children quickly settle into the established routines and safe environment provided by caring staff. Parents are rightly confident that their children are well looked after and make a good start to learning.
• The proportion of children achieving a good level of development varies considerably year on year, because of very small numbers. The school accurately assesses what children can do when they start school. Moderated assessments at the end of their Reception Year show that all pupils make good progress from individual starting points.
• Staff have a detailed understanding of each child and, within a themed plan, use children’s interests well to build their confidence. Staff plan engaging activities that weave in opportunities to reinforce and promote basic skills. Children were enthusiastic to help create a pirate ship in the outdoor area. The teaching assistant skilfully encouraged them to use vocabulary and think about sounds in words such as mast, sail and telescope. They were also busy counting items and talking about the mast being ‘a tall cylinder’.
• Staff have high expectations, consistent with the whole school. Children behave well, share fairly and use equipment safely and independently. The consistent, calm and caring school environment means that nursery children are equally comfortable and confident in whole-school situations, such as lunchtimes.
• Children’s integration with older pupils from the start means children’s personal skills and confidence are well developed for a smooth transition to Year 1.
• The head of school provides effective leadership in planning and assessment for early years pupils. He has increased opportunities to use phonics and key words to build and write sentences. This is beginning to increase children’s stamina, ready for Year 1 challenges.

School details

Unique reference number 122611 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 10041564 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Community 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 31 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Janine Keel Louise Selden 01636 704408 www.mannerssutton.com head@mannerssutton.notts.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 3–4 December 2015

Information about this school

• Manners Sutton Primary School is much smaller than the average-sized primary school.
• Most pupils are White British. There are very few pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and none speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of pupils on the special educational needs register is higher than the national average.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is lower than the national average.
• The school provides full-time nursery places for three-year-olds.
• The school runs a breakfast club.
• The school has been working closely with three other local schools over a number of years. The school shares a headteacher with Rampton Primary School.

Information about this inspection

• The inspector observed each class in the school on at least three occasions. In total, she visited 14 lessons, or parts of lessons, including four joint observations with the executive headteacher. The inspector observed the teaching of early reading skills and heard pupils reading. The inspector talked to pupils about their school and looked at pupils’ books while visiting lessons. The inspector scrutinised a large sample of pupils’ work jointly with the headteacher, head of school and teacher, to gain a view of the impact of teaching over time.
• The inspector held discussions with the school’s senior leaders, teachers, representatives of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.
• The inspector spoke to parents informally at the start of the school day and considered the 12 responses to the Ofsted online parent questionnaire, Parent View, and the 11 free-text responses. There were no staff or pupil responses to consider.
• The inspector looked at a range of documents including the school’s self-evaluation, improvement plans, records of the monitoring of the quality of teaching, the most recent information on pupils’ achievement and progress and information relating to safeguarding, behaviour, attendance and punctuality.
• The inspector considered the range and quality of information provided on the school’s website.

Inspection team

Mandy Wilding, lead inspector

Ofsted Inspector