A HAUGHTON Green primary school is to be kept in special measures by Ofsted – despite undoubted progress in tackling issues.
Manor Green Primary Academy has also been told to not appoint teachers early in their career and get pupils attending more regularly.
The Mancunian Road school was ordered to improve after inspectors in April deemed pupils were not feeling or being safe, a ‘fragmented, disorganised and jumbled’ curriculum, and teachers not knowing exactly what pupils should be learning.
A fiercely-worded report stated: “Pupils at Manor Green Primary School do not benefit from a high-quality education.
“The behaviour of a number of pupils in key stage 2 is particularly poor. Leaders allow the violent outbursts of a small but significant number of pupils to repeatedly disrupt the learning and playtimes of other pupils.
“Leaders do not deal effectively with bullying or name-calling. As a result, pupils do not feel safe nor are they safe in school.
“Pupils do not gain the knowledge and skills that they need to be successful. Many pupils are not ready for their next stage of learning.
“There is no structured teaching programme to help older pupils in key stage 2 who have fallen behind in reading to catch-up quickly. Consequently, there is a considerable number of pupils across the school who cannot read accurately or fluently.”
Now after a follow-up visit to investigate what Manor Green was doing to put things right, Ofsted has decided that even though progress has been made, it will stay in special measures.
Victoria Saville has taken over as head and is trying to turn things around.
But Ofsted said: “Leaders have made progress to improve the school, but more work is necessary for the category of concern to be removed.
“I strongly recommend that the school does not seek to appoint early career teachers. The school should take further action to improve pupils’ attendance, especially for those pupils who do not attend school regularly enough, to help them to overcome the gaps in their learning.”
Since the inspection, Manor Green has introduced the Pearl Room, to help pupils with emotions and behaviour, has been introduced.
And inspectors believe that is working, although there is still kore to do.
They added to Mrs Saville: “A short-term provision, known as the Pearl Room, has been put in place to help pupils to manage their emotions and behaviour.
“You and other leaders, including leaders from the trust, have taken decisive and effective action to tackle the considerable shortcomings identified at the previous inspection. This work is bearing fruit.
You have established a solid foundation on which to secure further improvements to the quality of education for pupils.
“Your success to date is, in part, due to time and energy being spent where it is needed most. You are dealing with the most pressing issues and making sure that improvements are sustainable.
“You and the staff have avoided lamenting over the last inspection. Instead, you have drawn a line in the sand and moved on.
“This explains why so much has been accomplished in a relatively short amount of time. Pupils no longer experience a jumbled education. Instead, there is a now a well-thought through curriculum.
“Even so, the current curriculum does not go far enough in identifying the essential knowledge that pupils should learn. The impact of this positive change is varied.
“Some teachers have strong subject knowledge. These teachers think carefully about the small steps that pupils need to make to understand a new concept.
“Elsewhere, teachers do not know enough about pupils’ prior learning. They persist with new subject content without making sure that pupils are ready. This causes some pupils to lose interest. For others, the gaps in their learning widen rather than close.”
Ofsted also believes mistakes and failings of the past are affecting present pupils, saying: “The legacy of poor curriculum choices in the past means that many pupils in key stage two have gaps in their basic knowledge and understanding.
“While pupils are better able to read and talk, often very articulately, about the texts that they have enjoyed, they are less able to capture their thinking in their written work.
“The school’s records of poor behaviour and bullying incidents show that the new approach to managing behaviour, including the use of the Pearl Room, is making a positive difference.
“However, this is not replicated well enough during the key stage two social times. Some older pupils remain a little anxious. For some, the memories of how it used to be are still at the forefront of their mind.
Ofsted also sensed some parents need convincing that things are getting better with the comment: “While some parents have noted the improvements at the school, many are not convinced that this is making a big enough difference to their child’s experience.
“Some parents continue to worry about bullying and behaviour. Many are not content with the communication channels.”
Focus-Trust, which runs Manor Green, promised changes when it was placed into special measures, saying at the time: “Since October 2021, we have been holding regular meetings with families and have acknowledged that there were some areas of the school which needed addressing.
“We understand that families will be concerned about this overall judgement but have reassured them that we have been addressing these priorities since September 2021 and especially since April 2022.
“We hope they recognise the many improvements to school since Mrs Saville arrived and established her new team.
“As ever, we place the wellbeing and academic achievement of our children at the heart of all that we do, and we remain committed to working with families, as well as our wider stakeholders, to ensure we are meeting the needs of all children and continue to action our areas for improvement.”