Manor Lodge Community Primary and Nursery School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 17 June 2025

Pupils enjoy this happy and welcoming school. They feel safe. Staff care about every pupil. There is a strong commitment to supporting pupils' emotional needs. Relationships between staff and pupils are positive. The school is ambitious for all pupils to receive a high-quality education. In some areas of the curriculum, these high expectations are not realised. Pupils' achievements do not match the school's intentions. There is still work to do to ensure all pupils have the breadth and depth of knowledge they need to be ready for the next stage of their education. Pupils move around the school in a calm and orderly way. Right from Nursery, well- established routines support pupils to behave well. In most lessons, pupils engage well in their learning. Pupils' behaviour does not disrupt learning. Pupils are proud of their multicultural school. They welcome the opportunities to celebrate their own and others' cultures, including during the recent 'culture day'. Pupils are enthusiastic about the range of educational visits, including residentials, that help them build their confidence and resilience. They benefit from extra-curricular clubs, including chess and construction, which help them to develop their talents and interests. They are proud of their leadership roles, including 'VIPs' and school councillors.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, including mathematics, teachers do not provide pupils with tasks and activities that enable them to learn the intended curriculum well enough. Pupils do not secure the knowledge that the school has identified as important. The school should ensure that staff are given further support to enhance their subject knowledge and select resources and activities that will help pupils build their knowledge step by step in each subject.
• For key stage 2 pupils who have gaps in their reading knowledge, the school does not provide them with the support that they need. This means that some pupils do not develop their reading fluency and accuracy as well as they should. The school should ensure these pupils receive the support they need to become more confident and fluent readers.
• The school does not provide consistent opportunities for pupils to practise their grammar, punctuation, spelling and handwriting. As a result, some pupils do not develop the accuracy and quality of their writing as well as they should. The school should ensure that pupils benefit from more rigorous opportunities to practise their writing skills and improve the accuracy of their writing.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)