Shirley Manor Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 5 November 2024

The school has begun to raise expectations for what pupils can achieve and how they should behave. Significant changes that began in the summer term of the previous academic year are beginning to have a positive impact. These refinements are having a more substantial impact on how pupils behave and how they treat each other. However, some pupils do not achieve as well as they should. Pupils get support with their behaviour when they need it. Staff help pupils, including children in the early years, to follow clear routines and understand the school rules. Pupils move around school calmly. Children in the early years develop positive attitudes to learning. However, the curriculum in early years, and how well it is understood and delivered by adults, does not prepare children for Year 1 as well as it should. Pupils benefit from a range of experiences beyond the classroom. They are given regular opportunities to contribute to local charities and good causes. Pupils enjoy these chances to make a difference to others. Pupils develop a clear understanding of different groups in society who are treated worse than others.

What the school should improve

• The new phonics curriculum is not fully implemented. Pupils are not given books that match the sounds they have been taught. Pupils who are behind do not consistently receive support to catch up. As a result, some pupils do not read as fluently as they should. The school should ensure that staff continue to receive the training they need to implement the new phonics curriculum consistently.
• The school does not have a clear view of the gaps in phonics knowledge that some pupils in key stage 2 have. This has an impact on how well these pupils can read and achieve both in their reading and the wider curriculum. The school should ensure that it quickly identifies the gaps that these pupils have in their phonics knowledge and provides support for them to catch up.
• Staff do not have a good understanding of the early years curriculum and do not deliver it well. Some activities lack focus, and staff are not yet adept at modelling vocabulary and structuring interactions with children to have the biggest impact on their learning. The school should ensure that staff are trained to understand and implement the early years curriculum consistently.
• In some parts of the curriculum, staff do not have the understanding of the curriculum or the most effective teaching methods for delivering it. As a result, some activities in lessons do not enable pupils to build their knowledge over time. The school should ensure that staff continue to be trained to understand the newly introduced curriculum and to make activity choices that support pupils to build knowledge over time.

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