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School Development Plan

At Manuden Primary School, our vision—"Growing hearts, Growing minds, Growing dreams"—drives our commitment to continuous improvement. We strive to create a nurturing and inspiring learning environment where every child can flourish academically, socially, and emotionally. Our school development priorities focus on five key areas to ensure we provide the highest quality education and opportunities for all our pupils:

  • Quality of Education – We are dedicated to delivering an engaging, ambitious, and inclusive curriculum that challenges and supports every learner. Through high-quality teaching and a focus on deepening knowledge and skills, we ensure that all children reach their full potential.
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  • Behaviour and Attitudes – We foster a culture of respect, resilience, and responsibility, underpinned by our restorative practice approach. We encourage children to develop positive attitudes towards learning and each other, ensuring a safe and supportive environment where everyone can succeed.
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  • Personal Development – Beyond academic success, we focus on developing well-rounded individuals who are confident, empathetic, and prepared for the future. Through enrichment opportunities, wellbeing support, and character education, we nurture the personal growth of every child.
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  • Leadership and Management – Strong and effective leadership ensures that our vision is embedded in every aspect of school life. We work collaboratively as a team—staff, governors, parents, and the wider community—to drive improvement and create the best possible learning experience for our pupils.
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  • Early Years – We lay the foundation for lifelong learning by providing a rich, stimulating, and nurturing environment where our youngest learners develop curiosity, independence, and a love for discovery. We ensure that every child is well-prepared for their next steps in education.

Through continuous reflection and improvement in these areas, we remain committed to growing hearts, growing minds, and growing dreams, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to thrive at Manuden Primary School.

2024–2025 School Development Plan

Quality of Education

Writing, Phonics, and Spelling: Our writing provision ensures that all pupils reach their full potential, with outcomes in line with or above local and national standards. Teachers aim for 10% of pupils to achieve greater depth across all subjects, with a particular focus on achieving 13% in writing. Verbal feedback, the use of Spelling Shed in KS2, and regular writing moderation meetings contribute to consistency and improvement. Staff also receive professional development in writing techniques and strategies to support student growth.

SEND Provision: Children with additional needs receive the same high-quality education as their peers. The SENDCO leads training for staff and supports teachers in best practices. Planning for children with additional needs is carefully reviewed to ensure high-quality, tailored support. A new support group for parents with neurodiverse children will also be developed to strengthen community ties.

Discover, Explore, Create Curriculum: Manuden’s curriculum is designed to engage and inspire all pupils. It is aligned with the National Curriculum and promotes key skills. Teachers use a new planning format to ensure effective coverage across all subjects, and subject leaders collaborate with staff and governors to gather pupil feedback. The curriculum is continuously monitored for quality, with a focus on creativity and student engagement.

Computing Curriculum: Our computing curriculum equips children with essential skills for the modern world. The Teach Computing program is embedded across the school, and the media suite is being developed for effective use in all year groups. We also explore opportunities to integrate ICT to enhance learning in all subjects.

Behaviour and Attitudes 

School Environment and Safety: We ensure that all pupils feel safe and supported, with a zero-tolerance approach to bullying, discrimination, and child-on-child abuse, both online and offline. The Anti-Bullying and Safety Ambassadors play an active role in promoting wellbeing. The SCARF PSHE curriculum, along with assemblies, helps pupils understand safety, while the E-Safety curriculum focusses on safe online practices, especially around social media. Our commitment to diversity and neurodiversity is supported through the No Outsiders program, and mental health is prioritised with the introduction of MyHappymind, along with class-based MyHappymind ambassadors.

Attendance: We aim to maintain attendance levels at or above national and local standards, especially after the impact of Covid-19. Our new attendance policies and procedures are communicated to parents, and systems are in place to monitor persistent absence. Pupil-led incentives promote positive attendance, and we collaborate closely with our attendance officer to ensure best practices.

Behaviour Management: We continuously review and develop our behaviour management systems to ensure high standards and consistency. The Restorative Practice approach is embedded across the school, guiding both rewards and sanctions. Behaviour is regularly monitored to ensure that the three school rules are consistently applied and become a shared language amongst all staff and pupils.

Personal Development

Equality, Diversity, and Neurodiversity: We foster a culture of equality, opportunity, and respect for diversity. The No-Outsiders program promotes understanding and appreciation of difference, with regular lesson monitoring and pupil voice assessments to measure impact.

Access to Rich Experiences: All pupils, including those with SEN and PP, have access to a wide range of carefully planned experiences. We continue to develop a Cultural Capital plan that ensures pupils engage in SMSC through the creative curriculum. We celebrate outside talents and achievements and offer a broad range of extra-curricular activities. The school’s residential programme is expanding to include all-year groups.

Pastoral Support and Health: We prioritise high-quality pastoral support and encourage pupils to maintain healthy, active lifestyles. The in-house counselling service is available to support those in need, and all pupils engage in the MyHappymind programme. Our PE coordinator works to increase participation for less active pupils.

Forest School for Mental Well-being: We are developing Forest School sessions to support mental well-being, with a focus on providing the right resources and creating the best learning environment. We are exploring additional land for use during sessions and providing staff training and first aid certification for the Forest School lead.

Pupil Leadership Roles: We are revitalising pupil leadership roles, including Playleaders, Eco Squad, and Safety Ambassadors, to empower students. House meetings are held regularly, led by House Captains, and the role of MyHappymind ambassadors is expanding to support mental health initiatives across the school.

Leadership and Management 

Vision and Values: We are committed to embedding our new vision and values throughout the school. Our updated website reflects these values, offering insight into life at Manuden School. We engage with stakeholders to ensure the values are understood and integrated into daily practices, including through pupil voice gathered via our House approach.

Communication with Parents: Effective communication with parents is a priority. Teachers greet children and parents at the doors, and we’ve introduced the COMPASS management system to streamline communication. Our fortnightly newsletter continues to keep parents informed about school life.

Professional Development: We ensure that all staff receive focused and effective professional development. A rigorous performance management system supports personal development, and staff participate in training specific to their roles, including play leader training, neurodiversity workshops, and restorative practice training.

School Development Plan and Governance: Our leaders and governors work transparently to create and monitor the School Development Plan (SDP) and Self-Evaluation Form (SEF). A clear monitoring schedule is shared with staff and governors, and subject leads regularly review their progress with link governors to support the achievement of their objectives.

Parent Information Sessions: We provide a range of information sessions for parents and carers to help them support their child’s learning at home. These include workshops on maths, phonics, and MyHappymind, as well as insights into the new curriculum.

Subject Leadership: Subject leaders at Manuden have clear action plans for their subjects and are given dedicated time to plan and monitor progress. Regular meetings with link governors ensure ongoing development and review of subject areas.

Envision Teaching Alliance: Manuden is an active member of the Envision teaching alliance. Staff attend training for the role of Improvement Champion and participate in peer reviews with other schools. Our Headteacher also supports the development of INSET for the entire Envision network.

Early Years 

EYFS Learning Environment: We continue to review and improve the EYFS learning environment, ensuring it is calm, safe, and child-centered. Staff are encouraged to visit other settings to gather ideas for best practices, and an independent review will be conducted. The use of the Forest School approach in EYFS is being developed, and children are encouraged to lead their own learning within the space.

EYFS Development Plans and Monitoring: Leaders and governors maintain transparent systems for monitoring EYFS development plans and the SEF. A link governor is in place for EYFS, and provision is regularly reviewed as part of the governors’ monitoring schedule. EYFS staff meet regularly with governors to ensure best practices are being followed, and provision and data are monitored by the SLT as part of the whole-school cycle.

High-Quality Interactions in EYFS: We ensure that interactions between practitioners and children are of the highest quality and contribute to delivering the curriculum. Opportunities for social skill development are woven into all areas of learning, and practitioners lead a curriculum review with a focus on language and communication. Reading high-quality texts to children is a priority to support their development.

Continuous Provision in Year 2: We are promoting and developing a Continuous Provision approach in Year 2. Practitioners will visit other settings to learn from best practices, and subject leaders will monitor floor books and other work to ensure National Curriculum coverage. SLT will conduct lesson observations in Year 2 as part of the whole-school monitoring cycle.