Manor Fields Primary School

Manor Fields Primary School is a larger-than-average primary in Bishop's Stortford, part of the Herts and Essex Multi Academy Trust and also registering a nursery. Inspected in June 2026, it met safeguarding standards and was judged to be working at a strong standard across achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Pupils achieve well, with outcomes above national in phonics, multiplication tables and key stage 2 assessments, including for pupils with SEND, EAL and disadvantaged pupils. The school's main strengths are its well-sequenced curriculum, effective teaching of reading, writing and mathematics, strong early years provision, and highly effective inclusion and pastoral support. Attendance is high, behaviour is calm and consistent, and pupils feel safe, valued and happy. Leadership is well supported by governance and the trust, with staff wellbeing and professional development prioritised and a broad extracurricular offer. The only formal next step is to embed accurate and fluent handwriting more consistently across pupils' wider written work, since improvements seen in dedicated handwriting sessions are not yet evident everywhere. Overall, this is a nurturing, inclusive school that prepares pupils well for the next stage of education.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve strong outcomes in phonics, the multiplication tables check and key stage 2 assessments.
• Pupils with SEND, EAL and disadvantaged pupils engage positively and recall knowledge confidently.
• Reading and mathematics are taught skilfully, with pupils developing fluency and subject-specific vocabulary.
• The curriculum is well sequenced, knowledge-rich and supported by effective resources and staff training.
• Attendance is strong and leaders use careful monitoring and personalised support to address barriers.
• Behaviour management is robust, values-aligned and consistently applied by staff and pupils.
• Early years provision is strategically led, with strong transitions, independence and progress for children.
• Inclusion is highly effective, with early identification and tailored support for SEND and EAL pupils.
• Leaders, governors and trustees provide effective support and challenge and prioritise staff wellbeing.
• Personal development is well planned, covering safety, equality, diversity and a wide range of enrichment.
• Pupils feel safe, valued and happy, with positive relationships and a strong sense of belonging.
• Pastoral support is effective and helps pupils understand and manage their emotions.
• Older pupils take on leadership roles and support younger pupils.

Areas for Improvement

• Handwriting is not yet consistently embedded across the school: pupils write carefully in dedicated sessions but do not always apply the same standard in wider written work.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Manor Fields Primary School attended 96.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 4.4% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.4% of pupils at Manor Fields Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Manor Fields Primary School had 24.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 4.9% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 7.1% of pupils at Manor Fields Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.8% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Manor Fields Primary School received £6,048 and spent £5,730 for each of its 441 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £112,000 (£254 per pupil).

Across all 2 schools of Herts & Essex Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,594 and spending £7,316 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Bishop'S Stortford · Hertfordshire local authority: places and applications

Manor Fields Primary School is part of Herts & Essex Multi Academy Trust, which runs 2 schools. The nearest others:

• The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College Bishop'S Stortford

What is Manor Fields Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Manor Fields Primary School is Strong standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Manor Fields Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Manor Fields Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Manor Fields Primary School have?

Manor Fields Primary School has 449 pupils on roll.

What age range does Manor Fields Primary School cover?

Manor Fields Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Manor Fields Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 80% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Manor Fields Primary School?

Manor Fields Primary School is at Penningtons, Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, CM23 4LE.