Maidenhill School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Maidenhill School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and enjoy their learning.

They feel safe and confident to speak to an adult if they have any concerns. Leaders ensure that a range of support is in place for pupils, including help with their mental health, if needed.

Pupils recognise that the school challenges them to achieve well.

They enjoy the ambitious curriculum that the school has developed. Pupils understand and respond positively to the behaviour and rewards policies.

Behaviour in lessons and at social times is good.

Pupils feel part of a family. They are kind and considerate to each ...other. Bullying is rare, but if it does occur, pupils say that staff quickly help to resolve it.

Designated staff, with the specific role of supporting pupils, are liked and trusted. Pupils mix well to make friends from all year groups, including during tutor times, and learn from and with each other.

Pupils enjoy the wide range of trips, activities and clubs that the school offers.

These include academic, sporting, musical and recreational activities. Many pupils take part in these activities.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The curriculum is well designed.

Pupils study a wide range of subjects through key stages 3 and 4. Staff have good subject knowledge. This enables them to provide a challenging curriculum for pupils.

For example, the curriculum in English provides opportunities for pupils to study a range of pre-20th century texts in Year 7. Overall, the curriculum is broad and rich, so that pupils enjoy their learning. Leaders are working to increase year on year the proportion of key stage 4 pupils that take academic GCSE subjects.

Teachers use assessment effectively to support pupils' learning and inform their teaching. They check pupils' understanding and address misconceptions. Teachers ensure that the curriculum is generally matched well to the learning needs of pupils.

However, some subjects are not as strong as others which prevents pupils from learning as much as they could across the whole curriculum.

Teachers receive detailed information about pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Consequently, teachers understand these pupils' needs well.

They plan an ambitious curriculum with well-targeted support so that these pupils achieve well.

Leaders prioritise the development of pupils' reading. Reading takes place at the start of every English lesson and each term teachers celebrate pupils' achievements.

Leaders regularly give awards for achievement in reading. Pupils are motivated by this. Further to this, there are reading groups that provide well-organised support to help identified pupils to catch up.

Pupils are polite and well-mannered. They move around the site in a calm and orderly way. Pupils like the environment of the school and value their relationships with staff.

Year 7 pupils value the summer school that prepares them for entry to the school. Staff are committed to the wider development of pupils and listen to their views carefully, for example, through the 'barometer groups'. Leaders ensure that there are relevant opportunities for post-14 students to follow non-academic or vocational routes, should they wish.

The school delivers high-quality careers information for students.

Staff are very positive about working in the school. They feel that leaders support them effectively to manage their workload.

Staff describe the school as one where they all work hard for the benefit of the pupils.

Staff are committed to including all pupils and ensure that they succeed. Leaders have a close working relationship with the local authority.

They track any pupils who leave the school to ensure that they know of their whereabouts and ongoing destinations.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders promote a strong culture of safeguarding.

There are well organised systems to keep pupils safe. Staff listen to pupils. As a result, pupils say they feel safe and trust the adults.

Pupils are confident that they will receive help should they need it.

The single central register is comprehensive and well-managed. Staff receive regular training to ensure that their knowledge of safeguarding is up to date.

Staff are aware of their responsibilities in this area. They know what to do if they have any concerns about a pupil.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some subjects are not as consistently strong or developed as well as others.

As a result, pupils do not always know and remember more across the whole curriculum.Leaders should ensure that all subjects are taught to the same high standard so that pupils are as well prepared for the next steps in their education, employment or training, as they can be.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in January 2017.