Mayfield School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs Rachel Kay Headteacher Mayfield School Gloucester Road Chorley Lancashire PR7 3HN

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Short inspection of Mayfield School

Following my visit to the school on 21 June 2017 with Michelle Beard, Ofsted Inspector, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in November 2012.

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Short inspection of Mayfield School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

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Short inspection of Mayfield School

Since the previous inspection, there have been some changes at the school. The number of pupils on roll has increased from 67 to 102. You have taken the opportunity to build a separate teaching block for your oldest pupils. A new chair of governors has been appointed and the governing body is reconstituting to increase its membership. The deputy headteacher left the school in December. A new deputy headteacher has been appointed and is due to start in September. In the meantime, the assistant headteacher has stepped up as the acting deputy headteacher.

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Short inspection of Mayfield School

You have an ambitious vision for the school which is shared and understood by the staff and parents. You and your team are absolutely committed to securing the best possible outcomes for each and every pupil. Your acting deputy headteacher is proving to be a real asset. She has the trust and support of her colleagues. They value the helpful advice and guidance she willingly offers.

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Short inspection of Mayfield School

Your pupils like coming to school. They enjoy spending time with their classmates and the adults who work with them. Pupils particularly enjoy practical lessons, including art and food technology. Pupils who spoke to inspectors agreed that they feel safe and well cared for. Pupils trust adults to help them resolve any problems they may have. Parents who spoke to inspectors and the overwhelming majority of parents who responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, expressed very positive views about the school. Parents are delighted with the progress their children have made since joining the school. As one parent said: ‘This is a great school, my child is happy and makes good progress’.

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Short inspection of Mayfield School

Mayfield is a dynamic school with an ever-changing pupil cohort. You and your colleagues are making changes to accommodate the needs of a recent influx of more able learners. In particular, you recognise the importance of further developing your curriculum to make sure it is sufficiently aspirational for all your pupils. You have created an additional class for your most-able primary pupils. These pupils access a more challenging academic curriculum now. Furthermore, you are widening the range of qualifications you offer at key stage 5 to include functional English and mathematics.

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Short inspection of Mayfield School

At the previous inspection, inspectors asked you to improve even further the rate at which pupils make progress. Your own performance data shows evidence of the high proportions of pupils who make good and better progress across the curriculum from their different starting points. You shared a number of case studies with inspectors which showed the range of pupils’ achievements during their time at Mayfield.

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Short inspection of Mayfield School

The class teams are a strength of the school. Teachers and support staff work seamlessly together. Weekly meetings provide a valuable forum for each team to reflect on the previous week and plan pupils’ next steps in learning. Staff feel well supported by their colleagues. They appreciate the well-considered balance within teams between those in the early stages of their careers and more experienced colleagues.

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Short inspection of Mayfield School

Class teams make sure that pupils’ targets are displayed clearly on classroom walls or on the front of their books. Class teams use these targets to make well-informed observations about pupils’ daily progress.

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Short inspection of Mayfield School

Pupils engage well in adult-led activities. Teachers make sure that all adults are effectively deployed so that pupils stay focused on their learning. However, pupils would benefit from more opportunities to take responsibility for their own learning as they move through the school.

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Short inspection of Mayfield School

Since the previous inspection, you have made wide-ranging changes to take the school on the next stage of its journey. You have transformed the school’s approach to curriculum and assessment, revised the staffing structure and started to support other local schools, sharing your team’s knowledge and skills. You recognise that the changes you have put in place will take time to embed fully. You and your acting deputy headteacher are not deterred by the challenge. You are resolute in your determination to realise your vision for Mayfield. Safeguarding is effective.

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Short inspection of Mayfield School

The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. The school carries out comprehensive checks to make sure any potential staff are suitable to work with children. The school business manager makes sure that she keeps records meticulously so that staff keep up to date with essential training. New members of staff undertake relevant training before they start working with pupils. There are effective recording and reporting systems for any concerns. Staff knowledge and skills in managing the medical needs of individual pupils ensure that these pupils are well cared for. Pupils and their parents agree that pupils are safe.

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Inspection findings

 The school is warm and friendly. Pupils are polite and welcoming. They treat adults and their classmates with respect. The school is calm and orderly both in lessons and at lunchtime. Serious incidents are rare but leaders, including governors, keep a close eye on patterns and trends, making sure that any emerging issues are ‘nipped in the bud’.  The school has successfully reversed the decline in pupils’ attendance. Your family support worker is proving to be a real asset. She reaches out to families to help them get their children to school on time every day. She makes sure that she signposts families to other services when any additional support is required.  Your staff know each and every pupil well. From the day a new pupil joins the school, staff carry out comprehensive assessments to pinpoint the pupil’s needs. Staff make sure that this information is used to help them tailor individual learning plans so that all pupils receive the support they need to be successful.

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Inspection findings

The class teams work in partnerships with a range of specialist practitioners to make sure that every pupil gets the specific support he or she needs.  The governing body is determined to provide effective strategic leadership for the school. The new chair and members have brought greater strength to the governing body. This team recognises that some skills gaps remain and that its members need to build their capacity to reach the high standards they have set themselves. They are taking decisive action to address these shortfalls. Nevertheless, they have a deepening understanding of the school which is informed by the wealth of information provided by you as well as their frequent visits to the school. As a result, they are providing both senior and middle leaders with effective challenge and support. Moreover, staff appreciate the efforts governors are making to seek the views of staff and promote their well-being.

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Inspection findings

 Governors keep a close eye on how senior leaders are using the additional funding for disadvantaged pupils. Governors work closely with you to make sure that these and other additional monies, including the physical education and sports premium for primary pupils, make a positive difference to the outcomes for these pupils. Local authority officers with responsibility for children looked after applaud the way in which you and your team ‘pull all the stops out’ to support your most vulnerable pupils.  Leaders have thought deeply about the wide-ranging needs of the pupils at Mayfield. You have developed a curriculum, ‘One Size Fits One’, to help you develop personalised learning pathways for each and every pupil. You keep a close eye on pupils’ progress through information from teachers’ termly summative assessments and discussions in pupil’s progress meetings. You make sure you identify any pupil falling behind so that you can put additional support

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Inspection findings

in place. You and the governors agree that there is still more to do to refine your curriculum. You have started on some of these improvements already. For example, you launched the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award recently for your older pupils.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should continue their work to ensure that current initiatives to improve the school are firmly embedded and applied by all members of the school community.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Lancashire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

 Inspectors met with senior leaders, middle leaders, teaching and support staff. An inspector met with three members of the governing body.  Inspectors also spoke to two representatives of the local authority.  Twenty parents responded to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View. Inspectors spoke to four parents during the inspection.  An inspector met formally with a group of staff and considered the 20 responses to Ofsted’s online survey of staff.  There were no responses from pupils to Ofsted’s online survey, so inspectors spoke formally to a group of pupils as well as informally to pupils during the school day.  Inspectors visited classrooms to observe pupils’ learning and checked on their work in books where appropriate. We made some of these visits to classrooms with senior leaders.  Inspectors looked at information about pupils’ progress and attainment, the school’s self-evaluation and action plan as well as a range of other

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Information about the inspection

documentation.  Inspectors conducted a full review of safeguarding, including an evaluation of the school’s policies and procedures to keep pupils safe, training records, recruitment checks and record keeping.

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