Maidenhill School

Inspection of a good school: Maidenhill School Kings Road, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, GL10 2HA

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Outcome

Maidenhill School continues to be a good school.

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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.

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What is it like to attend this school?

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.

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What is it like to attend this school?

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.

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What is it like to attend this school?

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.

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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.

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

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 22 and 23 March 2022

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

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.

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Safeguarding

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.

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(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. 22 and 23 March 2022

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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.

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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.

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Background

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

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 22 and 23 March 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10211153 Type of school Secondary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10 and 11 January 2017, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Maidenhill School is a smaller than average-sized secondary school.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is well above average.  The school uses two alternative providers for a very small number of pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection that the school has received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  Inspectors undertook meetings with the headteacher, senior leaders, subject leaders, staff, governors, and pupils. The lead inspector had a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors visited a range of vertical tutor groups and an assembly.  Inspectors spoke with many pupils about their experience of school to seek their views on behaviour and bullying.  Inspectors examined the school’s arrangements for safeguarding and checked the school’s single central record. Inspectors met with the designated lead for safeguarding. 22 and 23 March 2022

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They also scrutinised policies, procedures and record keeping, and reviewed the safeguarding checks made on staff when they are recruited.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: English, science, geography and languages. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, looked a range of pupils’ work, and held discussions with teachers and pupils.  Inspectors considered a wide range of documentary evidence including policy documents, the school’s self-evaluation and the school’s plans for improvement.  Inspectors spoke informally to pupils around the school site and talked with them during lessons.  Inspectors took note of the responses to Ofsted Parent View, the online inspection questionnaire. They also considered the responses to the pupil and staff surveys.

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Inspection team

Malcolm Willis, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

David New Ofsted Inspector 22 and 23 March 2022

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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