The Mandeville School

The Mandeville School Ellen Road, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire HP21 8ES

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report:

At the most recent graded inspection, the following areas were identified as needing to improve:

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report:

 The achievement of pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), remains low. As a result, many pupils do not attain the qualifications that they need to progress to their next stages of education, training or employment. The school must ensure that the achievement of all pupils improves and that disadvantaged pupils are given access to high-quality education.  Recent changes to the curriculum have not made enough difference to pupils’ achievement in key stages 3 and 4. In some crucial subjects, the school has not identified what should be taught and when this should happen. The school must ensure that its work to develop the curriculum is completed as soon as possible so that pupils gain a secure body of knowledge over time.  Teachers’ checks on pupils’ learning do not enable them to know how well pupils learn the curriculum. Furthermore, the gaps in pupils’ learning, from weaknesses in the

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report:

curriculum over time, are not identified or addressed. As a result, pupils do not gain a secure body of knowledge in the subjects that they study. The school must ensure that teachers accurately identify gaps and misconceptions in pupils’ knowledge and then seek to overcome these deficiencies in their subsequent teaching.  Many pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, are absent from school. The number of pupils who are persistently absent from school remains high. Although improving, some pupils truant from lessons in school. Too many pupils, therefore, miss vital learning and are at risk of falling even further behind. The school must ensure that it reviews its current approaches so that attendance improves rapidly, persistent absence decreases and that in-school truancy is eradicated. Monitoring Inspection report: The Mandeville School, 24 March 2026 2

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continued work is needed to remove the requires significant improvement

During the monitoring inspection, inspectors focused on the following evaluation areas:  Leadership and governance  Safeguarding  Inclusion  Curriculum and teaching  Achievement  Attendance and behaviour

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Leadership and governance

Leaders continue to focus their work on the most pressing priorities for school improvement. They highlight the importance of pupils attending school regularly in order to achieve more positive outcomes. Consequently, leaders have made notable improvements in this area of their work, particularly for the most disadvantaged pupils. There has been sustained improvement in the attendance of all pupil groups since the last graded inspection.

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Leadership and governance

Leaders have focused on improving the curriculum. They have continued to refine their expectations of how lessons should be taught in order to improve the consistency of pupils’ learning experiences. Leaders have also reviewed their strategic oversight of provision for pupils with SEND to ensure that support provided is more closely matched to need.

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Leadership and governance

Leaders have further work to do to improve the quality of teaching. While the structure of lessons is now more consistent, teaching is often insufficiently responsive to pupils’ needs. As a result, pupils, including those with SEND, do not achieve as securely as they should from their starting points. Leaders continue to take suitable steps to identify more precisely where teacher expertise needs to be further developed.

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Safeguarding

At the previous graded inspection, safeguarding was evaluated as being effective.

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Inclusion

Leaders have taken a more systematic approach to identifying the needs of pupils with SEND. They plan support with more accuracy and provide staff with clear guidance about how best to meet pupils’ needs in the classroom. These improvements are in the early stages of embedding. As a result, some staff are not yet using these strategies well. Sometimes pupils with SEND struggle to access learning because staff have not made the most appropriate adaptations to their teaching.

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Curriculum and teaching

Monitoring Inspection report: The Mandeville School, 24 March 2026 3 Leaders have commenced the work to embed a set of common routines and expectations in lessons. As a result, pupils now have regular opportunities to revisit their previous learning before being introduced to new knowledge. However, there continues to be inconsistency in how effectively teachers check pupils’ understanding. Some teachers do not clearly know which aspects of learning pupils have securely understood. When this is the case, teaching is not then appropriately adapted in order to address pupils’ misconceptions.

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Achievement

Leaders have made important improvements to how they support pupils to develop their reading skills. Staff have a better understanding of the specific barriers that pupils have to reading with fluency. Leaders ensure that pupils access helpful interventions in a timely manner. As a result, pupils, notably those who are disadvantaged, are now closing gaps in their reading ability more quickly.

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Achievement

Leaders have ensured that older pupils are being well supported to address knowledge gaps in readiness for their national examinations. Pupils appreciate the support they are receiving and are motivated to succeed. Leaders have taken steps to try and ensure knowledge gaps are picked up more systematically in the earlier years. However, not all teachers check effectively to identify misconceptions and errors in pupils’ learning over time. As a result, some pupils, including those with SEND, do not achieve well. They do not make reasonable progress from their starting points.

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Attendance and behaviour

Leaders have continued to improve how they manage pupil absence. There are clear and commonly understood expectations about the importance of regular attendance. Pupils who have the greatest barriers to positive school engagement receive timely and effective support. As a result, far fewer pupils miss school than was previously the case. Attendance is continuing to improve for all pupils, including the most disadvantaged.

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Attendance and behaviour

Behaviour is typically calm and orderly with evidence of positive relationships.

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Additional next steps

Leaders and trustees should continue to work to address the priorities for improvement identified in the last graded inspection report.

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About this inspection

The inspector carried out this monitoring inspection under section 8(2) of the Education Act 2005, and it was the second monitoring inspection since the school was judged to require significant improvement following the graded inspection that took place in November 2024.

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About this inspection

The school’s previous inspection and the first monitoring inspection were carried out under the Education Inspection Framework (EIF) at that time. The renewed EIF took effect from Monitoring Inspection report: The Mandeville School, 24 March 2026 4 10 November 2025. The areas for improvement identified at the school’s graded inspection and subsequent monitoring inspection have been cross-referenced to the relevant evaluation areas in the inspection toolkit for consideration on this monitoring inspection.

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About this inspection

The purpose of this monitoring inspection was not to determine grades for any of the evaluation areas set out in the school inspection toolkit. The purpose was to identify and report on the school’s progress in addressing priorities for improvement since the school’s previous inspection.

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About this inspection

During this inspection, meetings were held with the executive headteacher, the head of school, other senior leaders and the chief executive officer of the trust to discuss the actions that have been taken to improve the school since the most recent graded inspection.

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About this school

Number of pupils on roll 966 Monitoring Inspection report: The Mandeville School, 24 March 2026 5 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 looked- after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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About this school

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About this school

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About this school

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About this school

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

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