THE MAELOR SCHOOL

Overview

The Maelor School is described as having an “inclusive and supportive ethos” that positively impacts pupils’ wellbeing and personal development. While most pupils are well-behaved and engaged, the report states that leadership at all levels has not had enough impact on improving the quality and consistency of teaching or raising standards.

Strengths

• Pupils’ wellbeing and attitudes to learning are rated “Good”, with most feeling safe and behaving courteously.
• Care, support and guidance are rated “Good”, featuring strong support for additional learning needs and effective pastoral interventions.
• Teachers generally have “secure subject knowledge” and foster “purposeful and respectful working relationships” with pupils.
• The school offers a comprehensive range of vocational and academic subjects, along with valuable extra-curricular opportunities.
• Leaders have successfully secured improvements in behaviour, written feedback, and provision for Welsh.

Areas to improve

• Improve standards, particularly at key stage 4, where performance has declined and is below that of similar schools.
• Improve the quality of teaching, specifically by ensuring questioning probes understanding and activities challenge pupils sufficiently.
• Improve leadership at all levels, including the rigour and effectiveness of quality improvement processes and the evaluation of teaching.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding procedures generally meet requirements, though a health and safety issue identified during the inspection was brought to the school’s attention.