The Mandeville School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 19 November 2024

The school wants the best for pupils and students in the sixth form, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, this ambition has not been realised, particularly in key stages 3 and 4. The achievement of pupils has not improved quickly enough. This is because the school has failed to complete vital elements of curriculum review quickly enough in some subjects. Pupils have experienced a poorly designed curriculum for too long. Consequently, they have gaps in their knowledge and skills. At the end of key stage 4, many pupils, particularly the most disadvantaged, leave school without the qualifications that they need for future education, training or employment. The behaviour of most pupils is positive because the school's recent improvements are beginning to have an impact. Staff apply the new behaviour management strategies consistently well. Pupils appreciate the new approach to promoting positive behaviour. They feel happy and safe at school. Many pupils told inspectors that they feel cared for by the school. This is particularly true in the small sixth form. Here, students develop strong and positive relationships with staff. This contributes to their stronger achievement by the end of Year 13. Pupils benefit from a strong offer to promote their wider development. The school has focused on improving many elements of this provision successfully. The personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education curriculum is coherent. It ensures that pupils learn crucial information at the right time. Pupils participate with enthusiasm in the growing number of opportunities to develop their talents and interests.

What the school should improve

• The achievement of pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils and pupils with 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 achievement of all pupils improves, and 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 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.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)