Maesgwyn
Catchment Area, Reviews and Key Information

Secondary
Special school
PUPILS
126
AGES
5 - 19
GENDER
Mixed
TYPE
Special

How Does The School Perform?

Full Report
NATIONAL AVG. 2.18
Estyn Report
(01/02/2023)
Full Report - All Reports

Special schools provide a unique and distinctive educational environment to meet the needs of the pupils in their community. Undertaking standard tests may not be appropriate and we do not show performance data for special schools.

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Cwmdare Road
Cwmdare
Aberdare
CF44 8RE
01685 873933

School Description

Maesgwyn Special School is a nurturing and welcoming community that places a strong focus on pupil and staff well-being. Members of the school well-being team support pupils and their families extremely well. The well-being manager is employed to work throughout the school year, including during school holidays. Pupils are happy to come to school, feel safe and have strong working relationships with the staff team. Across the school, most pupils develop a range of valuable skills that help them to make suitable progress from their individual starting points. They value the leadership opportunities provided by the school and school council members take their responsibilities seriously. They are proud to have influenced changes such as the tone of the school bell and the refurbishment of several areas of the school. Teachers and support staff work together effectively to support learning. Teaching assistants are valuable role models in lessons. They know pupils very well and work effectively with them. However, the quality of teaching across the school is inconsistent. In the majority of lessons, teachers plan effectively to ensure that pupils make secure progress. In a minority of lessons, work is not always planned well enough to meet the additional learning needs of individual pupils and as a result they do not make the progress they are capable of. The school has a very strong professional learning offer for all staff, which covers a range of valuable topics and will support the development of the curriculum within the school. Nearly all staff have strengthened their professional development through a strong network of support with valuable professional partners. However, the school does not consistently evaluate the impact of professional learning on the quality of teaching and its impact on learning. The school has a valuable outdoor learning area, which is used effectively to enhance the curriculum offer. The offsite provision at “The Railway” is also used well to support older pupils in a vocational setting. However, limitations within the main school building do not allow for flexibility to meet the additional learning needs of pupils. For example, it does not allow sufficient space for pupils to self-regulate away from other pupils. Leaders have a clear vision to develop the school. However, the extensive range of improvement priorities lack a clear enough focus on the quality of teaching, the standards pupils achieve and the progress they make. Across the school, quality assurance activities do not always focus well enough on pupil outcomes. As a result, there is not a robust understanding across the school of the most important areas for improvement.

Maesgwyn Parent Reviews



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Maesgwyn Catchment Area Map

Official pupil census data is not available for this school and we are unable to offer a heat map or likelihood of admission tool at this time.