Ysgol Maesydderwen is an 11-18 mixed comprehensive school maintained by Powys local authority. There are 503 pupils on roll compared with 540 at the time of the last inspection in November 2010. There are 81 students in the sixth form. The school serves the small town of Ystradgynlais and the surrounding villages, which are former mining communities. Around 13% of pupils live in the 20% most deprived areas of Wales. Nearly 19% of the pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is above the Welsh average for secondary schools of 17.0%. Most pupils come from English-speaking homes, with 9% stating that they speak Welsh at home, and around 8% of pupils being fluent in Welsh. Just over 2% of pupils receive support for English as an additional language. The school has a specialist unit for pupils with Autism and learning difficulties. Currently, 22% of the pupils have additional learning needs with around 2% having statements of special educational needs. These figures are in line with national averages. The senior leadership has remained stable since the last inspection. The headteacher has been in post since 2007 and the deputy headteacher since 2010. Further information is available from the Welsh Government My Local School website at the link below. http://mylocalschool.wales.gov.uk/Schools/SchoolSearch?lang=en 1 A report on Ysgol Maesydderwen October 2017 Summary Ysgol Maesydderwen is a caring, community school. It promotes effectively its core values of respect and inclusivity, and supports all its pupils well. Pupils are proud and responsible members of the school community. In many lessons, pupils make suitable progress but, over the past few years, pupils have generally not made enough progress in key stage 4 in the indicators that include English and mathematics. Teaching has many strengths, though, in a majority of lessons, teachers’ expectations are not always high enough. Leaders have been successful in securing improvements in many aspects of the school’s work, such as attendance and the provision for pupils with additional learning needs, but have not had enough impact on improving standards and provision. Inspection area Judgement Standards Adequate and needs improvement Wellbeing and attitudes to learning Good Teaching and learning experiences Adequate and needs improvement Care, support and guidance Good Leadership and management Adequate and needs improvement 2 A report on Ysgol Maesydderwen October 2017 Recommendations R1 Improve standards, particularly at key stage 4 and those of more able pupils, and improve pupils’ independent learning skills R2 Improve the quality of teaching and assessment R3 Ensure that leaders at all levels evaluate accurately the effectiveness of their work and act swiftly to address aspects in need of improvement R4 Review examination entry policies in English, mathematics and Welsh so that all pupils have the opportunity to reach their full potential. R5 Work to reduce the deficit budget.