Special School Ysgol Maes Hyfryd is a special school situated in Flint and maintained by Flintshire local authority. The school is co-located with Flint High School and shares a few of its facilities. There are a very few pupils placed at Elfed High School in Buckley but placements at this school will end in July 2019. The school provides education for pupils aged 11 to 19 years who have a statement of special educational needs. Pupils at the school have a range of needs, including autistic spectrum disorders, speech, language and communication needs and moderate, severe and profound learning difficulties. There are currently 102 pupils on roll, of whom 44% are eligible for free school meals. Nearly all pupils are from homes where English is the main spoken language. The current headteacher was appointed in June 2013. 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 Maes Hyfryd Special School October 2018 Summary Over time, most pupils make strong progress in their learning in relation to their individual needs and abilities. Pupils are happy at school, enjoy their lessons and treat all staff with respect. The school provides a relevant and engaging curriculum and works effectively with outside agencies and other education providers to ensure that its pupils have enriching learning experiences. Leaders, teachers and support staff place great importance on working with parents and the community in order to improve outcomes for their pupils. This is a particular strength of the school. The strong senior leadership team promotes a whole school ethos of collaboration where everyone is encouraged to make a contribution. Staff at all levels are proud of their pupils and share in the school’s successes. Inspection area Judgement Standards Good Wellbeing and attitudes to learning Good Teaching and learning experiences Good Care, support and guidance Good Leadership and management Good 2 A report on Ysgol Maes Hyfryd Special School October 2018 Recommendations R1 Ensure that self-evaluation outcomes are closely linked to priorities for improvement so that progress is monitored and evaluated effectively R2 Ensure that tracking and monitoring systems enable teachers and leaders to measure the progress of pupils over time R3 Improve the provision for Welsh language development R4 Evaluate the impact of current interventions and support programmes in order to prioritise those that are most effective What happens next The school will draw up an action plan to address the recommendations from the inspection. Estyn will invite the school to prepare a case study on its work in relation to work with parents and the community to support pupils’ wellbeing and independence, for dissemination on Estyn’s website.