As a result of research undertaken by the Department for Education (DFE) in the first half-term of Autumn 2020 it was found that pupils in:

  • Year 3 to 9 were on average around 1.6 to 2 months behind on their reading
  • Year 3 to 7 were around 3.2 months behind on their maths
  • Schools with high numbers of pupils eligible for free school meals were on average fur-ther behind those in schools with low free school meals eligibility

Anecdotal evidence also pointed to children and young people’s mental health having suf-fered from lockdown and from periods of individual or class isolation.

As a result, DFE offered secondary and special schools the opportunity to host a summer school with the following rationale and criteria:

“Summer school offers an important opportunity to support pupils’ wellbeing. Schools must include enrichment activities, such as team games, music, drama or sports activities. The cultural capital pupils have lost out on is important too. Pupils may not have heard as many words as they do on a normal day or read the books or been to the different places they might have otherwise. Some pupils won’t have had access to a garden or other safe outdoor space during lockdown, so schools might want to offer those opportunities as part of the summer school”.
 

Mayfield School hosted a summer school over 10 days

Pupils in school 171
Pupils invited 59
% of pupils who took part for at least one day 88%
% of those pupils eligible for pupil premium 47%
Total number of pupils who took part for at least one day 52
Summer School allocation £48,894.30
Publish date October 2021
Statement authorised by Samantha Kidd
Pupil Premium Lead Carolyn Westnedge
Governor Lead Jonny Sunter

 

Activities Undertaken
Mayfield School Summer Activities 2021

Key Stage 2 and 3
Topic and area of focus: Animals and their Habitats

Visits completed: 

Muncaster Castle Wild bird talk including hands on learning and viewing birds in flight. Visiting a range of birds and learning about their natural habitats, hunting skills and life cycles. In the Muncaster grounds students had opportunity to observe pond life including frogs and dragonflies. All students were engaged and some asked questions to enhance their understanding.

South Lakes Zoo All students were able to view a range of wildlife up close and learn about them. Reading skills were maximised by some students as they shared information that they read about the animals to other students. 

Feeding activities were arranged for each individual to hand feed the lemurs and giraffe’s over coming fears and understanding foods the animals eat. 

Alpaca Experience The Alpaca experience at Lingholme allowed students to be hands on with the alpacas, this included informal talks with their keepers, petting and feeding. The students were calm in their approach and all enjoyed this experience. Other activities this day included team building and a picnic at the park, it was lovely to see the staff and student’s relationships develop. 

Lowther Park This visit looked at woodland wildlife and bug hunting! The visit allowed students to investigate the grounds and spot wildlife and ‘bug hotels’. A firm favourite of the day was the castle play park where students worked together to push each other on swings, assist each other onto rope swings and guide each other through the maze.

Lakes Animal Park This visit allowed a closer look at farm animals and some wildlife. Students were able to pet and hand feed some animals and learn about farm life. Other activities included a reptile show and talk and birds of prey, some knowledge of the previous visit to Muncaster was apparent here. 

Through these activities staff and students were given effective transition to assist with their move to the secondary department or welcome other students in to it.


Key Stage 4 and 5 

Activities were based around life skills and around socialisation.

The students took part in a variety of activities including cycling at Watchtree Nature Re-serve. The cycling was enjoyed by all and the students got to experience a variety of bikes including recumbent bikes, mountain bikes and tricycles. Some even cycled in tandem buggies which was loads of fun. 

There was an exciting visit to Muncaster Castle where they were given a talk and a     dis-play by the Bird Keepers on different types of owls and after walking round the bird  enclosure and the grounds of the Castle they watched an amazing display by different types of Birds of Prey including falcons, buzzards and hawks. 

Pupils also went swimming in the school pool and walked round Whitehaven Harbour and visited Anna’s Café where they practiced their numeracy and literacy skills ordering and paying for their drinks and snacks. 

The students helped prepare their own lunches each day and did many laps of the Mayfield mile whilst in school.

Everyone had a fab week and the sun shone for all of the five days making it even more memorable.

Click here to check out our Summer School adventures.