Maesyrhandir C.P. School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

The school provides a welcoming and inclusive environment where nearly all pupils feel safe and most enjoy attending regularly. Teachers and leaders have focused appropriately on pupils' well-being as they return to school following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Teachers and teaching assistants deliver a good range of interventions to support pupils' emotional and mental health and this is having a positive impact on pupils' wellbeing. Staff know their pupils well and match this support effectively to the needs of individual pupils. Staff have a consistent approach to managing pupils' behaviour and pupils understand and respect this process, knowing that they will be dealt with fairly when disputes arise.

The support for pupils w...ith additional learning needs is strong. The specialist centre and nurture class provide bespoke support for pupils who need additional support with learning or with their social or emotional wellbeing. Pupils develop appropriate literacy and numeracy skills as they move through the school.

Pupils' reading skills have improved recently and staff have identified accurately the need to focus on improving pupils' writing skills. Teachers plan opportunities for pupils to use these skills in a range of contexts however, the skills pupils use in their work across the curriculum do not always match the levels achieved in their English and mathematics work. Teachers across the school provide verbal feedback to pupils to help them to know what they have done well and what they need to improve.

However, written feedback is less effective. The headteacher leads the school effectively. She has established a culture where all staff feel valued and are proud of the work they do at the school.

Leaders generally identify areas for improvement accurately, although monitoring and evaluation activities do not focus closely enough on the standards that pupils achieve or the progress that they make. Members of the governing body know the school well and provide good levels of support and challenge for the school's leaders. Recommendations R1 Improve monitoring and evaluation activities and ensure that they focus firmly on pupils' learning R2 Ensure that teachers provide learning experiences that challenge pupils appropriately and support skill development R3 Improve pupils' writing skills R4 Ensure that feedback to pupils helps them to know what they do well and what they need to improve R5 Work with the local authority to address the safeguarding concern identified during the inspection What happens next The school will draw up an action plan to address the recommendations from the inspection.