Upper Rhymney Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Upper Rhymney Primary School is a caring and inclusive school, which encourages pupils to learn in a positive atmosphere and to be happy.

Pupils enjoy the activities and tasks provided and use a wide range of strategies and resources to learn productively. Pupils' enthusiastic attitudes and readiness to learn during lessons is due to the purposeful working relationships that exist with their teachers and other staff. The staff provide beneficial learning opportunities for pupils, which includes using the woodland area regularly.

Where learning is particularly successful, the teaching and assessment is engaging and purposeful and staff have high expectations of pupils. However, the quality of teaching varies in terms of its... impact on pupils' progress. Teachers' feedback is also inconsistent when attempting to develop the next steps in pupils' learning.

All staff provide a high level of support and care for pupils in all aspects of school life. This encourages pupils to take responsibility for their own learning and well-being. Pupils' behaviour is very good, and they are determined to persevere and learn purposefully.

As a result, they develop good literacy and creative skills across the curriculum. However, the planning to improve pupils' numeracy and digital skills is not as effective. The headteacher provides effective and purposeful leadership.

She is determined to succeed for the benefit of pupils and the community. The senior leadership team, the staff and the governors share a clear vision. They work together well to ensure that the school is an inclusive learning community that promotes positive opportunities for pupils.

The headteacher shares responsibilities effectively among staff. This creates a positive whole-school focus, where staff and pupils feel valued for their contributions to school life. Leaders evaluate the school's work to plan for improvements thoroughly.

They use robust self-evaluation processes and identify development areas well, such as improving outdoor resources for younger pupils. Additionally, these monitoring practices lead to worthwhile training opportunities for staff to develop their skills through effective professional learning. Recommendations R1 Challenge all pupils pupils through consistent and effective teaching R2 Plan effective progression in pupils' numeracy and digital skills as they move through the school R3 Ensure that the quality of teachers' feedback targets the next steps in pupils' learning across the school R4 Improve the resources and outdoor learning opportunities for younger pupils What happens next The school will draw up an action plan to address the recommendations from the inspection.