Hywel Dda Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Staff at Hywel Dda Primary create a caring and supportive school.

School leaders ensure that pupils' well-being is a priority and, as a result, nearly all pupils thrive. They are enthusiastic and develop positive attitudes to learning. Throughout the school, most pupils behave well in lessons.

They consider others' views and support one another well. Most pupils develop respectful relationships with staff and peers. The school has created a broad and inclusive curriculum, with beneficial opportunities for pupils to immerse themselves in learning experiences that develop their understanding of Wales and our diverse world.

The strong Welsh ethos enables many pupils to develop as confident and enthusiastic Welsh spea...kers. Most teachers plan exciting opportunities for pupils to build on their literacy, numeracy and digital skills and nearly all pupils make good progress as they move through the school. A notable strength is the positive reading culture and the progress that pupils make with their reading skills.

However, where teachers over-direct learning, especially for older learners, they do not always develop sufficiently as independent, creative thinkers and learners. The strong leadership team, supported by effective governors, address school priorities rigorously. Governors provide valuable support to school leaders to identify strengths and priorities for development accurately.

Staff develop a holistic understanding of individual pupils' needs and support them effectively to reach their potential. The school provides an effective range of interventions for pupils with emotional and well-being needs, which has a positive impact on their engagement in lessons. However, the number of fixed-term exclusions remains too high.

The school has a sound safeguarding ethos, and all staff have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities for keeping learners safe. Senior leaders recognise that the high volume of traffic at the start and end of the day poses a risk to the safety of pupils, and they communicate regularly with the local authority about this. The school provides extensive support for families.

They use external agencies well to provide valuable information, and to direct parents to family services available in the community. The 'coffee, cake and cuddles' morning, provides a good opportunity for parents to engage in their child's learning journey. Recommendations R1 Continue to work in partnership with the local authority to manage the safe arrival and departure of pupils R2 Reduce the number of fixed-term exclusions R3 Develop pupils as independent learners What happens next The school will draw up an action plan to address the recommendations from the inspection.