Machen Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Machen Primary is a warm, welcoming school that provides an engaging learning environment that supports all pupils.

Staff are positive role models and share a vision to support pupils' well-being. Staff and pupils have a sense of pride in their school and what it has to offer. The Welsh language is celebrated throughout the school day, and is a prominent feature in daily activities, formal and informal situations.

Leaders know their school well and understand the actions they need to take to improve aspects of its work. They focus on developing pupils' literacy, numeracy and digital skills effectively and most pupils make good progress during focused sessions. However, independent learning tasks do not always enable pupils... to deepen their understanding and apply their skills across the curriculum.

Teachers plan a good range of learning experiences and provide valuable interventions to support pupils with additional learning needs. They make effective use of assessment information to monitor the progress pupils make and to identify groups of pupils who may benefit from additional support. When given the opportunity, pupils enjoy talking about their work and the actions they follow to complete tasks.

However, feedback does not always focus on the skills pupils are developing, and the actions they need to take to improve their work. The school is beginning to develop its curriculum and consider how they can use the locality and Wales to enrich pupils' learning experiences. Teachers plan a range of engaging activities for pupils to develop their creative and problem-solving skills across the curriculum.

However, the value and impact of these activities vary across the school, especially older pupils. The headteacher values the contributions governors, staff and pupils make. There is a strong culture of supportive and caring leadership.

Leaders at all levels work effectively to provide the best they can for all pupils. They reflect honestly on pupils' progress and accurately identify the school's strengths and areas for development. Governors are valuable members of the school community and offer appropriate support and challenge to the school.

Recommendations R1 Improve opportunities to develop pupils' deeper understanding and application of skills across the curriculum, especially when engaged in independent learning R2 Ensure consistency in the quality and use of pupil feedback to support pupils to make improvements to their work R3 Extend opportunities for pupils to develop their creative and problem-solving skills in purposeful, real-life activities