Pentre Church in Wales Controlled Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

The Dee Valley Federation of schools was formed in January 2014 and consists of Froncysyllte Primary, Garth Primary and Pentre Church in Wales Controlled Primary schools.

It is led by the recently appointed headteacher and a team of assistant headteachers at each of the three schools. These senior leaders manage the day to day running of each of their schools and assume responsibility for the operational matters at each school in the headteacher's absence. Pentre Church in Wales Controlled Primary School is the largest school within the federation and is very much at the heart of its community in the village of Pentre.

The caring and community ethos the staff promote is a notable aspect of its work. Pupils are happy and co...nfident in school, and through their relationships with one and other they show kindness and many other Christian values they celebrate. Parents appreciate the support that staff provide for their children and speak warmly of the relationships they have with the school, including with the recently appointed headteacher.

Many pupils develop their literacy and numeracy skills well in engaging learning experiences. They enthusiastically share their Welsh language skills, often using the language when they speak with increasing confidence. Across the school, many pupils make good progress in acquiring their digital skills, which they use confidently.

During their time at the school, most pupils make suitable progress from their starting points. Although staff at the school know their pupils well, assessment processes do not always support pupils to develop their skills and make sustained progress over time, for example in their writing skills. The headteacher, senior and middle leaders are beginning to have an impact on improving the opportunities for pupils across the federation.

They have recently begun to reflect on the school's provision and consider necessary improvements to be made, for example in mathematics and teachers' assessment of pupils for the next steps in their learning. Recommendations R1 Address the health and safety issue identified by the team during the inspection R2 Develop leadership at all levels across the federation, and share effective practice in all schools R3 Strengthen self-evaluation processes to focus on the impact of teaching on learning and the progress of pupils over time R4 Strengthen teachers' strategic planning for pupil progress across the wider curriculum R5 Secure teachers' understanding of effective classroom assessment to evaluate teaching and learning and identify how to help pupils move on in their learning R6 Improve the pace of teaching and matching activities to pupil needs What happens next The school will draw up an action plan to show how it is going to address the recommendations. Estyn will work with the local authority to review the school's progress.