Rhyl High School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

A group of people in uniform dancingDescription automatically generatedA group of girls playing footballDescription automatically generatedA person standing in front of a whiteboardDescription automatically generatedThe headteacher and staff at Rhyl High School ensure that the well-being of staff and pupils is their highest priority. Despite the notable challenges faced since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, staff have worked diligently to help their pupils return to learning by instilling good habits and removing barriers to learning, including those related to the impact of poverty. Leaders foster a real sense of community and provide strong support to the immediate and wider school communities.

Leaders at every level have... a genuine ambition to improve all aspects of the school's work and recognise the need for further developments in teaching and improvements to the provision for literacy skills in particular. Rhyl High School is an inclusive community that places the individuality of pupils at the centre of everything it does. Valuable arrangements for supporting pupils with a diverse range of needs is a notable strength.

These are tailored skilfully to each pupil and draw effectively on both internal and external support so that pupils can be the best version of themselves. Pupils routinely share their opinions with leaders in order to make a difference to the life of the school. As a result, they feel well supported and the majority of pupils are developing as confident, independent learners.

Pupils are encouraged to care and respect others and are polite and friendly around the school. However, a minority of pupils do not behave well enough in lessons, which impacts negatively on their progress and that of others. In a few lessons, teachers' high expectations and careful planning engage pupils' interest and curiosity and challenge them to achieve their best.

As a result, in these lessons pupils make strong progress in their knowledge, understanding and skills. Outside of these lessons, the quality of teaching varies too much. In a minority of instances, teachers do not develop pupils' understanding, knowledge and skills well enough and this limits the progress that pupils make.

The school's curriculum offer is a particular strength. It provides personalised opportunities which engage, enthuse, and benefit pupils of all abilities. However, currently, the school's provision for the progressive development of pupils' skills is underdeveloped.

Recommendations R1 Improve the quality of teaching and assessment so that pupils of all abilities engage and make strong progress R2 Provide worthwhile opportunities for pupils to develop their skills particularly literacy across the curriculum R3 Improve all leaders' ability to evaluate the quality of teaching and its impact on pupils' progress and skills development