Ysgol G.G. Aberdar

Highlights from Latest Inspection

A group of children in a gymDescription automatically generatedA child and child playing with sandDescription automatically generatedA person and child sitting at a tableDescription automatically generatedYsgol Gynradd Gymraeg Aberdâr is a caring, happy and homely school where pupils treat each other, staff and visitors with respect.

Nearly all pupils are exceptionally well behaved and behave positively and maturely towards others. They feel proud of their school and its community. All staff have an effective working relationship with pupils, which promotes good attitudes to learning and well-being, in addition to fostering a supportive and inclusive environment.

They know the pupils well and respond purposefully to their ...emotional and social needs. Provision for pupils with additional learning needs (ALN) is also effective and meets their needs well. Welsh is new to many pupils on entry to the school.

Overall, the youngest children make appropriate progress in their oral skills during their first years at the school. With encouragement from adults, many develop their skills to communicate with increasing confidence in Welsh and English and develop their numeracy and digital skills purposefully by the end of their time at the school. However, teachers do not always ensure that all pupils are challenged fully or provide beneficial opportunities for them to apply and build on their skills effectively enough across the school.

The school has an appropriate supply of leaders who support teachers and assistants robustly. They make a valuable contribution towards establishing a strong team ethos and a sense of belonging among the staff. Members of the governing body are supportive of the headteacher and staff.

However, leaders do not always identify beneficial opportunities to share good practice across the school or to arrange support to ensure consistency in, and improve, teaching and provision. They also do not always act strategically enough to improve their understanding of what has had a positive effect on outcomes and what needs to continue to improve. Overall, the school's safeguarding arrangements are not coherent or robust enough.

Recommendations R1 Improve and strengthen child protection and safeguarding arrangements R2 Strengthen the ability of leaders to act more strategically in evaluating the quality of provision and implementing the necessary improvements R3 Ensure that teaching sets high expectations for all pupils to achieve to the best of their ability R4 Provide regular opportunities for pupils to develop and apply their skills across the areas of learning