Ysgol Gynradd Sirol Wdig

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Pupils enjoy their time at the school greatly. The main reason for this is because they have a positive relationship with their teachers and other staff, which helps to establish a pleasant atmosphere around the school. Teaching is successful and the school environment promotes beneficial learning opportunities.

The learning areas, both outdoors and indoors, are stimulating and adventurous. This supports most pupils to make strong progress in developing their literacy and numeracy skills and, as a result, they achieve well from their starting points. At times, the pace of teaching is slow, which hinders pupils' enthusiasm and desire to start their work.

All staff succeed in promoting an ethos of care and support for pupils..., which encourages them to take responsibility for their wellbeing and behaviour. This contributes to their positive attitudes to learning and their resilience to work independently purposefully. The school also guides pupils purposefully towards gaining confidence in their identity, while also developing a strong sense of respect for the feelings of others.

Pupils state openly that they feel safe at the school and in each other's company. They take pride in the fact that staff encourage them to embrace their happiness to enrich their lives. Teachers listen carefully to what pupils would like to learn about.

They combine these ideas and interests with interesting lessons, which encourage pupils to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding in a variety of different ways. Pupils make exceptionally good progress in their literacy skills in Welsh and English, and many use these skills effectively across all areas of learning. Pupils' numeracy skills are also developing well.

However, teachers do not plan activities systematically enough to promote and develop pupils' digital skills across the curriculum. The headteacher is determined to succeed for the benefit of the pupils and the community. As a result, all staff and governors work diligently with each other and the headteacher shares responsibilities intelligently among the staff.

The senior management team provides beneficial professional learning opportunities for staff. This supports a thriving whole-school ethos where staff feel that they are valued for their conscientious contributions to school life. Leaders self-evaluate the school's work rigorously to plan for improvements.

This is a detailed process and the manageable targets focus correctly and reliably on improving provision to improve pupils' learning. Recommendations R1 Provide effective opportunities for pupils to develop their digital skills independently across the curriculum. R2 Ensure that the pace of lessons is effective and consistent across the school What happens next The school will draw up an action plan to address the recommendations from the inspection.

Main findings Learning On entry to the school, most pupils have literacy, numeracy and social skills that are lower than expected for their age. Very few pupils speak Welsh on entry to the school. However, most pupils develop effective Welsh communication skills and make good progress by the time they reach Year 6.

Most pupils, including those with additional learning needs, make sound progress in all areas of learning by the end of their time at the school. A majority of pupils in the nursery and reception classes develop good listening skills. They follow simple instructions and respond to questions purposefully.

As they move through the school, most pupils concentrate well for extended periods. Pupils at the top of the school respect the views of others and listen maturely to each other's presentations. For example, they listen well to their peers as they explain how to create a website to promote Goodwick as a holiday destination.

A majority of younger pupils acquire the Welsh language at a very early stage. In the nursery and reception classes, they develop their vocabulary appropriately and use new phrases with increasing confidence. By the end of Year 2, many communicate with each other purposefully and use suitable vocabulary and familiar language patterns to express their feelings.

During their journey through the school, many make sound progress in using Welsh and English. By the end of Year 6, they communicate maturely in both languages for different purposes. Many talk confidently with familiar adults and visitors to the school, such as interviewing the local doctor about her work as part of the theme 'Y Corff Campus'.

Many pupils' reading skills in the nursery and reception class are developing well. They discuss the content of stories sensibly and respond enthusiastically when discussing the characters in 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. Many pupils' reading skills in Years 3 and 4 are developing effectively and, by the end of their time at the school, most older children read fluently in both languages.

They read aloud with expression, pay attention to punctuation and vary their tone of voice successfully. At the top of the school, many pupils use a variety of reading sources successfully to research the class themes purposefully. A good example of this is pupils gathering and presenting information successfully when researching the life cycle of a bee independently.

Most pupils' writing skills are developing well. Across the school, pupils record their work neatly and show obvious pride in their work. Many of the school's youngest pupils develop their writing skills appropriately and make marks confidently with paint and crayons in the scribbling stand.

By the end of Year 2, many are beginning to write purposefully by using sophisticated words and phrases in their work. Many punctuate their work purposefully, for example when recreating the story of 'The Tiger Who Came to Tea'. Most pupils between Year 3 and Year 6 write successfully for different purposes across the curriculum in both languages.

A good example of this is writing a persuasive letter to the chair of governors asking for permission to go on a visit to the Egyptian Centre in Swansea. At the top of the school, most pupils express themselves sensibly by using chronological order, conjunctions and rich descriptive language in Welsh and English. Many pupils in the nursery and reception develop their numeracy skills appropriately.

By Year 2, many pupils' understanding of number value is developing soundly and they succeed in applying their understanding purposefully across the curriculum. A good example of this is pupils using standard units to weigh fruit on digital scales in the class farm shop. Many older pupils make good progress in their numeracy skills.

They apply their understanding of number work, shape and use data skilfully across the curriculum. For example, they solve real-life problems, such as using a scale to decide on the price of fuel and bend pipes to measure a route on a map. Although the quality of planning to develop digital skills is inconsistent from one class to the next, on the whole, pupils' digital skills are developing well.

By Year 2, many create and interpret a block graph independently to reflect how they travel to school. Many older pupils use their digital skills purposefully across the curriculum, such as coding independently to create a hitting game. Most pupils' creative skills are developing well across the school.

Pupils are given purposeful opportunities to experiment with a range of media and emulate artists' techniques when developing their art skills. A good example of this is older pupils using the style of a local artist successfully to draw familiar landmarks in the local community. They also evaluate a variety of music confidently by listening to classical music, such as 'Flight of the Bumblebee'.

Most pupils have mature thinking skills. They have an increasing understanding of how to improve their learning and their work to succeed and do their best. A good example of this is the use of the 'Pwll Dysgu' ('Learning Pool') strategy, which encourages pupils to reflect and think positively about their learning.

Well-being and attitudes to learning Nearly all pupils show pride and love towards their school. They feel safe within the school's inclusive and familial ethos, which is an integral part of the vision of the headteacher and staff. Through shared values and morals, pupils feel safe and know whom to approach if something is worrying them.

Pupils appreciate that adults respect them and treat them fairly, which contributes soundly to developing a close working relationship based on respect and trust. Pupils are polite and respectful as they move calmly around the school. Nearly all pupils behave well in the classrooms and are very caring towards each other.

Nearly all pupils also have a sound awareness of how to keep themselves and others safe online. Most pupils are pleased that adults listen to their views and consider them in decisions that affect them. Nearly all pupils, including those with additional learning needs, are willing to assume leadership roles and responsibilities and play a full part in the school's life and work.

Pupils who are members of various committees, such as the School and Community Parliament, the Health and Wellbeing Parliament and the Eco Parliament make effective contributions to the school's day-to-day life. For example, members of the 'Criw Cymraeg' reward pupils for speaking Welsh with pebbles to fill the class jar. When the jar is full, the class receives a special reward, such as cinema tickets.

Most pupils across the school have positive attitudes to learning. They listen well to teachers' instructions and concentrate diligently on their work during lessons. Many are enthusiastic learners who apply themselves confidently to new experiences.

Nearly all pupils work conscientiously with their friends and adults and support each other voluntarily. Nearly all pupils concentrate consistently for extended periods. They respect their work and show resilience and motivation in what is being learned.

They work with their peers in pairs or groups to solve problems without support from adults, for example by using the 'three before me' strategy. As a result, most develop as independent learners and many discuss their work confidently and are ready to listen to the views and ideas of others effectively. Nearly all pupils mature to become healthy and confident individuals and understand how to make the right choices in relation to diet and physical activity.

For example, in Year 4, pupils plan a suitable diet for a local triathlete so that they can swim, run and cycle strongly when preparing for the Welsh Triathlon competition. Across the school, nearly all pupils value the importance of regular exercise. They enjoy taking part in daily fitness lessons, such as the mile a day.

Most pupils take advantage of opportunities to work together in the school's extra-curricular wellbeing activities, such as the weekly Wellbeing Club. Pupils' use of the wellbeing corners in their classes also promotes their emotional health effectively. As a result, nearly all learners are aware of how to make decisions that take care of their mental health.

Very good examples of this are the use of the 'Bwystfil Becso' ('Worry Monster') character and the weekly visit from Betsi, the school dog, to support vulnerable pupils with their reading. Most pupils develop a good understanding of the importance of moral citizenship through their awareness of the values that are promoted by the school. Older pupils are completely aware of the importance of equality as part of their work on children's rights.

Nearly all pupils learn the values of supporting others successfully and are keen to raise money for local and national charities. For example, they have raised a significant amount of money for children in Ukraine by wearing blue and yellow. This increases pupils' awareness of the importance of their contributions to create a caring society.

Following the pandemic, inspectors are not reporting on pupil attendance rates during the 2021-2022 academic year. Instead, the school's provision for monitoring and improving attendance will be reported on as part of Inspection Area 4. Teaching and learning experiences Teachers plan a range and depth of engaging experiences, in line with the Curriculum for Wales, which motivates most pupils to make good progress from their starting points.

Planning of experiences builds systematically on pupils' knowledge, skills and understanding and promotes their independent learning purposefully. Teachers work together productively to develop an interesting curriculum that supports pupils to achieve well. For example, across the school, the pupils' local area is given prominent attention, such as the Year 5 studies on a stone age tomb in a nearby village.

Year 2 pupils are also given effective experiences of using imaginative vocabulary when describing a giant's footprint following his make-believe visit to the school. Teachers encourage pupils to contribute their views about what they would like to learn by using mind maps. They pay sensible attention to pupils' suggestions when planning across the curriculum.

They welcome these views and use them intelligently as part of pupils' learning experiences. For example, Year 4 have visited a museum in Swansea to study the Egyptians following suggestions by the class. As a result, pupils share their experiences eagerly with others as their learning is relevant to their interests.

The teaching by teachers and assistants is sound and pupils are given comprehensive experiences to develop their literacy and numeracy skills. For example, there are challenging opportunities available for pupils in the nursery class to sell flowers to each other in their flower shop. Year 3 pupils also write pamphlets to persuade the public to support the Fishguard triathlon.

However, pupils are not given sufficient opportunities to develop their digital skills independently across the curriculum as they move from one year to the next. Provision for personal and social education develops pupils' understanding of their wellbeing and identity successfully. The curriculum gives good consideration to global events and the diversity of the world, such as the role of the mathematician, Katherine Johnson, in the moon landings.

Planning also reflects the cultural heritage of Wales successfully and all staff promote the advantages of learning Welsh purposefully. The professional relationship between staff and pupils is strong. Staff know their pupils well.

They provide activities that are tailored purposefully to meet pupils' needs, including those who need support with their work. Assistants provide valuable support for these pupils and know when to intervene and when to allow pupils to persevere independently. Most lessons move quickly, engage pupils' interest and motivate them to persevere and succeed.

However, at times, the pace of teaching is slow and too much time is spent discussing tasks. As a result, this hinders pupils' enthusiasm and desire to begin their work. Teachers use assessment activities and practices to respond to pupils' work purposefully during lessons.

In the most effective practices, teachers share oral feedback skilfully to challenge and assess the quality of pupils' learning and target any indifference or incorrect work promptly. For example, in Year 6, staff challenge pupils to ensure that their findings are correct once they have matched percentages and fractions. Pupils are also given valuable opportunities to respond to their teachers' feedback and written comments, such as when the teacher asks them to identify the next steps in their own learning.

At the end of the year, parents and carers receive comprehensive annual reports on their child's progress. The school provides a lively and interesting learning environment where every nook and cranny are used successfully to support pupils' learning. Staff across the school create attractive spaces inside the building to motivate pupils, such as the seed planting area in the nursery class.

Staff use the outdoor areas that are available extensively and opportunities are planned well for pupils to make choices about what and how they would like to learn. This includes role-playing on a wooden boat and researching the lives and bodies of bees. Staff also make beneficial use of the woodland and amphitheatre on the school field to broaden pupils' learning further.

This provides valuable opportunities for pupils to apply their skills in practical situations. Care, support and guidance The school is a caring community with a warm and friendly ethos. Positive relationships between staff and pupils and between the pupils themselves are a strong feature.

Teachers and assistants know the pupils well and respond warm-heartedly to their emotional and social needs. This contributes significantly to their happiness and wellbeing. Staff's attitudes and the positive environment help pupils to settle quickly into school life.

This developed further during the pandemic and the beneficial practices that have been embedded encourage pupils to foster resilient attitudes to learning. The school has a comprehensive system to gather information about pupils' achievements as they move through the school. Teachers use the tracking system to monitor pupils' progress in their classes regularly.

As a result, staff assess pupils' achievements and wellbeing purposefully, which means that teachers develop a deeper understanding of each pupil's needs. When staff identify areas for improvement, the school provides valuable support and interventions to improve pupils' learning and their personal and social development. The wide range of intervention programmes to improve pupils' speaking and reading skills is structured and effective and most pupils enjoy taking part in these activities.

As a result, nearly all pupils who are targeted make good progress from their individual starting points. Intervention sessions that focus on pupils' wellbeing are effective and enable pupils to take part in lessons successfully. This enriches their self-respect and social skills and enables them to share their feelings with each other successfully.

The school works effectively with external agencies to provide specialist support for pupils. It supports pupils with educational, emotional and social needs successfully. For example, the additional learning needs co-ordinator has worked closely with local schools through their co-ordinator group.

This leads to valuable support for staff to understand their changing roles in supporting pupils with additional needs. As a result, pupils receive caring and inclusive support. The school places a strong emphasis on providing a rich and varied range of trips and visits to support the curriculum.

These engage pupils' interest in their learning and include, for example, trips to a nearby country park for a health and wellbeing day and to the local harbour. Studies of global disasters, such as the war in Ukraine, also promote pupils' understanding of the importance of values such as tolerance and the right to be free from harassment. These activities make a positive contribution to pupils' social skills and cultural understanding.

There are also purposeful opportunities to celebrate Welsh heritage and culture, which includes local history such as the landing of the French on the shores of Pembrokeshire in 1797 and the role of the heroine, Jemima Nicholas, in the event. The school presents sensible lessons that examine human rights and make a valuable contribution to pupils' spiritual and moral development. A positive element of lessons is that they encourage discussions by pupils, which develop their thinking and communication skills successfully.

These innovative and structured methods in personal and social lessons include opportunities to examine issues in relation to equality, diversity and inclusion from all over the world. Staff ensure that pupils' wellbeing and safety are an integral part of school life and are at the forefront of their daily responsibilities. As a result, the culture of safeguarding is sound and all staff understand their roles and responsibilities in contributing purposefully to pupils' safety and wellbeing.

The school provides a good range of opportunities for pupils to learn the importance of staying safe. For example, the school uses agencies such as the police to draw pupils' attention to the dangers of substance misuse and to teach them about the rules of internet safety. Any persistent absences are also monitored thoroughly and the school addresses any cases of alleged bullying well.

The school's arrangements for safeguarding pupils meet requirements and are not a cause for concern. Leadership and management The headteacher is passionate about the school and the community and places the wellbeing of pupils and their families at the heart of his vision. Governors support his philosophy and all staff act diligently on leaders' expectations and do their best for the pupils.

Leaders ensure that a caring and inclusive environment permeates the school and all staff take pride in the school motto, 'Dyro dy law i ni ac fe awn i ben y mynydd' ('Give us your hand and we'll go to the top of the mountain'). This has a positive effect on pupils' attitudes to learning, their care towards each other and their positive behaviour. Arrangements to distribute leadership roles and hold staff to account for the quality and effect of their work are purposeful and derive from thorough performance management practices.

Leaders focus on refining the quality of teaching and incorporating a common understanding of professional values among staff. As a result, they ensure that most pupils make good progress from their individual starting points. Leaders' processes for evaluating the effectiveness of provision are sound and are based on a wide range of first-hand evidence.

Systems to improve quality include scrutinising pupils' books, monitoring teaching and analysing data that measures pupils' progress. Leaders seek the views of other stakeholders effectively. For example, they consider the views of parents and carers and act sensibly on any findings, such as allowing pupils to eat yoghurt and breadsticks in addition to fruit.

Leaders have a clear picture of the school's strengths and areas for development. The link between self-evaluation activities and planning for improvement is sound. As a result, leaders prioritise their findings effectively and set reliable targets to move the school forward.

Leaders have also shared the school's safeguarding culture effectively with all staff. Leaders promote effective practices to ensure that pupils eat and drink healthily and advise parents and carers about the importance of nutritious food in their lunchboxes. Leaders have kept in very close contact with the school's wider community throughout the pandemic.

They have built on the strong relationship with parents and carers and have supported a large number of them by distributing food hampers from the school food bank. Leaders ensure that staff make the best use of the building and grounds. This includes stimulating outdoor areas, such as the woodland and planting areas.

Leaders allocate resources effectively and use the pupil development grant sensibly to provide specific interventions across the school. As a result, assistants provide beneficial support to move pupils forward in their learning. The governors are knowledgeable and their frequent input creates systematic improvements across the school.

They are supportive of the headteacher and hold him to account as critical friends. The headteacher informs governors purposefully about pupils' learning and the need to improve provision, such as improving digital hardware. Governors take advantage of developing a first-hand understanding of the school's activities, which is helpful in terms of making improvements.

For example, they conduct learning walks and discuss pupils' work to measure its quality alongside teachers. This promotes a valuable understanding of the school's current practices. Governors monitor funding wisely and ensure that decisions on expenditure align with the school's priorities for improvement, such as investing in outdoor adventure equipment.

Leaders ensure that there are relevant learning opportunities available for staff to support their professional development, which links closely with the school's priorities for improvement. A positive feature of this process is that staff develop skills that they use effectively to improve pupils' outcomes. A notable example of this is training to develop cross-curricular planning to enrich pupils' learning.

The school shares good practice with local schools and this supports the school's ability to improve continuously. It provides valuable opportunities for teachers to compare and share their effectiveness with other professionals. As a result, staff are given productive opportunities that develop their professional knowledge, their teaching and their leadership skills.

This culture of continuous professional learning creates caring provision which, in turn, leads to enthusiastic pupils who achieve well. Evidence base of the report Before an inspection, inspectors: • analyse the outcomes from the parent and pupil questionnaires and consider the views of teachers and the governing body/members of the management committee through their questionnaire responses During an inspection, inspectors normally: • hold a meeting with parents to hear their views on the school and its effectiveness • meet the headteacher, governors, senior, middle leaders, and individual teachers to evaluate the impact of the school's work • meet pupils to discuss their work and to gain their views about various aspects of their school • meet groups of pupils in leadership roles, such as representatives from the school council and eco-committee • visit a broad sample of lessons, including learning support groups and the specialist resource base (where appropriate), and undertake a variety of learning walks to observe pupils learning and to see staff teaching in a range of settings, including classrooms, support groups (where appropriate) and in outdoor areas • visit the specialist resource base within the school to see pupils' learning (where appropriate) • observe and speak to pupils at lunch and break times and at a sample of after-school clubs • attend assemblies and daily acts of collective worship • look closely at the school's self-evaluation processes • consider the school's improvement plan and look at evidence to show how well the school has taken forward planned improvements • scrutinise a range of school documents, including information on pupil assessment and progress, records of meetings of staff and the governing body, information on pupils' well-being, including the safeguarding of pupils, and records of staff training and professional development After the on-site inspection and before the publication of the report, Estyn: • review the findings of the inspection alongside the supporting evidence from the inspection team in order to validate, moderate and ensure the quality of the inspectionCopies of the report Copies of this report are available from the school and from the Estyn website (http://www.estyn.

gov.wales/) The report was produced in accordance with Section 28 of the Education Act 2005. Every possible care has been taken to ensure that the information in this document is accurate at the time of going to press.

Any enquiries or comments regarding this document/publication should be addressed to: Publication Section Estyn Anchor Court, Keen Road Cardiff CF24 5JW or by email to [email protected] This and other Estyn publications are available on our website: http://www.

estyn.gov.wales/ This document has been translated by Trosol (Welsh to English).