Ysgol Morgan Llwyd

Highlights from Latest Inspection

The headteacher, senior managers and staff at Ysgol Morgan Llwyd place a clear priority on supporting the well-being of the whole school community. Together, they foster a close-knit and supportive relationship with pupils and this succeeds in creating a familial and caring environment.

A notable element of the school is the provision to support the development of pupils' learning and well-being. The 'Learning Hub' and 'Pastoral Hub' provide quiet, stimulating places for pupils to work with support from teachers or to receive purposeful well-being support. As a result of the extensive use of both 'Hubs', many pupils benefit academically or socially over time.

Most pupils behave in a civilised manner and treat each other, s...taff and visitors with respect. Sixth-form pupils are mature and friendly. They show pride in the Welsh language and see the importance of continuing with Welsh-medium education.

The school provides a valuable range of purposeful learning experiences and relevant courses for pupils of all ages. 'Project' lessons for younger pupils provide valuable experiences and an opportunity for them to work together on a number of interesting areas, such as politics. In addition to developing their literacy and numeracy skills, this also encourages their creativity and promotes their skills in working independently.

Younger pupils are given beneficial opportunities to develop their personal and social skills through health and well-being lessons. However, planning to develop all skills across the school is not strategic enough. In lessons, many pupils make appropriate progress in their subject knowledge and understanding.

In the best cases, where teaching is robust and most successful, pupils make very good progress. However, strong teaching practice is not commonplace across the whole school. In a minority of cases, shortcomings in teachers' planning and how they use questioning mean that pupils do not make sufficient progress.

Leaders at all levels are increasingly developing their ability to evaluate the quality and impact of their work. Clear and comprehensive quality assurance arrangements have now been established. However, the ability of leaders to identify strengths and shortcomings in teaching and learning has not been developed fully to enable them to identify exactly which areas need to be improved and prioritise these.

Governors and all staff take pride in the school and uphold its importance as the only Welsh medium secondary school in the county. There are suitable opportunities for pupils to socialise in various clubs during lunchtime or after school. However, leaders do not plan strategically to ensure co-ordinated opportunities for pupils to use the Welsh language outside lessons.

They also do not provide enough opportunities for sixth form pupils to develop beneficial personal experiences by leading activities or initiatives and, by doing so, have a positive influence on younger pupils. Arrangements for safeguarding children are appropriate and all staff understand their responsibility to keep pupils safe. The school grounds are extensive and open and, as a result, there are a few health and safety issues that are a cause for concern.

Recommendations R1 Disseminate the good practice in teaching in order to strengthen provision across the school R2 Improve strategic planning for skills, PSE and opportunities to develop and celebrate the Welsh language R3 Strengthen the ability of leaders at all levels to identify strengths and areas for improvement in teaching and learning R4 Address the health and safety issues that were identified during the inspection