Ysgol Uwchradd Aberteifi

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Most pupils at Ysgol Uwchradd Aberteifi are considerate, friendly young people who demonstrate care for each other and respect towards staff and visitors. They are eager for their school to be inclusive, and are keen to celebrate difference and promote equality.

Pupils' positive attitudes to learning are notable. Many display a strong work ethic and a genuine desire to learn and improve. The well-being of pupils is a key priority for the school, especially in light of the pandemic.

The provision to provide care, support and guidance to pupils is extensive and staff have a secure understand of their role in keeping pupils safe. All pupils spoken to during the inspection could name staff and places in the school they would a...nd do go to when they need support. Canolfan Seren Teifi provides a stimulating, supportive environment where pupils with profound needs develop a wide range of skills and an extremely positive attitude towards learning.

Pupils develop their literacy and numeracy skills well. In particular, they benefit from opportunities to read aloud and to develop their numeracy skills in relevant contexts. However, pupils do not develop their Welsh language or digital skills well enough.

In many lessons, pupils make sound progress. In these lessons, teachers plan and sequence activities appropriately, giving helpful support to pupils. They challenge pupils effectively and use a suitable combination of closed and open questions.

In a minority of lessons, pupils do not achieve their full potential. Pupils are offered useful verbal feedback in class but, overall, staff have not achieved a suitable balance between general whole-class feedback and personalised feedback to individuals. Professional learning is a strength.

In particular, the professional learning around teaching and leadership skills is having a tangible impact. Teachers are developing and modifying their practice effectively based on the professional learning they have experienced. This is having an especially positive impact on pupils' recall of prior learning.

The impact of professional learning opportunities for middle leaders can be seen in the way many lead their faculties effectively and understand the strengths and what needs to be improved. The headteacher is a passionate advocate for the school, its pupils and the local community. Along with the leadership team, she promotes an inclusive, caring ethos where every pupil is supported to succeed.

They have considered carefully the impact of the pandemic on staff, pupils and their families and this has influenced their priorities and their processes. Overall, leadership systems work well and leaders at all levels have a suitable understanding of the main strengths and weaknesses in their areas of responsibility. However, due to the fact that a small group of leaders are responsible for significant aspects of the school's work, they do not have a sufficiently comprehensive understanding of all areas.

There are suitable processes for self-evaluation and improvement planning, but all aspects of the school's work are not evaluated thoroughly enough and leaders' evaluative skills are not sufficiently developed. Recommendations R1 Increase the capacity of the leadership team so that responsibilities are more evenly distributed across a range of leaders at all levels and all leaders have a better understanding of each other's work R2 Increase the opportunities for pupils to celebrate their Welsh identity and develop as confident, bilingual learners in both English and Welsh R3 Improve the provision in the minority of lessons where pupils do not make as much progress as they could and improve the quality of feedback to pupils on their work. R4 Improve leaders' evaluative skills so that they have a more thorough understanding of all aspects in their areas of responsibility R5 Improve the provision to develop pupils' digital skills across the curriculum and throughout the school year What happens next The setting will draw up an action plan that shows how it is going to address the recommendations.

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