Ysgol Uwchradd Bodedern

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 generatedYsgol Uwchradd Bodedern is a caring community that promotes a positive culture of inclusion, respect and raising aspirations. Most pupils are proud to be a part of the 'Ysgol Boded family' and feel that they thrive in a happy and safe ethos.

In many cases, teachers manage their classes effectively and have high expectations in terms of pupils' behaviour. A high proportion of pupils take advantage of opportunities to join clubs and take part in activities organised by the school. In these clubs, pupils are given valuable... experiences to develop their subject knowledge and understanding or to take advantage of cultural opportunities or physical exercise.

The school provides a broad and balanced curriculum that meets the needs of nearly all pupils. Many pupils make suitable progress in their lessons and express themselves appropriately when answering the teacher's questions. They use reading strategies successfully to locate facts, select information and identify style features in texts.

They are able to express themselves appropriately when writing at length in Welsh and English. However, overall, a minority of teachers do not encourage pupils to use the Welsh language enough. As a result, they do not make as much progress as they should in their Welsh communication skills.

Although the school's leaders and governors recognise the need to strengthen the focus on ensuring linguistic progression for pupils, planning for this has not been developed in full. In a majority of lessons, teachers plan effectively and ensure that they provide an appropriate level of challenge for pupils. In these lessons, there are beneficial opportunities for pupils to develop their skills and subject knowledge.

A majority of teachers provide pupils with beneficial feedback on their work and give pupils an opportunity to respond to their comments. Although there are strengths in the quality of teaching across the school, in a minority of lessons the shortcomings in teaching mean that pupils do not make as much progress as they could. Since being appointed in April 2020, the headteacher has worked diligently to establish a strong sense of teamwork among the staff.

There is a culture in which staff are keen to receive training to develop the quality of their work and develop their roles. Leaders have also forged a close and supportive relationship with parents and communicate with them through open evenings, newsletters and interesting videos. Governors work closely with leaders and understand their responsibilities in full.

Many middle leaders lead their areas of responsibility effectively and undertake a range of useful quality control activities. However, they do not evaluate teaching by considering its effect on learning closely enough. This means that leaders do not always have enough of an effect on improving the quality of teaching and the progress that pupils make in the classroom.

Recommendations R1 Ensure that developing pupils' Welsh language skills is a whole-school priority and is implemented at all levels R2 Improve teaching by addressing the shortcomings that are identified in the report R3 Strengthen self-evaluation processes by considering the provision according to its effect on pupils' learning in the classroom