Latest news with #Estyn
South Wales Argus
a day ago
- General
- South Wales Argus
Chepstow School praised for inclusivity in Estyn report
The inspection was conducted by Estyn, His Majesty's Inspectorate for Education and Training in Wales, in March 2025. Chepstow School, located on Welsh Street in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, has a total of 799 pupils enrolled, with 663 of those being of statutory school age. (Image: Chepstow School) The report highlights that Chepstow School aims to inspire learning "for all, for life." It emphasizes the well-being of all pupils as a high priority, which contributes to a happy and safe school environment. (Image: Chepstow School) The sense of belonging among students is notably strengthened by the school's focus on pupil voice. The school's core values—positivity, ambition, curiosity, equity, and perseverance—are evident in its operations. (Image: Chepstow School) The report states that the social and emotional needs of all pupils, including the most vulnerable, are met well, allowing them to thrive. In many lessons, there are respectful and purposeful relationships between teachers and pupils. (Image: Chepstow School) This, along with good quality teaching, ensures that pupils of all abilities make at least secure progress in their knowledge, understanding, and skills. However, the report notes that the sixth form curriculum is currently limited. Chepstow School's PTA are a big part of the school's inclusive environment (Image: Chepstow School PTA) The headteacher, who was appointed on March 1, 2023, provides strong leadership and has guided the school through challenging times. The school's culture of collaboration and innovation was particularly commended, with special mention of pupil leadership and the proactive promotion of the Welsh language – identified as exemplary practices to be shared nationally. (Image: Chepstow School) Headteacher Kelly Waythe, expressing her pride in the recognition, said: 'This report captures the heart and soul of Chepstow School – the passion, resilience, and commitment of our pupils, staff, governors, and wider community. "It reflects the high standards we champion every day and reinforces our belief in the power of education to transform lives. We are incredibly proud of this achievement and remain focused on building upon our strengths as we continue our journey of excellence.' (Image: Chepstow School) Chair of Governors, Keith Dunn, OBE, added: 'It was a privilege to speak with the Estyn inspection team and hear their praise for our vibrant school community. The report is a tribute to the dedication of our headteacher, senior leaders, and every member of staff who puts our pupils at the centre of everything they do. "Parents and carers can be proud of the excellent education and care their children receive. As governors, we are immensely proud of this validation of Chepstow School's ongoing success and the strong foundations we have built for the future.' (Image: Chepstow School) The Estyn report not only recognises Chepstow School's achievements but also highlights its role as a model of best practice across Wales. With a clear vision and united commitment, the entire school community continues to create a thriving, inclusive learning environment – preparing young people to flourish in school and beyond. This leadership has helped the school make significant progress in addressing national priorities, particularly in improving attendance and promoting the Welsh language. Despite these positive aspects, the school is facing financial challenges. (Image: Chepstow School) To assist Chepstow School in its ongoing improvement, the report includes two recommendations. The first is to work with the local authority to ensure robust financial management. The second is to refine self-evaluation processes so that leaders can focus more effectively on the impact of teaching on pupils' progress and plan precisely for improvement. As a next step, the school will develop an action plan to address these recommendations from the inspection. This plan will be crucial in helping the school continue its journey of improvement and ensure that all pupils receive the best possible education.
Wales Online
2 days ago
- General
- Wales Online
Pupil referral unit that takes children kicked out of school gets flawless Estyn report
Pupil referral unit that takes children kicked out of school gets flawless Estyn report Inspectors found the Tai Education Centre needs none of the usual recommendations for areas to improve Pupils at The Tai Education Centre experience social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (Image: James Davies ) A unit for children expelled from school in Rhondda Cynon Taf has been judged near perfect in a glowing report from inspectors. Estyn gave a rare accolade to the Tai Educational Centre judging that it needs none of the usual recommendations for improvement. Such a report is rare for a mainstream school let alone for a school teaching pupils with the most challenging behaviour. The pupil referral unit in Penygraig takes children from RCT and neighbouring areas, some of whom have been kicked out of school. Its 55 pupils are aged five to 11 and experience social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Many pupils come to the pupil referral unit after struggling in mainstream education, but then thrive, inspectors said. Nearly all pupils during their time at the PRU make strong and in a few cases exceptionally strong progress in their learning, behaviour, emotional development and attendance. While school absence and poor behaviour have grown across Wales since the pandemic both are being tackled well at Tai. Behaviour at the centre is "exemplary" and attendance runs at 90%, far above many schools and year groups. Sign up for our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here. Article continues below Head Teacher of the Tai Education Centre Marisa Chadney (Image: James Davies ) All pupils attending the cente have additional learning needs, more than one in five are looked after by the local authority and 53% are entitled to free school meals, far higher than the national average. Despite those challenges nearly all pupils during their time at the PRU make strong and in a few cases exceptionally strong progress in their learning, behaviour, emotional development and attendance, Estyn said. "Through inclusive, engaging, and individually tailored learning experiences, nearly all pupils develop a renewed love of learning," Estyn's report says, "this sense of achievement builds confidence and encourages positive attitudes toward themselves as successful learners." Nearly all pupils at the centre significantly improve their social skills and make "strong progress" in literacy, numeracy, behaviour, and communication. Inspectors who visited found the children are "enthusiastic in class, and display improved self-worth and resilience". Staff follow and implement a clear behaviour policy and anticipate challenges well. This works as "pupils act with kindness and respect" and incidents of challenging behaviour decrease, and exclusions are avoided. Teachers track pupils' progress closely setting "ambitious but realistic targets" based on their individual needs. "Learning is joyful, and pupils participate with enthusiasm," the report adds, Staff are extremely skilled in developing pupils' love of learning. It is especially effective as most of the pupils have previously struggled to engage in learning." The "skilful support of staff" means children learn to regulate their emotions which helps their progess. The children get personalised support through their Individual Development Plans (IDPs) and regular reviews with their parents and carers. Leadership at the centre is "inspirational", there is a strong ethos of "respect, community, and high expectations". Pupils feel safe,confident and well-prepared, parents and carers feel well supported and finances are "thoughtfully allocated". Behaviour has become such a major problem at schools across Wales that the Welsh Government has launched a group to look at the issue and staff have taken industrial action in some areas. At Tai the "clear and robust behaviour management policy" means potential issues are anticipated and avoided, the report says. "The PRU has a highly effective approach to supporting pupil behaviour, which reflects the ethos of the whole provision. There is a clear and robust behaviour management policy and a range of supportive strategies used consistently by all staff. This promotes a calm and nurturing atmosphere that aids pupil learning well. " Inspectors found that staff "skilfully anticipate challenges and explicitly model expectations" while "explicit teaching of emotional intelligence" helps pupils modify behaviour. "Nearly all pupils improve their behaviour, self-worth and resilience as a direct consequence of the pastoral support and specialist interventions that are used extremely well across the PRU. "Behaviour around the PRU is exemplary, including at break times. Incidents of challenging behaviour are decreasing, and there has been a notable absence of fixed-term exclusions for a several years." Although many of Tai's pupils don't transition back into full-time mainstream education and require further specialist provision the centre's leaders have an expert understanding of the wide range of potential destinations for year six leavers. Article continues below A well-established programme of transition planning is in place, including regular meetings with parents and carers, and extensive work with external partners, Estyn found.
South Wales Argus
3 days ago
- Politics
- South Wales Argus
Sofrydd Primary School in Crumlin 'prime example' of education
Natasha Asghar MS, who represents South Wales East and serves as the Welsh Conservative's shadow minister for education and the Welsh language, visited Sofrydd Primary School in Crumlin, following a glowing report from Estyn inspectors. She said: "Having visited the school, it is not hard to see why Estyn inspectors produced such a positive report recently. "It's clearly well-deserved. "Mrs Hickinbottom and the great team around her have completely transformed the school over the last few years, and it was clear from the faces of the children just how much they love their school. "It was a real joy to see. "Sofrydd is a prime example of what a fantastic primary school should be like, and I look forward to working with the school going forward and helping in any way I can." The Estyn report highlighted the school's strong community ties and inclusive culture, both of which have been central to its recent success. During her visit, Ms Asghar met with headteacher Helen Hickinbottom and chair of governors Debbie Field. The group discussed support for students with additional learning needs and the rollout of the new curriculum, before touring the school and meeting pupils. Mrs Hickinbottom said: "We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Natasha and her team for visiting our school. "It was a pleasure to share the journey we have been on and highlight the progress our school community has made." Chair of governors Debbie Field said the visit was significant given Ms Asghar's role as shadow education minister. She said: "She was keen to learn about the running of the school and asked some very searching questions about what we were doing to succeed."
Powys County Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Powys County Times
Question marks over level of funding for Powys schools
A SENIOR councillor says work needs to be done to look into schools' funding needs as Powys council looks to recover from a scathing Estyn inspection report and improve exam results. At a meeting of Powys County Council's Liberal Democrat/Labour Cabinet on Tuesday, June 24, councillors received a received a report on the council's school standards improvement plan. This is partly a response to the scathing Estyn inspection report published in March into the education service. The document includes an integrated business plan (IBP) which explains the steps the council will try and take to improve education in the county over the next five years. The plan had been discussed by council's Learning and Skills scrutiny committee earlier this month and its chairman, Cllr Gwynfor Thomas (Conservative) who presented their views to Cabinet. Cllr Thomas said that the relationship of schools standards and funding needed to be thoroughly researched. Cllr Thomas said: 'I really do think a piece of work needs to be done on whether they have enough resource or are schools running too thin to provide a breadth of curriculum. 'We need to understand that.' Council leader, Cllr Jake Berriman (Liberal Democrat) said that the Cabinet had agreed to 'fully fund' the schools funding formula this year. Cllr Berriman reminded councillors of the need to provide a 'fair distribution' of resources to 'all areas' of the council. Finance portfolio holder Cllr David Thomas (Labour) said that the 'concern that funding is not meeting education needs' is a theme brought up by the committee 'constantly.' Cllr Thomas said: 'At the end of the day it's the responsibility of the funding formula working group. 'They should be working with scrutiny and the schools budget forum to put recommendations forward. 'If the formula is not fit for purpose, I would like to see some recommendations brought forward so it can be amended.' 'It's a bit unfair really to be saying we're not funding the needs of the curriculum as that's not something that is the responsibility of the finance department.' Earlier on, head of schools improvement and learning Anwen Orrells explained that the report compared how Powys schools perform against similar schools across Wales. This is done in 'families' of up to 10 schools. Mrs Orrells said: 'We've provided detailed data of the performance of Powys secondary and all age schools and highlighted areas that have declined over time. 'Based on Powys' level of free school meals and low level of deprivation it is an expectation that our schools should perform well above the national average, and this is not the case.' She explained that education chiefs have outlined what they intend to do to turn this around in the integrated business plan. Mrs Orrells said: 'These actions are designed to address the underlying factors that have led to the current situation and lay the ground for consistent and sustainable improvement across Powys.'
Powys County Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Powys County Times
Estyn to run rule on Powys Council education improvements
ESTYN is set to return to Powys next month to run the rule over council proposals on improving education in the county. During a meeting of the council's Governance and Audit committee on Friday, June 20 Powys chief executive Emma Palmer revealed the council will be meeting Estyn on Wednesday, July 2. During a discussion on the council's strategic risk register. Cllr Pete Lewington (Conservative) pointed out a risk about school buildings' maintenance. Cllr Lewington said: 'There is no mention of the recent Estyn inspection or indeed the fact that we have set up an Accelerated Improvement Board to try and address and mitigate that risk in the actions and controls.' Ms Palmer said: 'It's too early to make changes to the risk register around education. 'We have our improvement conference on July 2. 'We have presented the draft integrated business plan which goes beyond responding to the four recommendations made in the Estyn report.' Ms Palmer explained that the council now has a structure in place to improve the education department and that meetings had already taken place and 'actions' were being completed. Ms Palmer said: 'It's about whether they have an impact and it's too soon for that, so the level of risk still stands.' She explained that if Estyn sign off the improvement plans the risk register would be updated afterwards. In March, Estyn published a damning report into the state of education at the council and said that 'significant concerns' had been found. The report highlighted that there have been several 'poor' inspection reports for secondary and all ages schools in the county and that there are leadership weaknesses at all levels. The recommendations from Estyn are:
