Ysgol Gynradd Llandegfan

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Pupils, staff and parents take pride in the school's friendly and inclusive ethos.

As a result, pupils build extremely positive working relationships with members of staff, which contributes positively to the respectful and organised learning environment. Pupils' attitudes to learning are a strength and their behaviour is excellent. Pupils' happy nature is a strong feature of the school.

They are considerate of others, talk completely naturally with each other and adults and show a genuine interest in the world around them. Pupils take pride in their school and their local heritage. Teachers provide interesting activities that engage and hold pupils' interest successfully.

They ensure regular opportunities to deve...lop and extend pupils' skills constructively over time. Leaders and teachers have developed a curriculum that reflects the principles of Curriculum for Wales well. They allow opportunities for pupils to contribute their ideas about what they would like to learn, which supports them to take an interest in their learning and make progress in their skills.

However, teachers do not provide enough opportunities for pupils to respond to feedback in a timely enough manner to support them to improve their work and take more responsibility for their learning. The headteacher provides caring and purposeful leadership. He is supported skilfully by a dedicated governing body that has a sound understanding of the school's strengths and areas for development.

On the whole, the school's priorities derive from comprehensive self-evaluation processes and the leaders' thorough knowledge of their school. However, actions to respond effectively to the school's areas for improvement are not clear and specific enough. Recommendations R1 Ensure clear and specific actions to respond effectively to the school's areas for improvement R2 Ensure opportunities for pupils to respond to feedback in a timely manner to support them to improve their work and take more responsibility for their learning 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, the skills of most pupils, including those with additional learning needs (ALN) and those who are eligible for free school meals, are around what is expected for their stage of development. On entry, the Welsh language is new to many pupils. Through a range of rich learning experiences both inside and outside the school, pupils develop as confident Welsh speakers and use the language appropriately.

During their time at the school, most make sound progress in a wide range of skills from their starting points. Most of the youngest pupils speak coherently about their experiences and contribute enthusiastically to learning activities. Pupils in the reception class develop their oral skills effectively, for example when role-playing as an astronaut.

By Year 2, most speak clearly when discussing their work confidently and show an interest and enthusiasm in their learning. Most of the oldest pupils build appropriately on this firm foundation. They develop as eloquent and confident learners who express themselves maturely in Welsh and English.

For example, they discuss how to reduce their carbon footprint when using local, sustainable food when cooking effectively. Most pupils in the nursery class develop a good understanding of the relationship between sounds, letters and words. They enjoy looking at books and talking about the pictures and the text.

In the reception class, pupils enjoy re-telling stories they have heard and act different parts of stories enthusiastically. By Year 2, many read with an increasing understanding and use their phonic skills appropriately to read unfamiliar words. As pupils develop their reading skills, they discuss the features of books effectively and enjoy selecting different texts when reading the various blurbs.

Many of the oldest pupils read a rich range of texts intelligently in various contexts in both languages. As pupils move through the school, most improve their writing skills effectively. The youngest pupils make large marks in a good range of experiences and, gradually, they begin to write simple words and sentences skilfully, for example when describing aliens.

By Year 2, many use adjectives and similes with increasing accuracy, for example when studying the theme 'mae pob carreg yn dweud story' ('every stone tells a story'). At the top of the school, most pupils' writing skills develop soundly and they present factual and creative information in an interesting range of contexts. For example, Year 6 pupils use rich vocabulary and imaginative phrases when writing a pamphlet to encourage pupils to read.

Many pupils' numeracy skills develop effectively across the school. The youngest pupils begin to use their numeracy skills in different contexts, for example when calculating the price of cakes. By Year 2, they develop an appropriate range of mathematics skills and make sound progress.

For example, they measure the length, height and thickness of various objects successfully. As pupils move through the school, they build on their skills beneficially. Many Year 3 and 4 pupils use their number skills confidently when multiplying and dividing by 10 and 100.

By Year 6, many use their number skills correctly in a good range of learning experiences, for example when discovering how much water pupils from each class drink each week by choosing the mathematical units correctly. Most pupils' digital skills develop soundly. For example, the youngest pupils create pictograms to record their favourite astronauts and use programmable toys confidently when solving simple problems as part of their numeracy work.

The oldest pupils research safely online and use suitable programs to create multimedia presentations of their work. Many Year 5 and 6 pupils create and use databases and spreadsheets purposefully in a stimulating range of learning contexts. For example, they refine their skills to select data to record which chocolate melts the quickest.

Most pupils use a variety of materials and methods skilfully to produce attractive artwork. They develop their creative skills effectively, for example when emulating the style of famous and local artists successfully. Most pupils develop their physical skills regularly across the school.

They take part in a good variety of activities and valuable experiences that promote their health and well-being effectively, for example swimming, cricket and dance sessions. Well-being and attitudes to learning Pupils' well-being and positive attitudes to learning are one of the school's obvious strengths. Nearly all pupils feel happy and safe within the school.

They show obvious pride in their school and value the varied experiences that are provided for them. Nearly all pupils behave excellently and treat each other and adults with obvious courtesy, care and respect. They are caring towards their peers, sensitive to the needs of others and know whom to approach if they have a problem.

They have a sound awareness of how to keep themselves and others safe online. Most pupils express their feelings confidently and are willing to share any concerns they may have. They demonstrate a sound awareness of how to support their own well-being.

For example, the youngest pupils identify how they feel when they arrive at class in the morning and staff respond promptly to any concerns or needs they have. Nearly all the oldest pupils understand the importance of making good choices that affect their health. They participate eagerly in physical exercise sessions and commit enthusiastically to a range of extra-curricular clubs that promote fitness, such as sports clubs and the Urdd Club.

Pupils at the top of the school show a sound awareness of the effect of exercise on their physical and mental health. During their learning activities, nearly all pupils are ready to listen attentively and get on with their work promptly. Most pupils have a positive attitude towards their work and learning experiences.

They respond well in presentations and are willing to consider the views of others sensitively. As they move through the school, most develop increasing confidence and persevere for extended periods, for example as they conduct a scientific experiment on the effect of water and weak acid on a variety of stones. Most pupils respond robustly to opportunities to plan jointly and influence what they would like to learn.

For example, they share their interests and aspirations in a variety of ways when gathering ideas at the beginning of themes. Most pupils show an interest and very positive attitudes when engaging with their learning. From an early age, pupils choose tasks effectively in different areas of provision.

As they move through the school, most pupils understand how important it is to attempt a solution themselves when they encounter difficulties in their learning. However, at times, pupils are over-reliant on staff guidance and do not make enough decisions about how to organise and present their work. This limits opportunities for pupils to think for themselves.

Most pupils have a thorough understanding of their rights and the importance of equality and respecting others. They are aware of the importance of sustainability and are mindful of using local food and products. For example, pupils plan and grow vegetables in the school garden and use the ingredients to cook soup for members of the community.

Many pupils enjoy undertaking roles and responsibilities within the school and the community. The Welsh Language Charter council promotes the use of the Welsh language effectively by taking part in Welsh Language Music Day activities and the school council promotes a variety of activities to save energy and recycle around the school, for example. The oldest pupils take part in a variety of community events, including singing at local Eisteddfodau and in a home for the village's older residents.

Teaching and learning experiences The school provides a rich curriculum and offers learning experiences that spark pupils' imaginations successfully. This valuable provision covers the areas of learning and experience of Curriculum for Wales purposefully. This ensures progression in pupils' skills and engages and maintains their interest and enjoyment in their learning.

Teachers ensure that there is an appropriate balance and breadth in pupils' experiences across the curriculum. Staff consider pupils' ideas effectively as part of the planning process and work well with them and their parents to develop a curriculum that embodies the community nature of the school in full. The ethos of Welshness is a prominent feature of the curriculum, which weaves skilfully throughout all of the school's life and work.

Pupils' awareness and ownership of their local community, Wales and the wider world is developed successfully. Across the school, there are warm and supportive relationships between staff and pupils. They know the pupils very well and create a positive environment for learning.

As a result, nearly all pupils feel that they are respected and valued. Assistants support pupils' needs effectively, both academically and emotionally, by using a good range of appropriate interventions. Relaxation and reflection sessions at the start of the morning prepare pupils for learning activities successfully.

All staff set high expectations in terms of pupils' behaviour and help them to meet them consistently. Teachers provide clear and effective guidance during learning activities. They motivate pupils successfully and, as a result, most pupils concentrate for extended periods.

In the best practice, teachers ensure a skilful balance between activities that are led by staff and opportunities to engage pupils' interest and develop them as independent learners. However, in a few cases, teachers over-direct learning, which hinders pupils' innate curiosity and restricts them from making increasingly independent choices about their learning. Staff plan purposefully to develop pupils' skills.

Provision supports pupils to use and apply their skills regularly and appropriately across the curriculum. Teachers take advantage of every opportunity to extend pupils' confidence in spoken Welsh in activities both in the classroom and outdoors. Teachers provide purposeful opportunities for pupils to read a suitable and engaging range of texts as part of the thematic work of the class, in addition to providing regular opportunities for them to write in a variety of genres, such as writing a letter from the point of view of a soldier from the First World War.

Teachers give pupils general feedback by identifying what they do well and how to improve. However, at times, feedback is not timely and specific enough, which limits pupils' ability to improve their work and make progress in their learning. Staff use the school's outdoor learning environment highly effectively to apply pupils' various skills.

For example, the youngest pupils expand their oracy and numeracy skills well when studying and measuring the growth of flowers and keeping a record of the weather. The oldest pupils apply their numeracy and digital skills successfully by creating an eco-village for the future. Learning activities such as cooking in the mud kitchen and following the directions of the orienteering course promote pupils' oral, creative and problem-solving skills effectively.

Staff take advantage of the close and beneficial links the school has with a number of groups in the local area, such as the church and the chapel. As a result, most pupils have a strong sense of belonging to the village of Llandegfan and a thorough knowledge of their cynefin or local area. Pupils' learning experiences are enriched further through beneficial visits to other places of interest, such as Benllech beach.

Care, support and guidance The school is a friendly and homely community where priority is given to the well-being of all. The quality of care, support and guidance for pupils and their families is one of the school's strengths. Staff create a supportive and warm ethos which contributes significantly to pupils' engagement at school and their willingness to learn.

The school succeeds in responding sensitively and supportively to the needs of nearly all pupils. They provide a network of valuable support for pupils which helps them deal with their feelings and emotions in a caring manner. Nearly all pupils enjoy taking part in these support sessions and, as a result, make good progress from their individual starting points.

The school works well with various agencies, as necessary, to improve the emotional and social difficulties of a very few pupils. They provide a comprehensive range of support to help pupils develop resilience and perseverance and improve their well-being. The school follows established systems to gather information about pupils' progress and achievements.

Nearly all pupils with ALN make good progress from their starting points. Through her astute guidance, the Additional Learning Needs Co-ordinator gathers useful information about pupils' progress and well-being and analyses this information purposefully. As a result, highly dedicated staff identify the individual needs of pupils who need additional support at an early stage.

They set realistic targets and provide a range of purposeful support programmes that target their needs successfully. There is a valuable range of support programmes for developing literacy skills, in addition to supporting pupils' emotional well-being. The school works closely with parents to identify what support their children will need to reach the next steps in their learning and when reviewing their progress.

The relationship between the school and the Cylch Meithrin, which is located on the school site, is valuable. This enables staff to share important information about pupils' interests and needs before they arrive at the school. This supports staff to prepare to implement arrangements to meet pupils' needs in a timely manner.

The school creates beneficial links with the community, which enrich pupils' social experiences strongly. For example, work with the Children's University provides unlimited learning opportunities outside the school's boundaries. A notable example of this work is supporting pupils to develop new skills, such as photography.

These voluntary experiences strengthen pupils' confidence and broaden their horizons to educational pathways in the future. A clear emphasis is placed on pupils' views at the beginning of themes and when planning activities, and also providing suitable opportunities for them to be involved in decisions through membership of the school councils. For example, the oldest pupils are responsible for finding grants and contributing to applications for additional funding to purchase digital equipment.

The school promotes equality and diversity and provides effective opportunities for pupils to develop a good understanding of their Welsh heritage. Within whole school assemblies, pupils learn to respect the customs and morality of different religions. For example, they compare Ramadan and Lent well and discuss the spiritual values of St David to help other people skilfully.

This promotes pupils' spiritual, social and cultural development successfully. Pupils take part in local performances and events regularly, compete in Eisteddfodau each year and, most recently, took part in the re-opening ceremony of the Marquess of Anglesey's Column. Provision to develop pupils' creative and expressive skills is successful.

Teachers provide regular and valuable opportunities for pupils to work creatively with a variety of materials, for example when the youngest pupils create imaginative pictures of space and as the oldest pupils create pottery carefully. The school has a strong culture of safeguarding. Across the school, staff have a clear understanding of the processes and procedures for keeping pupils safe.

They work well in partnership with external agencies, where appropriate, to promote consistent punctuality and good attendance. Leadership and management Leaders have a clear vision based on creating an inclusive and caring school to support pupils in developing their well-being and basic skills. The headteacher, together with the deputy, work successfully with stakeholders to realise the shared vision.

This is based on supporting pupils to be kind, respectful learners who persevere when working. They set high expectations across the school, which helps to ensure that most pupils develop positive and enthusiastic attitudes to learning. There is a strong sense of pride and trust between pupils and staff, which permeates the school's close-knit community.

Staff work purposefully as a team and embody professional values that promote and set a strong example for pupils. Leaders have developed a hard-working team of staff by distributing roles and responsibilities carefully. They commit themselves fully to the school's values, which promote a culture of effective co-operation between all members of staff.

As a result, they are keen to develop provision to improve pupils' experiences, progress and skills; for example, as they develop the outdoor area to support the independence of the youngest pupils. Members of the governing body are extremely supportive of the school and know it well. The body understands and fulfils its duties appropriately.

Governors contribute successfully to monitoring activity and this helps them to ensure that they have up-to-date knowledge of the school's progress in acting on areas for improvement. Members have a sound understanding of the school's priorities, which are based on rationale. They understand their role in supporting leaders to implement the school's improvement strategy.

Members of the governing body ensure that the school has appropriate arrangements to promote healthy eating and drinking. They use their experiences from their regular visits to challenge and support leaders appropriately. The school has productive relationships with parents.

Effective communication methods ensure that parents are able to raise any issues that may affect their children's learning and well-being in a timely manner. Leaders identify the needs of pupils, the school and its community exceptionally well and provide valuable opportunities for parents to contribute constructively to what pupils learn. For example, they contribute purposefully to the school's learning themes at the beginning of each term.

The school has effective self-evaluation arrangements which are based on a range of evidence. Leaders have comprehensive processes for evaluating provision and pupils' outcomes. They consider evidence that shows the effect on pupils' progress against their current priorities.

Leaders also provide timely feedback after scrutinising pupils' work. There is a clear link between the findings of the self-evaluation process and the priorities in the improvement plan, which focus purposefully on improving the school's provision and performance. However, the actions in the development plan are not always clear and specific enough.

As a result, leaders and staff do not address a few areas for improvement effectively enough. Leaders create a positive ethos and culture that supports and promotes the professional learning of all staff. They provide beneficial opportunities for them to undertake a good range of professional learning, which responds robustly to their individual requirements and the school's priorities.

The individual experiences and expertise of staff are used effectively in promoting professional learning and allocating curricular responsibilities. As a result, all members of staff take advantage of valuable opportunities to develop their skills and understanding and they understand their responsibilities well. For example, teachers work with local schools to share good practice and develop new ideas when designing the curriculum.

The headteacher and governors review expenditure carefully and manage finances appropriately. They ensure that financial planning and decisions about expenditure link purposefully to strategic improvement priorities. A variety of grants are used highly effectively to support provision and promote pupils' well-being.

The schools uses its pupil development grant effectively to ensure appropriate support for pupils. 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).