Llanfoist Fawr Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

The headteacher demonstrates strong leadership and along with other school leaders works well together towards fulfilling their vision to provide a caring, thoughtful, happy and secure environment for pupils.

This culture enables most pupils to develop their confidence and self-assurance effectively. They are supported successfully by keen teachers and helpful support staff, who encourage pupils to develop a range of skills appropriately. While most pupils make effective progress in many areas of learning by Year 6, their progress through the school is not strong in all classes.

Llanfoist Primary is a happy school where nearly all pupils treat each other, staff and visitors with politeness and respect. Their behaviour is e...xceptional and most are eager to undertake their tasks enthusiastically. Staff have a good understanding of pupils' needs and, through joint planning, they prepare interesting activities that engage pupils' interests.

However, at times, provision does not always allow pupils to develop their independent learning skills. Most younger pupils make good progress in their language, mathematics and digital skills. They talk confidently to adults about their work and enjoy taking part in a variety of learning experiences.

As they travel through the school, most older pupils become very articulate and read well for pleasure and research. Most continue to make sound progress in a range of skills. However, across the school, many pupils do not make the best possible progress in their Welsh speaking skills.

Llanfoist Primary federated with another nearby primary school, Llanfihangel Primary. They share the same governing body and the same headteacher, who splits his time between both sites. The governing body discharges its duties diligently, for example by conducting site visits, and governors have a suitable understanding of the school's strengths and areas for development.

As a federation, leaders ensure that there are many opportunities for all staff to collaborate. For example, by working together they are well on their way to implementing a curriculum that is real and reflects the needs of both communities. Overall, leaders keep the work of the school under review appropriately.

They evaluate lessons and the pupils' learning in books across both schools. Looking ahead, leaders and staff recognise that by refining their approaches to this work they can focus more sharply on evaluating the difference that teaching makes to pupils' progress and discover what important areas of the school's work need to improve. Recommendations R1 Improve self-evaluation processes across the federation R2 Ensure that teaching is consistently good across the federation of schools R3 Improve provision to support pupils to become independent learners R4 Improve pupils' Welsh oracy skills What happens next The school will draw up an action plan to address the recommendations from the inspection.