Nantymoel Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Nantymoel Primary School is a caring and inclusive school, which encourages pupils to learn in a positive atmosphere and to be happy.

This is clearly reflected in the school's vision, 'Laugh, Learn and Achieve'. Pupils' readiness to learn during lessons is good and this is due to the strong working relationships that exist with their teachers and other staff and their knowledge that all staff care deeply for them. All staff provide a high level of support and care for pupils in all aspects of school life.

This encourages pupils to take responsibility for their own learning and well-being. Pupils' behaviour is exemplary, and they are determined to persevere and learn successfully. As a result, they develop effective literac...y and numeracy skills.

In the younger classes, teachers are beginning to develop authentic opportunities, which reflect the Curriculum for Wales and its four purposes. In the older classes, pupils do not have enough opportunities to use their literacy, numeracy and digital skills in other areas of learning. In addition, teachers regularly structure activities too tightly and guide pupils' learning too much.

As a result, they do not generally use these skills as well as they could and there are few opportunities for pupils to become independent learners. Governors know the school very well and fulfil their role as critical friend, asking challenging questions about decision-making, which supports the headteacher in moving the school forward. Parents know that the headteacher and governors make decisions in the best interests of the pupils.

However, leadership at all levels is under-developed and, although the school is addressing the additional learning needs reform suitably, it is not moving quickly enough in addressing the Curriculum for Wales. Recommendations R1 Ensure that all staff undertake statutory Prevent training R2 Strengthen leadership to ensure that it identifies and addresses key areas for improvement R3 Ensure consistently high expectations amongst staff of what pupils can achieve in Years 3 to 6 R4 Provide opportunities for pupils to influence what and how they learn and to develop skills as independent learners R5 Develop a whole-school approach to curriculum development and provide opportunities for pupils to apply their skills in meaningful, authentic contexts What happens next The school will draw up an action plan to show how it is going to address the recommendations. Estyn will work with the local authority to review the school's progress.