Plasnewydd Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

reflect their current roles and responsibilities. The headteacher works closely with other leaders to drive well-considered improvement initiatives, and to address any shortcomings identified through monitoring. Over the past 18 months, leaders have monitored the school's work on a rigorous, planned, weekly basis.

They scrutinise planning and pupils' work, observe lessons and speak to pupils and to staff. They provide individual written feedback to teachers that includes strengths and any shortcomings identified. Where appropriate, leaders adapt their monitoring schedule to provide time to revisit concerns, ensuring that they are addressed promptly and properly.

In addition, working together, leaders and teachers set chall...enging targets for each individual pupil's progress at regular pupil progress meetings and act whenever progress is not on track. This rigorous practice and pupil progress. Working together, leaders discuss the broader findings of monitoring in senior leadership meetings, and they share and discuss their findings with staff during the weekly staff meetings.

Leaders keep useful records of agreed actions and discussion points from meetings, that they use to inform future plans. Leaders tackle any underperformance confidently, but also ensure that they offer support for their colleagues, for example when teachers move to classes in unfamiliar age groups, or for temporary staff covering for absence. All staff understand and accept their roles and responsibilities but know that they will be held to account for any underperformance where appropriate.

However, teachers and support staff also appreciate the support, coaching and mentoring that they receive from leaders, to help them to do their best for the pupils in their classes. These actions have helped to build a culture where all staff relish their core responsibility for the education and progress of pupils in their class, and across the school. This shared culture supports everyone to become '#proud to be Plas'.

The governing body has successfully recruited a substantive headteacher with the skills and vision to build upon the school's improvement journey to date. There is a committed core group of governors, who challenge and support the school appropriately. For example, they prepare for governing body meetings by submitting pertinent questions in advance to the headteacher.

There are a few parent governor vacancies that leaders intend to fill once paper ballots can resume. As the pandemic restrictions ease, governors rightly recognise the need to increase their visits to the school, to gather first-hand evidence that informs their questions and understanding of the school's self-evaluation and improvement cycle. R6.

Address the safeguarding issues identified during the inspection Since the core inspection, the school has taken suitable measures that significantly reduce the risk of a pupil absconding or unwanted visitors gaining access to the site. The entrance pathway to the reception area has been remodelled. The gate onto the main road is fitted with a magnetic lock to restrict access, and there is adequate CCTV coverage of the area.

There are appropriate procedures in place to enable children and parents that attend the Flying Start provision to use a separate gate to access the school grounds. Over recent time, nearly all staff have received safeguarding training online that is suitable for their roles, including induction training for staff new to the school. Further safeguarding training has been booked appropriately, as face-to-face sessions resume after the pandemic.

Nearly all staff have received training in positive handling techniques. Staff record any incidents of physical intervention appropriately and inform parents promptly in line with training and the guidance from Bridgend local authority. © Crown Copyright 2021: This report may be re-used free of charge in any format or medium provided that it is re-used accurately and not used in a misleading context.

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