St Michael’s C.I.W. School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Nearly all pupils enjoy school, have positive attitudes to learning and behave very well.

They show high levels of care and respect for others and develop positive relationships with friends and adults. Most pupils have a high level of influence over how and what they learn and use these opportunities well. Overall, they develop a good range of skills and knowledge during their time at the school but do not always have the challenge or support to apply these as well as they might.

Pupils' Welsh language skills regressed during the recent pandemic and have been slow to recover. Teaching and learning experiences engage pupils' interests well and promote an enthusiasm for learning. Teachers' use of pupils' strengths as a star...ting point for learning is a positive feature of the school's approach to developing confident and independent learners.

They draw on a variety of interesting contexts for learning and pupils respond well. Teaching supports pupils to make good progress overall but sometimes opportunities to challenge pupils to improve their work further are missed. Arrangements to provide care, support and guidance for pupils are effective.

They ensure that pupils receive timely support when needed, and they feel safe in school. Leaders provide clear strategic direction to the school's work. They promote teamwork and innovation successfully and use resources well.

Overall, leaders show the capacity to implement change successfully. They work proactively to address national priorities such as curriculum and additional learning needs (ALN) reform. They also address school-based priorities, such as the improvement of pupils' reading skills successfully.

However, leaders do not always evaluate the difference that teaching and learning experiences make to pupils' progress well enough. Monitoring activity is generally too broad and does not focus sharply enough on specific elements of the school's work. Recommendations R1 Improve pupils' Welsh language skills R2 Ensure that teaching and feedback support and challenge pupils effectively R3 Ensure that pupils have opportunities to develop and apply a full range of skills progressively across the curriculum R4 Improve monitoring and evaluation processes What happens next The school will draw up an action plan to address the recommendations from the inspection.