Tredegar Park Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Tredegar Park Primary is a caring school with support for pupil well-being at its heart. The headteacher provides strong leadership and has solid support from senior leaders.

Since the amalgamation of the infant and junior schools, leaders have worked tirelessly on the creation of a whole school vision that focuses well on the school's context and the community it serves. The school places a strong emphasis on supporting the well-being of pupils and providing them with the vital skills they need for their futures. Many pupils join the school with skills that are considerably lower than those normally expected for their age Staff work hard at supporting pupils to develop their skills in important areas as they move through the schoo...l.

Many classes provide a rich and interesting curriculum, pupils learn to apply their skills well to a variety of contexts, some of which they have had a voice in creating. However, in the younger classes there is too much emphasis on highly structured lessons and this inhibits pupils' curiosity and their ability to develop independence in learning. Additionally, and in particular in the older classes, a minority of teachers do not challenge pupils well enough, for example in their independent learning tasks.

The school's curriculum encourages aspiration for pupils. Teachers aim to open their pupils' eyes to the world beyond their locality and use visitors to the school to encourage them to think about what they want to become when they are older. Staff support pupils to develop their personal and social skills, and pupils benefit from lessons about developing and maintaining relationships, as well as keeping themselves safe online.

The school's Y Cartref helps pupils to learn important life skills. In addition, they learn about having a voice in politics and have many opportunities to join the various pupil leadership roles that contribute to school life. Pupils with additional needs have good support and staff encourage them to play a full part in work of the school.

As a result, many pupils, including those with additional needs, make sound progress from their starting points. The school's governing body plays an active role in the school. Governors support and challenge leaders about important areas, such as teaching, learning and the school's finances, which they monitor carefully.

As a result, they ensure the school provides good value for the parents who send their children to the school. Recommendations R1 Offer pupils appropriately challenging learning activities that develop their independent learning skills' R2 Ensure that monitoring activities focus sharply on improving teaching and pupil progress R3 Strengthen pupils' independent reading skills R4 Improve pupils' use of spoken Welsh What happens next The school will draw up an action plan to address the recommendations from the inspection. Estyn will invite the school to prepare a case study on its work in relation to its Y Cartref provision and the development of pupils' skills for life, for dissemination on Estyn's website.