Ysgol Carreg Hir

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Ysgol Carreg Hir is a very nurturing place for pupils and staff alike.

The headteacher, teachers and support staff take good care of the pupils and want them to succeed in learning and in life. Well-being is placed at the centre of the school's ethos. There is an overall feeling of community and a strong sense of belonging in the school.

It offers bespoke support for all pupils, including those with individual needs. All pupils receive a very warm welcome and enjoy coming to school and being part of such a supportive and inclusive learning environment. Teachers and support staff are there to help when needed.

They offer pupils a range of learning opportunities, all of which help to keep pupils interested in their ...learning. However, these do not consistently provide sufficient challenge for pupils to support their progress and development in their skills as independent learners, for example in the standards they achieve in writing and teachers' use of assessment methods. Pupils are proud of the school and exhibit positive attitudes to learning.

They understand that staff expect them to respect everyone in the school community and to behave well. The engagement of pupils in their learning is a notable strength of the school. Staff offer a stimulating environment that extends pupils' learning outdoors.

Leaders plan exceptionally well for this to enhance pupils' learning and well-being experiences. The headteacher, deputy headteacher and senior leaders provide strong leadership and, in general, know the school well. The headteacher has correctly identified important areas of the school's work that need improving, for example pupils' spoken Welsh skills.

This work is having a notable impact on younger pupils' skills. However, evaluation and improvement processes are not always sharp enough to support progress in all areas of the curriculum. The headteacher values the opinions of staff, pupils, parents and governors, and uses these to improve the school.

Staff trust and work well together to provide consistent support for pupils and each other. Recommendations R1 Improve pupil progress in skills, especially in writing, through greater challenge for more able pupils R2 Ensure that self-evaluation processes are focused to improve aspects of teaching and learning, and that improvement priorities are specific and measurable R3 Develop effective assessment methods across the school to support pupils to know what and how to make improvements to their work 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 the impact of leaders' investment in developing the outdoor environment to extend and consolidate learning experiences and promote pupils' well-being, for dissemination on Estyn's website.