Ysgol Gwynedd

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Ysgol Gwynedd is a school that is characterised by its exceptionally inclusive, supportive and nurturing environment. The school knows and serves its community very well, for example by engaging highly effectively with families through a range of enriching activities that develop the ability of adults to support their children with their learning and well-being. This contributes effectively towards the ethos of care and support.

Most pupils are happy at the school and make a significant contribution to its engaging atmosphere. Pupils are proud of their school and value the opportunities that they are given to contribute to the school's development over time. For example, the digital leaders, 'Well-being Warriors' and 'Corridor Care...rs' take on their leadership roles with commitment and enthusiasm.

The behaviour of most pupils is exemplary. They interact with their peers and adults with admirable respect and courtesy. Most pupils make good progress in the development of their literacy skills during their time at school from low initial starting points.

They apply their skills purposefully across a good range of contexts. A particular strength of the school is the way it gives prominence to developing the Welsh language. Leaders support staff effectively to develop professionally and improve their Welsh language skills.

This, together with the strong Welsh ethos, supports pupils to make good progress in Welsh during their time at the school. Most pupils make good progress in the development of their digital and mathematical skills. Staff have strong working relationships with pupils based on mutual respect, trust and pride in their school.

On the whole, teachers provide appropriate support for pupils. However, in a few lessons, the pace of teaching and learning is too slow and there is a tendency to over-direct learning, which limits the development of pupils' independent learning skills. Teachers do not always have high enough expectations in terms of what pupils are able to achieve and, as a result, the tasks are not always challenging enough for a few pupils.

Leaders have a shared understanding of the school's purpose and all staff are highly motivated and committed to realising the school's vision. They have high expectations for pupils, especially in relation to their well-being. School leaders promote a culture of support, trust and care that creates a positive learning environment for pupils and staff.

However, the school's self-evaluation and improvement processes are not focused sharply enough on evaluating the quality of teaching and its impact on pupil progress. Recommendation R1 Improve teaching and learning across the school R2 Sharpen the focus of self-evaluation and improvement processes to focus more specifically on the impact of teaching on learning 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: • How the school addresses the needs of the school community by engaging families through provision of enriching activities that supports parents to develop their children's learning and well-being • Cymraeg: Developing a Welsh ethos and culture where the Welsh language can flourish in an English-medium school for dissemination on Estyn's website.

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