Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Teyrnon

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Ysgol Bro Teyrnon is a happy, inclusive and caring community that places a strong emphasis on celebrating Welshness and respecting others.

Most pupils are very well behaved and treat others with courtesy and tender care. The Welsh language is at the heart of all of the school's work and nearly all pupils are proud of their ability to use the language both inside and outside the classroom. One of the school's excellent features is the way in which pupils make a valuable contribution to its caring ethos, for example as the oldest pupils support their youngest peers in a highly caring manner.

During their time at the school, most pupils make strong progress in their skills from their starting points. The youngest pupils devel...op their skills very soon after starting school, particularly in their spoken Welsh skills. By the end of their time at the school, most pupils are confident readers and discuss the content of their books maturely and intelligently.

Across the school, most develop sound writing, mathematics and digital skills and apply them appropriately in a variety of different contexts. The school curriculum provides a good range of beneficial activities and learning and play experiences for pupils. Overall, teachers across the school use a suitable range of teaching methods to challenge and support learning.

However, staff have a tendency to over-direct learning, which limits pupils' ability to apply their skills independently and achieve to the best of their ability. Since the school was established over a decade ago, the headteacher has succeeded in establishing a purposeful learning environment that celebrates Welshness and maintains high standards in terms of the Welsh language and pupils' well-being. Leaders share the school's vision successfully with all stakeholders.

Leaders have a good understanding of the school's strengths and areas for improvement, including the need to ensure consistency in teaching and refine it across the school. Members of the governing body provide good support for leaders. They take advantage of the expertise of members effectively to support the school's work and provide support for leaders, as necessary.

Recommendations R1 Disseminate good teaching practices across the school R2 Provide regular opportunities for pupils to take responsibility for their learning and develop as independent learners 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 developing pupils' spoken Welsh skills, to be disseminated on Estyn's website. Main findings Learning On entry to Ysgol Bro Teyrnon, many pupils' skills are lower than expected for their stage of development and most are new to the Welsh language.

However, they acquire the language quickly and most pupils, including those with additional learning needs (ALN) and those who are eligible for free school meals, make consistent progress from their starting points. Soon after starting school, most pupils listen and respond to simple questions and instructions carefully and enjoy learning and singing familiar nursery rhymes with their peers. The youngest pupils build successfully on their oral skills and use them with increasing confidence in a variety of different situations.

For example, pupils in the reception class follow appropriate syntax and vocabulary such as 'Beth yw dy hoff liw di?' ('What is your favourite colour?') to gather information from their peers, and Year 2 pupils describe a lion skilfully by using a suitable range of adjectives. As pupils move through the school, most speak confidently in both languages and discuss the advantages of being bilingual maturely. They use a good range of vocabulary and language patterns to communicate naturally in formal and informal situations, for example when presenting a radio programme for their peers in the dining hall, the main entrance and the school playground.

Most pupils' reading skills develop soundly as they move through the school. Many of the youngest pupils develop early reading skills that are suitable for their age and stage of development. By Year 2, they use phonic strategies effectively to identify familiar words correctly.

Most of the oldest pupils read with increasing confidence and use punctuation and vary their tone of voice effectively. At the top of the school, most are good readers and many use wider reading methods effectively when discussing and appreciating a wide range of texts. Many pupils develop their writing skills effectively as they move through the school.

Most of the youngest pupils make improvised marks skilfully and develop sound early writing skills through a range of exciting and creative experiences. In Years 1 and 2, many pupils use a good range of vocabulary and simple punctuation, for example when using appropriate adjectives and conjunctions to strengthen the meaning when writing about the lion. By the end of their time at the school, many write at increasing length in a range of contexts and show a sound grasp of language elements and a range of different writing genres.

Most pupils' mathematics skills develop well and they succeed in applying their number skills appropriately to solve problems in different contexts. By Year 2, many continue to develop a good range of mathematics skills suitably in their learning experiences, for example by beginning to use standard measurements when building a shelter. As pupils move through the school, they build on their skills well.

The oldest pupils show a sound understanding of mathematical concepts to solve practical problems, for example when creative a plan of the school site by using their knowledge of scale effectively. Most pupils' digital skills are developing well. The youngest pupils use a range of apps and programs to enrich their work, for example by using simple instructions to control a programmable toy to move along a path when emulating a bee's journey to a flower.

The oldest pupils combine their digital skills successfully to support their learning across the curriculum, for example when presenting animation work on the life of Betty Campbell. Most pupils show strong creative skills. From the beginning of their time at the school, pupils in the nursery class create 3D models of a spider fairly independently.

A good range of different techniques are used by pupils as they work with a good range of visitors and local artists, for example as Year 5 and 6 pupils create watercolour pictures of birds of prey. Year 6 pupils also develop oral skills and their self-confidence successfully when performing an annual show with their peers from local Wels-medium schools. This strengthens and enriches their understanding and knowledge of their local area or 'cynefin' and their heritage effectively.

Most pupils develop physical skills with increasing confidence. The youngest pupils develop robust physical skills, including using a hammer to hit a nail into a piece of wood successfully. Pupils across the school take part enthusiastically in a variety of physical activities that have a positive effect on their skills, for example as Year 3 pupils experiment with different movements and body shapes in gymnastics sessions.

Well-being and attitudes to learning Pupils' well-being and attitudes to learning are a clear strength at the school. The happy and welcoming environment contributes well to ensuring that nearly all pupils feel safe and are valued. Warm and appropriate working relationships between adults and pupils ensure that nearly all pupils know whom to approach for help or support.

They demonstrate a sense of pride and care towards their school and their local community and use their voice wisely to promote issues that are important to them. Most pupils display positive attitudes towards their work and show enthusiasm and enjoyment in their learning. They are curious when taking part in new learning and play experiences and develop self-confidence increasingly across the school.

Most listen maturely to the ideas and views of their peers, for example when discussing whether it is kind or unkind to keep animals in a zoo. Most pupils concentrate for extended periods and contribute effectively to class discussions. They treat each other with sensitive empathy and identify passionately with the feelings of characters in books, for example.

Although pupils are not always given timely opportunities to guide their own learning totally independently, nearly all respond successfully to following the guidance of teachers and assistants to complete tasks. Year 6 pupils develop with increasing confidence to become mature and responsible pupils. They show pride and dedication when supporting and spending periods in the youngest pupils' classes.

For example, they take pride in supporting Year 2 pupils to improve their understanding of tens and units in numeracy activities and when caring for the youngest pupils in school assemblies. Pupils across the school have a sound understanding of the importance of making appropriate decisions in terms of diet and a healthy lifestyle and know how to stay safe online. Most make healthy choices when selecting their lunch and many pupils take advantage of the salad bar at lunchtime.

Most also participate energetically in physical education sessions and the youngest pupils enjoy developing their skills in learning and play activities in the outdoor areas. As a result, most pupils have a good awareness of the importance of keeping the body healthy and are committed to the range of physical activities that are provided by the school. Many pupils develop appropriate leadership skills by taking part in a good range of committees and pupil's voice groups.

They respond well to their responsibilities and take pride in supporting their peers. For example, the well-being ambassadors prepare beneficial resources for the 'Mannau Meddwl' areas that are available across the school to support pupils' well-being. Most pupils understand the link between the school's values and their responsibility for their own behaviour and learning well.

They show that they are responsible and intelligent learners who are very willing to play an active part in school life. The familial ethos that exists within the school has a positive influence on the sense of belonging and caring for each other. This is one of the school's notable strengths.

Most pupils behave very well both inside and outside the classroom. They work together effectively in pairs and groups and make a valuable contribution to discussions and when solving problems. The very few pupils who need time to reflect on their feeling and think about their behaviour make effective use of the specific well-being areas.

As a result, they succeed in developing effective methods to help them to reduce the effect on their learning. The school's attendance rate over the past two years is higher than the national average, including the attendance of pupils who are eligible for free school meals. Teaching and learning experiences The school's leaders and teachers work successfully with local Welsh-medium schools to plan an interesting joint curriculum, that responds well to the principles of the Curriculum for Wales.

This ensures that teachers across the school plan a good range of beneficial learning experiences that build progressively on pupils' skills and understanding. An excellent feature of provision is the use of the expressive arts to develop pupils' self-confidence and awareness of their 'cynefin' or local area and of the history and heritage of Wales. For example, pupils have worked successfully with a famous artist to create pictures of local landscapes to accompany a piece of poetry on the community of Ysgol Bro Teyrnon.

Overall, teachers provide a good range of activities across the curriculum that develop pupils' literacy, numeracy and digital skills successfully. In the youngest pupils' classes, they plan a wide range of beneficial experiences that develop pupils' early learning skills highly successfully. For example, pupils in the reception class develop their oral skills effectively by questioning their peers about their favourite colour and then create and discuss a graph of the results.

Across the school, teachers build appropriately on pupils' language and literacy skills. They provide useful learning opportunities for them to develop their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills regularly across the curriculum. The use of the school radio station also makes a valuable contribution towards encouraging pupils to use the Welsh language in less formal situations and to learn about contemporary Welsh songs.

On the whole, most teachers create beneficial learning environments where pupils develop their skills successfully. For example, pupils in the nursery class provide a wide range of valuable indoor and outdoor learning experiences that spark pupils' imagination and support them to learn and discover for themselves. In the best practice, teachers and assistants adapt provision to respond to pupils' interests and comments, for example by planning a range of stimulating learning experiences when responding to a question from a pupil.

A strong feature of the school's work is the use of prompting to ignite pupils' imagination and interest in their learning when introducing a theme or unit of work, for example by creating a computerised video of a lion visiting the Year 1 and 2 classes as a prompt for work on a particular book. They also use regular visitors and visits to enrich pupils' experiences and reinforce learning. Across the school, most teachers and assistants are strong language role models and encourage pupils to use correct vocabulary and patterns consistently.

Teachers question pupils effectively to develop their skills and understanding. On the whole, a suitable range of teaching methods are used which are appropriate for the pupil's stage of development. However, a majority of teachers have a tendency to over-direct learning, which limits opportunities for pupils to make decisions about their learning and develop as independent learners.

This, in turn, limits pupils' interest in their activities and slows progress in their skills. In a few cases, there is little use of the indoor and outdoor learning areas to enrich learning and encourage pupils to experiment and guide their own learning. Teachers and assistants have a productive working relationship with pupils and know their pupils well.

Most provide beneficial oral and written feedback to encourage pupils to consider what they are doing well and how to improve their work. They use observations and knowledge of progress in pupils' skills to plan beneficial learning experiences for them. Care, support and guidance The warmth of the school's welcome is a natural element of provision and supports a happy, inclusive and caring ethos for the whole school community.

This supports the emotional, health and social needs of nearly all pupils highly effectively. A strong feature of provision is the consideration given to pupils' emotional well-being by providing opportunities for them to develop beneficial methods and take breaks in the 'Mannau Meddwl' reflection areas, as necessary. As a result, pupils engage positively with provision and benefit from the wide range of valuable opportunities and experiences that are available.

The headteacher and staff have a close and honest working relationship with parents, which enriches discussions about their children's progress and needs. The school's well-being team provides a good range of help and support to promote pupils' health and well-being, for example by providing appropriate sessions to support the emotional well-being of vulnerable pupils. This, together with continuous observations and assessments, contributes very successfully towards ensuring a clear and current picture of the needs of nearly all pupils and staff respond promptly to their needs.

The school has very robust arrangements for supporting pupils with ALN. The co-ordinator and assistants have a high level of expertise in this area and are passionate about their responsibilities and pupils' development. They work well together and provide a wide range of help and support programmes that are tailored to respond to pupils' needs and personal targets.

Staff make good use of external agencies to enrich provision for pupils with ALN, for example by working with the speech and language team and a physiotherapist. As a result, pupils make sound progress against their targets as they move through the school. The school provides learners with effective guidance and advice regarding future career choices.

During the 'Wythnos i agor ein llygaid' ('Week to open our eyes'), teachers invite parents and visitors to the school to talk to pupils about their work. These valuable experiences provide beneficial opportunities for pupils to learn more about the careers that are available to them, in addition to expanding their aspirations for the future. There are purposeful opportunities for pupils to have a valuable influence on decisions by participating in a variety of groups and pupil voice councils.

For example, members of the eco committee make a valuable contribution towards creating a 'Swap Shop' to encourage parents and pupils to reuse school uniforms that have been used previously. Pupils who are part of these committees take their responsibilities seriously and make a valuable contribution to school life. The school promotes pupils' spiritual, moral and social development successfully.

Valuable opportunities are provided for them to reflect and take part in collective worship, which ensures time to consider the views of others, in addition to giving them an opportunity to reflect on how they can look after each other. A strong feature of the school's work is the opportunities pupils are given to take part in regular performances and presentations, both as individuals and in groups. This nurtures their self-confidence and develops their expressive skills successfully.

For example, the school's oldest pupils present an annual production in collaboration with the other schools in the cluster on the history of the city of Newport and the surrounding area. This is a source of inspiration for further work on the race riots during Black History Month. These experiences also reinforce pupils' knowledge of their heritage and culture highly effectively, in addition to allowing them to compare these events with contemporary issues within their community.

There are robust arrangements for promoting punctuality and attendance, and the oldest pupils discuss sensibly the importance of attending school regularly. The school has a strong and consistent culture of safeguarding. Beneficial opportunities are provided for teachers, assistants and governors to attend an appropriate range of relevant training that supports their understanding of keeping pupils safe.

Leadership and management The headteacher and leaders have established and communicated a clear vision based on a sense of co-operation between all of the school's stakeholders. They have created a clear strategic direction, which is promoted effectively through the motto 'A place to nurture our aspirations'. Celebrating Welshness and maintaining high standards in terms of the Welsh language and pupils' well-being are at the heart of all of the school's life and work.

The values of identity, partnership, kindness and belonging to their area also derive from the shared aspirations of leaders, staff and pupils. The headteacher has created a caring and inclusive environment, which ensures a strong sense of teamwork and a warm commitment to pupils' well-being. As a result, they commit to meeting the needs of all pupils, taking care of their well-being and ensuring that they achieve to the best of their ability.

The headteacher sets high expectations for herself, staff and pupils. This encourages pupils to develop positive attitudes to learning and to do their best. As a result, the behaviour and commitment of nearly all pupils towards their work and school life is very good.

Despite a recent period of instability in terms of staffing, leaders, teachers and assistants work together effectively to ensure that pupils' well-being is at the forefront of the school's vision and strategic direction. It is a happy and friendly community with the sense of being part of one big family permeating every aspect of the school's life and work. The school has strong and beneficial links with the local community and the schools in the local cluster, to provide valuable experiences for pupils.

Leaders and staff have established very valuable relationships with parents, which contribute well to their ability to support their children at home. The school has robust arrangements in place to ensure that parents can discuss any issues with leaders and teachers. As a result, they respond promptly to any complaints and relevant issues.

Leaders create an effective culture and ethos to promote, enable and support the professional learning of teaching and support staff. For example, many have received valuable opportunities to develop their Welsh language skills, which supports the school's clear priority to develop these skills along with the Welshness of all pupils. Leaders also provide effective opportunities for staff to work with schools in the cluster to share and develop their professional practices.

For example, teachers from local schools co-operate and support each other in developing processes to assess pupils' progress in areas of learning and experience. This contributes well to improving their understanding of the Curriculum for Wales and how to support beneficial learning for pupils. Leaders and governors have a sound understanding of the school's strengths and areas for improvement.

They use a range of self-evaluation arrangements appropriately, which include scrutinising books, seeking pupils' views and observing teaching and learning through learning walks. This ensures that leaders identify strengths and areas for improvement soundly. Overall, leaders and co-ordinators of the areas of learning and experience take part in a suitable range of monitoring activities to identify needs and plan for improvement, for example developing pupils' reasoning skills.

The governing body works diligently to support the school's work. It takes advantage of members' expertise effectively to support its work, for example by creating a computer app to facilitate access for members of the governing body and to contribute actively to policies, a self-evaluation report and minutes of meetings. The governing body supports the culture of safeguarding successfully and ensures that the school has comprehensive arrangements to promote healthy eating and drinking.

Leaders manage the school's budget effectively. Despite the school's significant surplus, there is an appropriate spending plan in place and they make appropriate decisions on expenditure for the benefit of pupils. For example, they have invested significantly in the outdoor areas and have developed a multi-purpose room for the community.

This has a positive effect on enriching provision and learning experiences for pupils. Good use is also made of the pupil development grant to provide sessions to promote pupils' well-being which, in turn, has a beneficial effect on the confidence and behaviour of pupils with emotional and social needs. Evidence base of the report Before an inspection, inspectors: • analyse the outcomes from the parent and pupil questionnaires and consider the views of teachers and the governing body/members of the management committee through their questionnaire responses During an inspection, inspectors normally: • hold a meeting with parents to hear their views on the school and its effectiveness • meet the headteacher, governors, senior, middle leaders, and individual teachers to evaluate the impact of the school's work • meet pupils to discuss their work and to gain their views about various aspects of their school • meet groups of pupils in leadership roles, such as representatives from the school council and eco-committee • visit a broad sample of lessons, including learning support groups and the specialist resource base (where appropriate), and undertake a variety of learning walks to observe pupils learning and to see staff teaching in a range of settings, including classrooms, support groups (where appropriate) and in outdoor areas • visit the specialist resource base within the school to see pupils' learning (where appropriate) • observe and speak to pupils at lunch and break times and at a sample of after-school clubs • attend assemblies and daily acts of collective worship • look closely at the school's self-evaluation processes • consider the school's improvement plan and look at evidence to show how well the school has taken forward planned improvements • scrutinise a range of school documents, including information on pupil assessment and progress, records of meetings of staff and the governing body, information on pupils' well-being, including the safeguarding of pupils, and records of staff training and professional development After the on-site inspection and before the publication of the report, Estyn: • review the findings of the inspection alongside the supporting evidence from the inspection team in order to validate, moderate and ensure the quality of the inspection Copies of the report Copies of this report are available from the school and from the Estyn website (http://www.

estyn.gov.wales) The report was produced in accordance with Section 28 of the Education Act 2005.

Every possible care has been taken to ensure that the information in this document is accurate at the time of going to press. Any enquiries or comments regarding this document/publication should be addressed to: Publication Section Estyn Anchor Court, Keen Road Cardiff CF24 5JW or by email to [email protected].

wales This and other Estyn publications are available on our website: http://www.estyn.gov.

wales/