Ysgol Gymuned Garreglefn

Highlights from Latest Inspection

are given beneficial opportunities to apply their writing skills coherently. These plans also build systematically on pupils£ existing knowledge, understanding and skills effectively as they move through the school. Teachers provide valuable opportunities for pupils to contribute to planning regularly, which ensures that they have more of an interest in their work.

As a result, most pupils apply themselves fully to their learning and make good progress from their starting point. Recommendation 3: Ensure that planning and teaching provide an appropriate challenge for all pupils to achieve to the best of their ability Very good progress in addressing the recommendation The quality of teaching and the challenge that is provided to pup...ils in lessons across a range of subjects and areas of learning are effective. Staff plan in detail in order to ensure that pupils are given beneficial opportunities to build on previous learning successfully.

They track pupils£ progress robustly in order to plan in detail for the next steps in their learning. As a result, teachers£ weekly plans identify activities that have been adapted effectively to challenge most pupils successfully. In the foundation phase, staff plan stimulating challenges in all learning areas, which engage pupils£ interest and challenge them effectively.

The classroom organisation and the staff's understanding of the principles of the foundation phase ensure that activities provide beneficial opportunities for pupils to make their own choices. This reinforces most pupils£ independent learning skills successfully and ensures that they apply themselves fully to activities and tasks both inside and outside the classroom. In key stage 2, pupils receive a range of interesting activities that engage their interest and commitment to learning well.

Staff build on previous learning successfully by encouraging pupils to use their skills in a variety of challenging tasks. Staff plan specific activities through a range of specific themes to develop pupils£ literacy and numeracy skills soundly. This provides them with good opportunities to apply their skills and use their previous understanding successfully.

The quality of teaching is now more consistent across the school. Staff model polished language successfully and there is an effective working relationship between them and the pupils. They question skilfully to extend pupils£ understanding and develop their thinking skills effectively.

They have high expectations in terms of pupils£ achievement and challenge them to achieve to the best of their ability. Across the school, learning assistants support specific groups of pupils effectively. Teachers discuss the success criteria of lessons effectively with pupils.

This helps them to complete learning activities successfully and ensures that most are challenged effectively. As a result, many pupils choose to complete more challenging tasks, which has a positive effect on their confidence and achievement. Staff across the school give pupils valuable feedback that enables them to identify strengths in their work and understand how to improve it.

They are given suitable opportunities to respond to teachers£ comments and improve on their first efforts. Pupils are beginning to respond positively to these comments. Recommendation 4: Ensure that arrangements for supporting pupils who have additional learning needs meet requirements Very good progress in addressing the recommendation Under the headteacher's guidance, the staff have reviewed provision for pupils with additional learning needs rigorously.

Teachers have revised and adapted the procedures in line with the post-inspection action plan, and their responsibilities in implementing the policy and procedures are now clear. The additional learning needs co-ordinator is monitoring the changes carefully to ensure that teachers implement the new systems effectively. The additional learning needs co-ordinator, teachers and assistants now use appropriate evidence to identify pupils£ learning needs effectively.

This includes analysing information from the electronic pupil tracking system, teachers£ assessments, standardised test results, and scrutiny of pupils£ work. Teachers create suitable individual plans for pupils, which lead to appropriate additional support, as necessary. Parents and pupils now play a more active role in producing individual education plans.

The headteacher has established an appropriate timetable for providing intervention sessions for specific pupils. This provision is supported effectively by the teaching staff and learning assistants. Staff now share good practice in terms of this provision with other schools.

Additional support sessions are flexible and ensure support that responds effectively and quickly to pupils£ needs. For example, individuals receive good support in order to improve basic mathematical skills, or their reading skills by learning multi-use words. The school evaluates the effect of these arrangements on pupils£ outcomes effectively, and most make sound progress in line with their targets.

Recommendation 5: Stabilise the school's leadership arrangements Very good progress in addressing the recommendation The headteacher, who divides his time between Ysgol Garreglefn and a nearby school, has developed a clear vision that is based on proving effective teaching and raising pupils£ standards. He has used a wide range of leadership styles skilfully in order to set firm foundations for the future. He has high expectations of staff and pupils and provides robust guidance in order to establish a culture that leads to improvement.

This has a very positive influence on the school's work. One of the headteacher's strengths is the way in which he has succeeded in gaining the support and trust of the staff, parents and governors. He has done so by ensuring that they also take responsibility for improving aspects of the school's work.

As a result, they have made regular contributions to move the school forward successfully. The school's leadership arrangements have set a valuable strategic direction for the work of the staff and governors by leading the task of planning successfully for improvement. These arrangements have a positive effect on many aspects of provision, in addition to pupils£ standards.

A good example of this is the arrangements that have been introduced to develop detailed schemes of work that promote the foundation phase pedagogy successfully. Leaders have created a relevant staffing structure and identified teachers£ and assistants£ responsibilities clearly in appropriate job descriptions. These arrangements ensure that all teachers take responsibility for leading specific aspects of the improvement plan.

As a result of introducing these responsibilities, the headteacher ensures that they are given valuable opportunities to lead staff meetings and challenge performance regularly. This ensures an effective work ethos that is based on honest self-evaluation, transparency and constructive accountability. Teachers develop their leadership skills further by facilitating workshops for governors on progress-tracking arrangements, setting pupils£ targets and monitoring progress against priorities for improvement.

The headteacher has established suitable procedures for managing staff performance. Their targets link clearly with the post-inspection action plan. This has led to beneficial improvements in many aspects relating to learning and teaching.

For example, teachers have created very beneficial schemes of work to ensure that they develop pupils£ skills systematically across the curriculum. The school's staffing situation has changed significantly since the core inspection and is now stable. The headteacher has established robust leadership arrangements for staff, in addition to clear actions to respond to any emergency.

In his absence, members of staff have specific responsibilities, which ensure that the day-to-day running of the school is smooth and effective. Recommendation 6: Ensure that governors challenge the school appropriately Strong progress in addressing the recommendation The governing body is very supportive of the school's work. Communication systems between the school and the governing body have now been strengthened significantly.

Governors have received relevant training since the core inspection, which ensures that they have a sound understanding of their roles and responsibilities. As a result, they have good ownership of guiding improvements at the school. The chair knows the school well.

She visits the school regularly and has a sound understanding of its strengths and areas for improvement. Other members are also active in setting priorities for the school. The governing body has appointed a permanent member of staff to teach in key stage 2, and organised a very effective induction programme for another member of staff who has returned to their post.

This has helped to stabilise the staffing situation. Minutes of meetings are detailed and identify any decisions that are made, actions and who is responsible for them, in addition to any questions and purposeful challenges. This enables a majority of governors to monitor the school's work effectively and challenge performance in order to plan strategically for improvement.

An improvement sub-panel, which includes members of the governing body, acts as a useful group to identify and challenge the school's progress against the activities in the improvement plan. Members have clear responsibilities for measuring and monitoring progress in specific aspects. They visit the school regularly to scrutinise books and curricular plans, and to consider the standards of pupils£ work.

They have produced a useful timetable for their activities, which links more effectively with the monitoring opportunities that are identified in the post-inspection plan. Through the improvement sub-panel's activities and regular reports from the headteacher and others, members of the panel are increasing their understanding of standards and the quality of provision successfully; for example, they have a good understanding of the changes in teaching mathematics and numeracy across the curriculum. They use this knowledge fairly effectively to challenge the school about progress against the recommendations.

However, not all governors have a sound enough understanding of the effect of actions on pupils£ standards. Recommendation 7: Strengthen the self-evaluation processes in order to identify better the school's strengths and issues that need to be improved Very good progress in addressing the recommendation The school has developed robust self-evaluation arrangements that provide a Leaders have established a useful three-year timetable of relevant activities that enable the school to prioritise successfully for continuous improvement. These robust self-evaluation procedures are based on broad, first-hand evidence, which includes lesson observations, scrutinising books and teachers£ plans, and the views of parents and pupils.

The headteacher has also introduced beneficial opportunities for staff to learn more about the importance of scrutinising pupils£ work and analysing performance data in order to enable them to contribute more effectively towards the self-evaluation procedures. One of the school's strengths is the way in which the headteacher shared self-evaluation outcomes with all staff and governors in order to celebrate successes and identify areas that need further attention. Leaders respond to findings purposefully by adapting their practices and improving provision, for example when organising a programme and curriculum for physical education.

They revisit recommendations that derive from the monitoring procedure regularly in order to measure and evaluate progress. Self-evaluation arrangements ensure that the report is a true reflection of the school's life and work. As a result, leaders and staff have a thorough understanding of the school's work, which enables them to plan purposefully and strategically for improvement.

Recommendation 8: Ensure that the school's improvement plans lead to improvements in standards, provision and leadership Very good progress in addressing the recommendation The school, with the support of officers from the local authority and the consortium, has identified appropriate activities to address the recommendations following the core inspection. The improvement plan is now a comprehensive and useful document that includes targets and a clear timetable. Outcomes are measurable and relate appropriately to improving standards, provision and leadership.

The governors£ improvement sub-panel monitors progress carefully and provides evaluative reports that derive from relevant and comprehensive first-hand evidence. further. Members prepare rigorously for meetings to monitor and evaluate progress by considering the outcomes of previous activity and any written reports in advance.

They provide specific questions in order to provide further challenge as a basis for their discussions. This practice is effective and ensures that leaders are beginning to consider the effect of any developments on pupils£ standards and wellbeing. Despite the instability in terms of staffing, the headteacher has established robust arrangements to share planning for improvement responsibilities among other members of staff.

This successful effort ensures effective teamwork. This has led to notable consistency in teaching across the school, for example in the use of assessment for learning strategies and appropriate challenge for pupils. The progress-tracking procedure includes a summative evaluation of improvements completed and what needs to be developed further.

This has led to valuable improvements in many areas, for example the progress in standards of reading and numeracy, improvement in standards of science and most pupils£ ability to work independently. Teaching across the school is now effective and leads successfully to developing confident and knowledgeable learners. Recommendations In order to maintain and improve on this progress, Ysgol Gymuned Garreglefn should continue to maintain the level of progress it has already made, and continue to address those inspection recommendations in which further progress is needed.