Cwmbran High School is an English-medium 11-18 school maintained by Torfaen local authority. The school opened in September 2015, following the closure of Fairwater High School and Llantarnam School. There are 1,236 pupils on roll including 286 in the sixth form. In 2015, at Fairwater High School, performance in the level 2 threshold including English or Welsh and mathematics and in the level 2 threshold places the school in the upper 50% of similar schools based on eligibility for free school meals. Performance in English also places the school in the upper 50% of similar schools but performance in mathematics places the school in the bottom 25%. Performance in the level 1 threshold and in the capped points score places the school in the lower 50% of similar schools. At Llantarnam School, performance in the level 2 threshold including English or Welsh and mathematics, the level 1 threshold and English places the school in the bottom 25% of similar schools. Performance in the level 2 threshold, the core subject indicator and mathematics places the school in the lower 50% of similar schools. In the academic year 2014-2015, attendance at Fairwater High School was above modelled outcomes for the third time in the last four years and placed the school in the top 25% of similar schools. At Llantarnam School, attendance was below modelled outcomes in each of the last four years. In addition, persistent absence had increased steadily and was much higher than the family and national averages. The school draws pupils and students from West and South Cwmbran, mainly Fairwater, Greenmeadow, Coed Eva, Thornhill and Llantarnam areas, although a few pupils do come from outside of catchment areas. Just over 25% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is well above the national average of 17.4%. Around 35% of pupils live in the 20% most deprived areas in Wales. Nearly all pupils speak English as their first language and come from a white, British background. The percentage of pupils with special educational needs is around 26%, which is close to the national average of 25.4%. The percentage of pupils who have a statement of special educational needs is 3.8%, which is slightly above the national average of 2.5%. The senior leadership team consists of the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, four assistant headteachers and a business manager. The individual school budget per pupil for Cwmbran High School in 2015-2016 means that the budget is £4,613 per pupil. The maximum per pupil in the secondary schools in Torfaen is £4,653 and the minimum is £3,847. Cwmbran High School is second out of the six secondary schools in Torfaen in terms of its school budget per pupil 1 A report on Cwmbran High School December 2015 Summary The school’s current performance The school’s prospects for improvement Adequate Adequate Current performance The school’s current performance is adequate because:       In a majority of lessons, most pupils make good progress Pupils attend school well and are punctual to lessons Most teachers develop productive working relationships with pupils The well-developed transition programme helps pupils to settle in the school well There is effective provision for pupils with additional learning needs The school cares for and supports pupils well However:  In a minority of lessons, pupils make insufficient progress because of shortcomings in teaching and assessment  A few pupils disrupt the learning of others and show disrespect to their teachers and peers  Provision to support pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills is underdeveloped  A majority of pupils make frequent spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors in their writing Prospects for improvement The school’s prospects for improvement are adequate because:  The headteacher provides purposeful leadership and effective direction to all aspects of the school’s work  There is a clear management structure and staff understand their roles and responsibilities  The school has appropriate systems in place to manage the performance of staff  Governors understand their role and provide suitable challenge to the school However:  Leadership has not had enough impact on improving teaching and the progress that pupils make in lessons  Self-evaluation and improvement planning, particularly at middle management level, does not always identify areas for improvement precisely enough or specify actions that are robust enough to bring about the improvements required 2 A report on Cwmbran High School December 2015 Recommendations R1 Improve the standard of pupils’ skills, particularly their writing, and numeracy R2 Improve the behaviour and disrespectful attitudes of a few pupils in a minority of lessons R3 Ensure that the literacy and numeracy framework is implemented fully R4 Address the shortcomings in teaching to ensure that pupils make good progress in all lessons R5 Improve the consistency in the work of middle managers, particularly in planning for improvement What happens next? The school will draw up an action plan, which shows how it is going to address the recommendations. Estyn will monitor the school’s progress.