Ponthir Church in Wales School is in the village of Ponthir in Torfaen. Currently, there are 112 pupils on roll, aged from four to eleven. There are four mixed-year classes taught by three full-time teachers and two part-time teachers. The average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals over the last three years is around 3%. This is well below the average for Wales of 19%. The school identifies 13% of pupils as having additional learning needs, which is lower than the national average of 21%. A very few pupils have a statement of special educational needs and a very few are in the care of the local authority. Nearly all pupils are of white British ethnicity and come from homes where English is the main language. A very few pupils speak Welsh at home. The current acting headteacher took up her post in May 2017. She is seconded from another school. The school’s previous inspection was in January 2010. Further information is available from the Welsh Government My Local School website at the link below. http://mylocalschool.wales.gov.uk/Schools/SchoolSearch?lang=en 1 A report on Ponthir Church in Wales School February 2018 Summary Most pupils enjoy coming to school and pupils’ attendance is very good. Many pupils behave well in their classes and around the school. Pupils’ progress and the quality of teaching and curriculum planning vary too much from class to class at Ponthir Church in Wales School. As a result, pupils do not always have purposeful opportunities to develop their skills well enough or to apply these independently in their work across the curriculum. Overall, teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve, particularly those who are more able, are not high enough. By the end of key stage 2, most pupils develop strong speaking skills and most achieve well in mathematics. However, pupils’ skills in Welsh and information and communication technology (ICT) are underdeveloped. Since her appointment, the acting headteacher has identified important areas for development in the school. She has taken swift action to establish clear policies and procedures, and to ensure that all staff, including the newly-formed leadership team, understand their roles and responsibilities. However, these changes are too recent to have brought about improved outcomes for pupils. Inspection area Judgement Standards Adequate and needs improvement Wellbeing and attitudes to learning Adequate and needs improvement Teaching and learning experiences Unsatisfactory and needs urgent improvement Care, support and guidance Adequate and needs improvement Leadership and management Adequate and needs improvement 2 A report on Ponthir Church in Wales School February 2018 Recommendations R1 Improve curriculum planning and the quality of teaching to ensure that pupils receive appropriate challenges in their work and develop their skills systematically as they move through the school R2 Improve teaching in the foundation phase to ensure that it aligns with the principles of the foundation phase R3 Raise standards of pupils’ writing R4 Raise standards of pupils’ Welsh R5 Improve pupils’ ICT skills R6 Develop the school’s leadership capacity at all levels to address important priorities for improvement R7 Improve pupils’ independent learning skills What happens next In accordance with the Education Act 2005, HMCI is of the opinion that this school is in need of significant improvement. The school will draw up an action plan to show how it is going to address the recommendations. Estyn will monitor the school’s progress about 12 months after the publication of this report.