The pupils at Pontnewydd Primary enjoy coming to school and make good progress with their academic and social skills. There is a feeling of mutual trust and respect between the pupils and the staff. Pupils know that adults in the school care for them and that they can turn to them when they face challenges or have difficulties. Senior leaders have worked hard to create this ethos and it plays a key role in ensuring effective learning in the school. The strong caring ethos and the sense of teamwork mean that the school was well placed to deal with the impact of the pandemic. Leaders adopted a more formal approach to teaching in the youngest classes to ensure that pupils, staff and the community stayed safe. Leaders now recognise a need to reconsider and reestablish effective provision for the youngest pupils and to provide more opportunities for them to collaborate, experiment and learn through experience. Staff see school improvement as everyone’s responsibility. Leaders ensure that a wide range of people, including staff, pupils, parents and governors, can express their opinions about the work of the school. Similarly, staff are clear about their role in delivering whole school improvements. The governing body plays an important part in the life of the school. Governors support and challenge senior leaders effectively. They have a wide range of knowledge and experience that helps them to carry out their roles effectively. The school is generally good at identifying the areas of its work that are most effective and those aspects that need to be improved. For instance, the school’s work to develop the quality of reading has been successful and led to improvements in its provision and the progress that pupils make. On a few occasions, the school’s systems do not pick up all issues related to teaching, such as making sure that teachers have the skills to ensure that pupils have a secure understanding of mathematical concepts.