St Cenydd School is an English-medium 11-19 comprehensive school, maintained by Caerphilly County Borough Council. It serves the town and the surrounding area and there are currently 1,043 pupils on roll. The school hosts a local authority specialist resource base catering for pupils with significant sensory learning difficulties and complex physical and medical special needs. It also hosts a satellite class from a nearby special school. The school was last inspected in 2013. Around 24.0% of the pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is above the national average of 16.4%. Around 40% of pupils live in the 20% most deprived areas in Wales. Very few pupils represent a range of ethnic minority groups. Nearly all pupils speak English as their first language and no pupils speak Welsh at home. The school receives pupils from the full ability range. The percentage of pupils with special educational needs is around 32%, well above the national average of 23%. The percentage of pupils who have a statement of special educational need is around 4%, almost double the national average of 2.2%. The current headteacher took up post in April 2014. The senior leadership team consists of the headteacher, one deputy headteacher, four assistant headteachers and the business manager. 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 St Cenydd School November 2019 Summary St Cenydd School has a warm, nurturing and inclusive ethos. It fosters well pupils’ sense of community and belonging. In particular, pupils learn to value and respect each other’s contribution to school life as a result of careful integration with the specialist resource centre and close work with a local special school. Leaders regard for the wellbeing and professional learning of staff is a strong feature. They have focused successfully on improving the quality of teaching and inclusion through the provision of high-quality professional learning experiences. Consequently, relationships between staff and pupils are purposeful and strong. Provision for the development of pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills, and the ongoing evaluation of this aspect of the school’s work, is developing suitably. The sensitive support and beneficial guidance provided by the school ensure that nearly all pupils thrive. Many make strong progress from their starting points during their time at the school, particularly the more able and those with special educational needs (SEN). Inspection area Judgement Standards Good Wellbeing and attitudes to learning Good Teaching and learning experiences Good Care, support and guidance Good Leadership and management Good 2 A report on St Cenydd School November 2019 Recommendations R1 Improve provision for the development of pupils’ skills across the curriculum R2 Strengthen arrangements for evaluating and securing improvement in pupils’ standards and progress in skills What happens next The school will draw up an action plan to address the recommendations from the inspection.