Waunarlwydd Primary School is in the City and County of Swansea. Currently, there are 284 pupils on roll, aged from 3 to 11. This includes 41 part-time nursery pupils. The school has single-age classes in the foundation phase and mixed-age classes in key stage 2. The average percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals over the last three years is around 14%, which is below the national average of 18%. The school identifies around 31% of pupils as having additional learning needs. This is higher than the national average of 21%. Nearly all pupils are of white British ethnicity. No pupil speaks Welsh at home. The headteacher took up her post in 2004. The school’s last inspection was in 2012. The school is currently a pioneer school and is working with the Welsh Government and other schools to take forward developments relating to education reform in Wales. 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 Waunarlwydd Primary School July 2019 Summary During their time at Waunarlwydd Primary School, most pupils, including those with additional learning needs, make strong progress in their learning and achieve well, particularly in speaking and listening in English and in numeracy. Pupils develop excellent leadership skills and have a significant impact on school life, for example through the ‘Senedd’ system that engages all key stage 2 pupils to a high level in making decisions about many aspects of the school. The school’s mission, values and ethos are very strong. The provision gives pupils a deep understanding of their rights as children and develops their awareness of diversity, tolerance and respect to a high level, for example through the ‘school of sanctuary’ project. Teachers give pupils purposeful, beneficial experiences that help them to develop their skills well, especially in art, dance, film and drama. The headteacher has a clear vision for the school that pupils, staff, parents and governors share. The school has a successful track record of bringing about improvements. There is effective strategic planning that links well to the school’s mission and its long-standing work on the rights of the child. The school is outwardfacing and engages well with national priorities, local initiatives and others schools. This provides a good basis for the professional learning of staff within the school. Inspection area Judgement Standards Good Wellbeing and attitudes to learning Excellent Teaching and learning experiences Good Care, support and guidance Excellent Leadership and management Good 2 A report on Waunarlwydd Primary School July 2019 Recommendations R1 Increase opportunities for pupils to develop their independent learning skills at the end of the foundation phase R2 Extend the opportunities for governors to monitor directly the quality of provision and the standards that pupils achieve What happens next The school will draw up an action plan to address the recommendations from the inspection. Estyn will invite the school to prepare a case study on its ethos and its work in relation to the pupil voice, the rights of the child and the school of sanctuary for dissemination on Estyn’s website 3 A report on Waunarlwydd Primary School July 2019 Main findings Standards: Good Most pupils make strong progress during their time at school. Many have strong skills in speaking, listening, reading, writing and mathematics by the end of key stage 2. Most pupils who have additional learning needs make good progress from their starting points. Across the school, pupils’ creative skills are strong. For example, most younger pupils have good dance skills in ballet and contemporary styles, and nearly all key stage 2 pupils create interesting pieces of art, for instance in their in their work emulating Aboriginal design. In the nursery and reception classes, nearly all pupils listen attentively and talk confidently about their activities, for example about the megaladon sharks they are drawing. By Year 2, most pupils listen respectfully to each other when they work in groups. They discuss their work using well-chosen vocabulary, for example when deciding to put mustard in the lighthouse keeper’s lunchbox. Throughout key stage 2, most pupils develop very strong speaking and listening skills. They listen considerately to each other’s idea and opinions, debate points of view well and respond constructively, for instance, when discussing the human rights of indigenous people. Pupils develop good skills in reading as they move through the school. In reception, they hold books correctly and discuss the illustrations confidently. In Year 2, most pupils use a range of strategies to read challenging texts. Most pupils in lower key stage 2 read with expression and intonation. By Year 6, most read challenging texts with a high level of understanding, and explain their preferences for various texts and authors maturely. Many pupils use their higher-order reading skills effectively, for example when undertaking research in topic work. Younger pupils in the foundation phase develop their early writing skills well. They form letters correctly and spell familiar words accurately. Pupils use their knowledge of phonics to support their independent writing effectively, for example when they write their own books about the beach. Most Year 2 pupils write successfully for a range of purposes and use basic punctuation correctly. For example, they create an alternative version of ‘The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch’ by choosing their own characters and setting. However, pupils do not write independently at length often enough. In key stage 2, most pupils build effectively on these strong early writing skills. They write well across a wide range of genres and many use imaginative language and a rich vocabulary. More able pupils use a wide range of sentence patterns and use language effectively to create an appropriate tone and atmosphere in their stories and poems. For example, pupils’ written work on refugees shows their ability to express the mixed emotions of characters very convincingly. Across the school, most pupils develop strong mathematical skills. In Year 1, most pupils calculate the cost of an ice cream accurately and give appropriate change from 20p. By Year 2, most pupils use number competently to count in twos and tens to one hundred accurately. Many pupils can identify fractions of shapes, such as 4 A report on Waunarlwydd Primary School July 2019 halves and two-thirds. In key stage 2, most pupils use a variety of methods to calculate their spending within a budget to build places on the mythical island of ‘Pandora’. Older pupils use their knowledge of multiplication facts and mathematical operations confidently to solve problems. By Year 6, most pupils use algebra to express output from function machines confidently and accurately. A few pupils at the end of key stage 2 achieve at a very high standard. As they move through the school, most pupils develop their information and communication technology (ICT) skills well. For example, in the foundation phase, most pupils access simple games and use tablet devices to draw pictures of lighthouses confidently. Key stage 2 pupils use ICT competently and naturally to support their learning across the curriculum, for example to film a play that they have scripted with a soundtrack. Older key stage 2 pupils create databases about Roman gods and populate spreadsheets about food miles competently. Most pupils in the foundation phase make sound progress in developing their basic communication skills in Welsh. They greet adults enthusiastically, discuss the weather and read their written work competently. Most key stage 2 pupils ask and answer questions confidently using an increasing range of vocabulary and sentence patterns. They read texts and respond successfully to questions. Many pupils write purposefully with reasonable accuracy, for example, when writing a short biography of Katherine Jenkins. By Year 6, many express likes and dislikes well, often adding detail to their answers, but their confidence in using their oral Welsh skills in a range of contexts or beyond designated Welsh lessons is more limited. Wellbeing and attitudes to learning: Excellent The standard of pupils’ wellbeing is a strength of the school. Nearly all pupils feel safe at school. They have strong and respectful working relationships with the adults in the school and nearly all know where to turn for support, if necessary. Most pupils demonstrate significant care and concern for one another, particularly in the way in which older pupils consider younger pupils. Most pupils have a good understanding of how to make healthy lifestyle choices. For example, the group in the school’s ‘Senedd’ leading on healthy schools produced a leaflet to inform parents about making healthy choices in their packed lunches. Most pupils improve their fitness by taking part in a range of physical activities during and after school, such as basketball and cross-country running. Older pupils have a clear understanding of e-safety and share this knowledge effectively with pupils in the foundation phase. Nearly all pupils at the school know not to share their password with anyone and can explain why this is important. Most pupils have a very deep understanding of their rights and responsibilities. Most pupils have a strong sense of tolerance, fairness and respect and they have benefitted greatly from their work on the rights of the child and the school as a sanctuary. They understand and empathise very well with the feelings of others, for example in their work on the Second World War and the difficulties faced by refugees. Pupils understand very well the link between their rights as children, the school’s mission and values, and their responsibility for their own behaviour. This makes a strong contribution to the positive way that pupils interact with each other during lessons and at break times.