Ysgol Pen Rhos is a recently established school following the amalgamation of two schools in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire local authority. There are 447 pupils on roll aged from 3 to 11 years, including 23 part time children who attend the nursery. The school organises pupils into four Welsh medium and 13 English medium classes. On average over the last three years, about 34% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is considerably above the national average of 18%. The school identifies about 37% of pupils as having special educational needs. This is notably above the national average of 21%. Few pupils have English as an additional language and a very few pupils speak Welsh at home. A few come from an ethnic minority background. The headteacher took up his post in September 2016. This is the first Estyn inspection of the school. 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 Ysgol Pen Rhos October 2019 Summary The headteacher is a highly effective and innovative leader who has a very clear vision for developing the school as a caring and inclusive learning community, with wellbeing at its heart. In the very short time since the school has been established, leaders have ensured that the school has developed as a vibrant and proactive learning organisation, which values every one of its pupils and staff. Teachers and support staff have high expectations of all pupils. They create a calm and purposeful working environment and manage pupil behaviour effectively. All staff have positive and productive working relationship with all pupils. This contributes successfully to their learning experiences. Most teachers are excellent Welsh language role models and promote the language in a natural and inclusive way in and out of class. This is a strength of the school. Most pupils listen respectfully to one another when discussing work, and develop increasing resilience in order to persevere with their tasks. Most pupils show high levels of motivation and pride in their work. Overall, they develop their skills consistently across the curriculum and make valuable progress from their starting points. Leaders act on different strategies to encourage pupils to attend school regularly. However, attendance levels have remained low over time in comparison with those of other similar schools. 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 Ysgol Pen Rhos October 2019 Recommendations R1 Develop pupils’ skills further in all areas of the curriculum R2 Raise attendance levels R3 Develop regular opportunities for pupils to respond to feedback in order to develop their work further R4 Develop pupils’ confidence to contribute and influence all aspects of their learning and school experience 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 work in relation to support pupils’ wellbeing, for dissemination on Estyn’s website.