Ysgol Pen-y-bryn provides a broad and stimulating curriculum that deepens pupils’ understanding and promotes their appreciation of their heritage successfully and encourages them to look to the future confidently. Staff share a clear vision to foster principled and enterprising citizens who are proud of their community and the Welsh language. Teachers plan meaningful activities that foster cross-curricular skills and reflect history, culture and the Welsh language successfully. They make the most of resources in the local area to enrich pupils’ education, such as inviting experts to the school and visiting relevant educational sites. Through this, pupils develop a thorough understanding of their local area as a means of having a wider influence on their lives. Most pupils make sound progress in literacy, numeracy and digital skills. By the end of their time at the school, they communicate confidently in Welsh and English, read texts independently and write creatively. Teachers incorporate purposeful entrepreneurship opportunities into the curriculum as a means of developing pupils’ skills meaningfully and creating further practical links with the local community. Teachers use effective teaching methods that encourage pupils to think and work together successfully. They question pupils skilfully and offer them constructive feedback which, in turn, leads to continuous progress for most pupils. The pace of teaching is suitable, on the whole, but at times staff over-direct pupils which slows the learning and limits opportunities for them to work independently and achieve to the best of their ability. Staff promote pupils’ care and well-being extremely effectively. They forge a positive working relationships with pupils, which supports learning successfully. This contributes effectively to the positive behaviour of most pupils and fosters healthy attitudes to learning. The governing body provides relevant support and challenge to leaders in a constructive manner. The school’s self-evaluation and improvement planning processes are robust, but leaders do not always ensure that self-evaluation procedures are as thorough across the whole federation.