Ysgol y Bannau is situated on the outskirts of the town of Brecon in Powys. It is a designated Welsh-medium school that serves the wide rural area, in addition to the town. There are currently 114 pupils on roll. Pupils are admitted to the school in the September following their fourth birthday. Pupils at Ysgol y Bannau are taught in four mixed-age classes. Over the last three years, approximately 6% of pupils have been eligible for free school meals. This is significantly lower than the national average of 19%. Many pupils state that they speak Welsh at home. The school has identified 17% of its pupils as having additional learning needs, which is lower than the national percentage of 21%. Welsh is the school’s everyday language and the medium of teaching and learning. The school was last inspected in 2011 and the current headteacher has been in post since 2007. The headteacher was not at the school at the time of the inspection. The acting headteacher has been responsible for the leadership and management of the school since October 2017. 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 y Bannau February 2018 Summary The Welsh ethos is a strength and is at the heart of all of the school’s work. Provision to develop the Welsh dimension is embedded firmly in the school’s plans. Pupils are polite and very caring towards each other, and show pride when talking about their school. Teachers provide a wide range of interesting learning experiences that promote pupils’ enthusiasm. The principles of the foundation phase have been implemented robustly and develop pupils’ skills well. Over a period of time, the school’s leadership and management have not been effective enough. Leaders have not acted strategically enough to ensure that the school’s processes for assessing and tracking pupils’ progress are sound. In a short period of time, the acting headteacher has begun to strengthen the school’s processes. There is now effective co-operation between all members of the school’s staff, which has led to creating a happy and supportive ethos for pupils. Inspection area Judgement Standards Adequate and needs improvement Wellbeing and attitudes to learning Good Teaching and learning experiences Adequate and needs improvement Care, support and guidance Adequate and needs improvement Leadership and management Unsatisfactory and needs urgent improvement 2 A report on Ysgol y Bannau February 2018 Recommendations R1 Strengthen leadership and ensure that leaders operate strategically R2 Strengthen self-evaluation processes in order to identify clear priorities for improvement, and monitor them more effectively R3 Improve processes for assessing and tracking pupils’ progress R4 Raise standards of writing in Welsh R5 Improve the quality of teaching to respond fully to pupils’ needs R6 Strengthen the role of governors to work more strategically and fulfil their statutory duties What happens next In accordance with the Education Act 2005, HMCI is of the opinion that this school is in need of significant improvement. The school will produce an action plan to address the recommendations. Estyn will monitor the school’s progress around 12 months after the publication of this report.