Agenda item

A report was presented to Committee which explained that that an alternative structure, in the form of online school engagement sessions, had been introduced to temporarily replace school visits during the Covid-19 pandemic, and which would enable the Committee to continue with its school evaluation and improvement function.  In this regard, the Committee hoped that site visits would be resumed during 2023.

The Committee thereupon received a presentation from the Headteacher of Ysgol Bryn Teg which focussed upon the way in which Ysgol Bryn Teg had supported the well-being of pupils, families and staff since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The presentation detailed the journey of significant improvement made within the school, against a backdrop of financial challenges, to become highly effective in terms of its learning and organisation and had embraced change in order to achieve a culture of excellence.

Key points covered within the presentation included the findings of the Estyn inspection undertaken in June 2022 within the following areas:

Leadership

·       Effective Leadership and Management was exhibited throughout the school, facilitated through open and transparent communication to support the needs of pupils.

·       An atmosphere of kindness, inclusion and nurture was enshrined within the school and had contributed to the significant improvement in pupil well-being and standards.

·       Clear and well-defined roles and responsibilities were in place and were formulated upon a strength-based approach and appropriate investment in the development of staff.

·       Forward-thinking and proactive decision-making was supported by the School Governors.  Grant funding had been allocated to enhance the nurture provision within the school, the appointment of a Mental Health Practitioner and Family Inclusion Officer and the purchase of electric bikes and electric minibuses to support and enhance school trips.

Care, Support and Guidance

·       An inclusive ethos existed within the school, with a team around the family approach based upon mutual respect between staff, pupils and parents/guardians.

·       The core values of the school were centred upon the areas of well-being, independence and respect.

·       Effective networks had been established with other agencies, including other schools and social services, which had led to the introduction of a safeguarding platform .

·       A robust provision was in place for pupils with Additional Learning Needs (ALN) which was facilitated by an ALN Coordinator.

·       An array of interventions and assessments had been embedded within the school to add value and demonstrate measurable progress.

Teaching and Learning Experiences

·       A broad and balanced curriculum had been introduced with an array of initiatives and pupil groups across the school.

·       Appropriate investment had been made in terms of the development of staff, with added value through shared staff training and collaboration with other agencies and schools to share best practice, coaching and mentoring.

Well-being and Attitudes to Learning

·       A Well-being Lead Officer, with responsibility for the health and well-being had proved instrumental to the school community during the Covid-19 pandemic.

·       The implementation of scheme of work entitled ‘jigsaw’, which was aligned to the new curriculum, aimed to offer a forward thinking, holistic approach to meet the needs of pupils within the school.

·       Relationships had been enhanced through policy, action-based research and a celebration of achievements, which was further strengthened by supportive School Governors.

·       Informal and formal support structures were in place for staff, including the recent introduction of well-being days.

·       Representation on local and national forums assisted the school in addressing the needs of the school community to improve the mental health of children; these included the Local Authority’s Well-being Forum and the Place2Be Forum.

Learning

·       The school was able to demonstrate the progress made by the majority of pupils, despite below-average starting points for most children.

·       Staff and pupils were at the forefront of the learning programme and fully engaged in the process.

·       An excellent internal and external learning environment was in place, and an innovative, solution focussed approach and monitoring mechanism had been adopted to ensure that the curriculum met the needs of the school community.

·       The skilled and passionate staff within the school had outstanding knowledge of their pupils.

·       The school had links with local, national and international programmes and initiatives including the Formula 1 primary schools challenge, Pie Corbett reading programme, White Rose Maths scheme and the ‘Heads Up’ outstanding schools leadership programme.

The main challenges and pressures identified by the school centred upon an increased influx of children with additional needs, cost of living crisis, reduced budgets and the over reliance on grant funding.  Furthermore, access to quality services, individually and collectively was deemed to be more difficult following the Covid-19 pandemic. 

A member referred to the difficulties in the ability of schools to forward plan within the context of a variable budgets due to the number of grant funding and suggested that further correspondence could be submitted to Welsh Government to emphasise the opportunity to streamline the funding provided to enable schools to meet the varied needs across communities.

Reference was made to the recent introduction of free school meals in Wales and concerns were highlighted by the Headteacher that parents/guardians would no longer apply for free school meals which would have an impact on the level of Pupil Development Grant (PDG) funding which the school would access.  An officer provided assurances that this issue had been considered by the Committee and representations had been made to Welsh Government in this regard.

A member highlighted a survey undertaken by the Children’s Commissioner during 2021 which identified that more pupils felt less confident about their learning and Ysgol Bryn Teg was commended on the provision of early intervention support for its pupils.  In response to a query regarding the scope for additional learning to take place in outdoor environment to build up resilience and confidence of learners, the Headteacher referred to the introduction of a forest school at Ysgol Bryn Teg to enable pupils to reap the additional health benefits of learning in an environment of nature and wildlife. 

Reference was also made to the PASS survey undertaken within Ysgol Bryn Teg to assess the perceived learning abilities of pupils and enable appropriate interventions to be mapped out.  The Director of Education and Children’s Services provided a synopsis of the services available to support and improve the well-being of children at an earlier age, including the Area 43 programme and counselling services.

RESOLVED that the report be received.