Strengthening the pupil voice

Ysgol Pant Pastynog serves the villages of Prion, Peniel, Saron, Nantglyn and the surrounding rural area in Denbighshire local authority.  The school is under the voluntary control of the Church in Wales.

Welsh is the main medium of the school’s life and work, and English is introduced in key stage 2.  There are 78 pupils between 3 and 11 years old on roll, including 8 part-time nursery pupils.

The average proportion of pupils who have been eligible for free school meals over the last three years is around 4%, which is significantly lower than the national percentage of 18%.  Around 80% of pupils come from Welsh-speaking homes.  The school has identified around 13% of its pupils as having additional learning needs, which is lower than the national percentage of 21%.

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

‘Respect Everyone and Everything’ embodies the mindset of Ysgol Pant Pastynog.  This strong and sustained ethos is at the heart of all of the school’s work and ensures that all pupils are able to express their views and play a leading part in the school’s direction and future.

Older pupils are given opportunities to shoulder various responsibilities, for example by being members of the school council, the eco council and as digital leaders.  Over the last two years, these responsibilities have been developed to include many more learners, in addition to strengthening the ‘child’s voice’.  The school has now developed a number of other opportunities for pupils to shoulder responsibilities, including membership of a church committee, as sports ambassadors and super ambassadors, Welsh language charter ambassadors and as road safety officers.  Pupils are given excellent opportunities to guide the direction of the school and set a clear vision and strategy for the future.

Description of the nature of the strategy or activity

Staff have supported pupils in order for them to be able to hold meetings independently and discuss jointly in multi-committee meetings in order to facilitate projects and ensure better continuity and progression in the school’s work.

It was decided that the school’s oldest pupils should remain in ‘post’ for two years and continue in the role of ‘mentor’ from their previous post.  The fact that pupils are able to stay in ‘post’ for two years and mentor new members means that consistency, progression and development have a highly positive effect.  Through the work of various committees, the pupil’s voice at Ysgol Pant Pastynog is at the heart of the school’s decisions and is central to the experiences and education of all pupils.

What impact has this work had on provision and learners’ standards?

There is an obvious effect on pupils’ independent working and thinking skills.  In preparing for the new curriculum, pupils at Ysgol Pant Pastynog are developing as independent learners who make their own decisions about the direction of lessons, the experiences that they would like to have and how to learn.  Pupils have much greater ownership of their schemes of work and, as a result, their enthusiasm and desire to learn are significant.  This can be seen as external agencies hold workshops at the school and observe how skilfully and confidently pupils solve problems independently.  Pupils’ self-confidence can also be seen to have developed, and pupils of all abilities are more willing to take risks and try more challenging tasks.

By being members of a ‘committee’, pupils are given a wide range of experiences, including meeting the governors, parents, councillors, officers and other members of the community.  This means that pupils’ communication skills have improved effectively and they discuss, listen and develop new ideas much more confidently.

How have you shared your good practice?

Every time new visitors come to the school, a specific committee of pupils guide them around the building.  The choice of ‘committee’ depends on the purpose of the visit, as pupils’ expertise is important to what is discussed.  This practice is also shared with governors, parents and the wider community through information sessions and specific meetings.  The school also works with committees and councils from other schools, for example Llanrhaeadr Community Council’s recycling project and the St Dyfnog’s Well project.