Effective Practice Archives - Page 27 of 66 - Estyn

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice

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Information about the school

Stanwell School is an English-medium mixed 11 to 19 comprehensive foundation school, situated in Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan. There are 1,984 pupils on roll (December 2021) , of whom around 470 are in the sixth form. The school serves the communities of Penarth and Sully and also attracts around three in every 10 pupils from outside the catchment area. Around 6% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is well below the national average of 17.5%. Just over 6% of pupils live in the 20% most deprived areas of Wales. Around one in 10 have a special educational need. Approximately 15% are from an ethnic-minority background other than white British. A small proportion of pupils receive support to learn English as an additional language (4%). 3% of pupils speak Welsh fluently.

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

Stanwell School has a well-coordinated student guidance and advice schedule and robust processes to ensure learners are fully supported to make informed choices regarding subjects, careers and future choices. The work of Careers Advisors, Work Related Education Coordinator and pastoral leaders has been carefully aligned and strategically planned to ensure learners and their parents/carers receive useful information in a timely manner and that they are able to access bespoke guidance to pursue a variety of interests. This provision is evident in each Key Stage and supports pupils at different points in their education by providing up-to-date and useful guidance.

Description of nature of strategy or activity

School-based activities include one-to-one discussions of pupils’ options at the end of Key Stages 3 and 4 and each sixth form student is assigned an experienced and trained personal tutor to support them through the UCAS and other application processes. The school has appointed an experienced Higher Education Coordinator who provides a structured programme that enables students to consider careers, potential Higher Education routes and supports them and their tutors in writing personal statements and CVs. In addition, there is a designated Careers Wales Advisor for sixth form students and regular mock interviews, conducted by local employers and professionals, are organised to ensure students are equipped to cope with the next stage. Work-related and careers fairs for each Key Stage are planned following learner voice activities to ensure students have access to the most relevant expertise and that they can explore possible future pathways. In addition, the school hosts a number of Options Evenings where learners and parents/carers can meet with school staff to explore the broad range of subjects and qualifications being offered by the school. 

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

Attendance rates have already recovered significantly to somewhere near pre-pandemic levels, suggesting that the curriculum offer and subject option choices are appropriate to learners interests and needs. Similarly, outcomes continue to be very high for most pupils and in learner voice activities most say that they feel that the advice, guidance and support they are given prepares them well for moving on to the next stage in their learning and careers.

How have you shared your good practice?

Stanwell School is currently a Learning Network School for EAS and a CSC Professional Learning Lead School, sharing examples of good practice in and beyond the regions. 

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice

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Information about the school

Ysgol Penglais is an English medium school based in Aberystwyth, serving a wide area in North and mid-Ceredigion. There are around 1100 students at the school with 12.8% of students eligible for free school meals and 34.8% on the ALN register There are two special units on site: the Learning Support Centre for students with high levels of needs and the Hearing Resource Centre.  Around 10% of pupils speak Welsh as a first language and 34 other languages are spoken at the school.  

During the last five years, the school has been on a journey of improvement. This was underpinned by the school’s new vision which starts with the aim of being a ‘happy, ambitious and high achieving school where everyone is respected and valued’. This inclusive and ambitious vision incorporates the need to work as a whole community and for everyone to be the best that they can be, so that pupils can be successful citizens of their communites, Wales and the world. Professional learning has been a crucial aspect of the journey with an strong focus on teaching and learning. This has led to a very open culture where good practice is continually shared.The work done in the first two years in developing staff and pedagogy put the school in good stead to focus on developing the Curriculum for Wales. Research has been a very important aspect of this work, with all developments based on research and professional enquiry. More recent work on developing a leadership model where individual departments or faculties are given responsibility for driving their own improvement has further advanced a culture of a self-improving school where trust and accountability go hand in hand.  
 

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

The school’s journey to develop professional learning started in September 2017 where leaders started to develop a more open culture focusing on development rather than judgement.  More ownership of their professional learning was given to colleagues and research groups were introduced enabling all colleagues to contribute to strategic development at Penglais. 

In September 2018, further ownership was given to teaching colleagues and middle leaders to lead on developing teaching and learning within their faculties and also the wider school. This included:

  • ensuring that all meetings had a strong focus on teaching and learning
  • removing all grading from lesson observations, focusing on the quality of the professional discussion that arose from the observations
  • working in faculties to develop their own assessment policies within the framework given by the whole school
  • providing whole school guidance and direction about teaching and learning priorities whilst also developing faculty leaders to take more ownership of teaching and learning within their faculties
  • encouraging colleagues to start contributing and sharing ideas in the twice weekly briefings on inclusion and ALN provision and teaching and learning
  • greater participation from colleagues in INSET training and whole staff meetings
  • introducing a coaching programme where every teaching colleague had access to a coach within their faculty

The aim of the coaching programme was to develop aspects of pedagogy within their subject area. Time for effective feedback from coaching sessions was built into department meeting time. For example, the languages department set up a coaching and pedagogy session each Wednesday lunchtime for 30 minutes to discuss professional practice and coaching that had taken place.

In September 2019 performance management objectives, now called professional learning objectives, were linked to teaching and leadership with the emphasis on the professional standards including leadership for all colleagues. For example, the mathematics faculty started trialing different teaching methods based on cognitive research and started teaching parts of their lesson ‘silently’. Colleagues shared the results with all staff through briefings and INSET.

In September 2020, methods of making professional learning more bespoke were implemented. Twilight hours were used individually or within a department to develop their practice. This took various forms with some doing online training, some carrying out research and others taking up department-based training which could be disseminated during meetings. The mathematics faculty, for example, decided to study and trial different aspects of research into teaching mathematics and reported back their findings in faculty meetings. 

Professional learning has been enabled by providing time for teachers to undertake pedagogical research, supporting staff to apply and evaluate new pedagogy and sharing practice in briefings and faculty meetings. Following on from the coaching within faculties, the school introduced the role of an ALN teacher-coach. Within this role, coaching has played an important part in refining instructional techniques, improving personalised support for ALN pupils, and embedding strategies that develop reading, writing and oracy across departments.
 

Description of nature of strategy or activity

There has been a great deal of adaptation, development and refinement to the provision for professional learning, especially during the pandemic. This included:

  • a weekly newsletter on effective practice with links for colleagues to experiment without the feeling that they ‘will make mistakes and fail’
  • colleagues, including NQTs, presenting on best practice in online briefings, 
  • faculties working together weekly to develop resources and support blended and live learning and then sharing their recordings to further develop blended learning teaching techniques; best practice was then shared in weekly screencasts and presentations on how to develop live and blended learning
  • developing an open culture with transparency in discussions, by sharing elements that did not go as well as planned in the teaching

Strategies have been refined to further develop professional learning. These include:

  • professional learning objectives that are clearly linked to teaching and learning with one focused on an aspect of each member of staff’s own professional learning. Time is given for all staff to focus on this. This objective is linked to developing teaching, leadership or professional practice which will have an impact on pupils’ standards. These objectives are regularly discussed throughout the year with the appraiser in what are called ‘catch up meetings’. These have led to some teachers undertaking professional enquiry in the classroom.
  •  adapting the inclusion briefing to not just informing colleagues about pupil needs but also how to refine teaching techniques for improved outcomes for ALN pupils
  • developing the teaching and learning briefing to be a popular session where many colleagues are keen to share ideas, successes and failures. This has been particularly effective when sharing work about the new curriculum, giving colleagues an understanding of the developments in other AOLEs and recognising that creating the new curriculum is a process of trialling, evaluating and refining.    
  • providing the opportunity for all colleagues to purchase a book on teaching and learning or leadership which then will feed into the bank or resources in our teaching and learning corner for staff in the library
  • using video recordings of lessons to enable teachers to record their own practice, share good practice with their colleagues and discuss opportunities for development

Any teaching and learning development at the school is now rigorously informed by pedagogical research. All professional learning is centered around the whole school priorities, which gives a framework for teachers and adults and encourages rapid progress in these areas. There is a very supportive culture where quality assurance and professional learning are firmly linked through developmental lesson observations, learning walks and other activities. This leads to open, honest and trusting conversations on how to further refine practice. Coaching is an important element of this, with many teachers and leaders taking the opportunity to develop their skills further by being coached and by becoming a coach.   

Following on from research groups, a number of members of staff have extended their professional experiences in collaboration with external agencies, this includes:

  • taking up opportunities to do a Masters in Education 
  • studying for PhDs in education 
  • collaborating with universities on research projects
  • presenting or working with external agencies e.g. Aberystwyth University, NAEL
  •  working with other schools to develop leadership skills

Next year the school is  looking to:

  • continue with the internal professional learning model with the focus on pedagogy for the new curriculum and the school priorities
  • introduce an additional coaching model
  • introduce more bespoke pathways for staff
     

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

There is clear evidence that professional learning and a change in culture has had an impact on the teaching and learning across the school, which in turn has had an impact on pupils’ standards.  This can be seen in: 

  • the school now having a strong collaborative approach and teachers and leaders regularly having high quality discussions around pedagogy and leadership. The collaborative, open and trusting culture of school and self improvement has led to animprovement in teaching and learning across the school.
  • a strong improvement in the 2019 GCSE and Key Stage 5 results. This improvement has continued at all levels with many pupils now making good progress.
  • the annual staff surveys reporting a clear improvement in the quality, usefulness and delivery of professional learning and the high number of staff who report that they are trusted to innovate to meet the needs of pupils
  • increased uptake by staff in individual, group and external research studies and professional qualifications
  • contributions to external organisations on how they deliver professional learning.
     

How have you shared your good practice?

Representatives from the regional consortium visited the school to see the impact of research on the teaching of maths. The headteacher presented to a regional conference on the journey of school improvement through the focus on professional learning. Information about the journey of professional learning at Ysgol Penglais has been shared with the National Academy for Educational Leadership Wales on their website.

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice

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Information about the school

Ysgol Penglais is an English medium school based in Aberystwyth, serving a wide area in North and mid-Ceredigion. There are around 1100 students at the school with 12.8% of students eligible for free school meals and 34.8% on the ALN register. There are two special units on site: the Learning Support Centre for students with high levels of needs and the Hearing Resource Centre. Around 10% of pupils speak Welsh as a first language and 34 other languages are spoken at the school.  

During the last five years, the school has been on a journey of improvement. This was underpinned by the school’s new vision, which starts with the aim of being a ‘happy, ambitious and high achieving school where everyone is respected and valued’. This inclusive and ambitious vision incorporates the need to work as a whole community and for everyone to be the best that they can be, so that pupils can be successful citizens of their communities, Wales and the world. Professional learning has been a crucial aspect of the journey with a strong focus on teaching and learning. This has led to a very open culture where good practice is continually shared. The work done in the first two years in developing staff and pedagogy put the school in good stead to focus on developing the Curriculum for Wales. Research has been a very important aspect of this work, with all developments based on research and professional enquiry. More recent work on developing a leadership model where individual departments or faculties are given the responsibility for driving their own improvement has further advanced a culture of a self-improving school where trust and accountability go hand in hand.  
 

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

The Curriculum for Wales has provided an opportunity to develop a curriculum that builds clearly on the school’s vision and values, and provides all students with the opportunities to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding towards the four purposes. The school has focused strongly on improving the standards of teaching and learning over the past three years through a culture shift towards valuing the importance of lifelong learning, leadership and success for staff and students. This has created an open culture with a focus on professional learning where staff feel safe to develop their practice and trial and evaluate different approaches. Professional learning has been supported by providing time for teachers to undertake pedagogical research, supporting staff to apply and evaluate new pedagogy, and sharing practice in briefings and faculty meetings. Coaching has played a role in refining instructional techniques, improving personalised support for ALN students, and embedding strategies that develop reading, writing and oracy across subjects. These factors have provided an important platform on which to develop the ‘Penglais Curriculum’.

Description of nature of strategy or activity

The ‘Penglais Curriculum’ journey began with the ‘Why?’. Time was given to faculties to explore the Curriculum for Wales documents, evaluate current curriculum provision and refine departmental approaches to reflect the four purposes in their subjects. A Curriculum and Assessment Research Group was formed to carry out research into curriculum theory and practice and look at potential curriculum and assessment models; this provided the expertise for the high-level curriculum work to come. The group carried out extensive stakeholder work to evaluate current provision and to establish five pillars for the new Penglais Curriculum: Knowledge, Creative Culture, Communication, Well-being and Inclusivity.

The ‘What?’ of the curriculum was addressed with a focus on identifying the threshold concepts, threshold knowledge, threshold skills and threshold experiences that subjects wanted to deliver at Key Stage 3. These ‘thresholds’ set out the key learning that pupils should acquire before studying GCSEs. Detailed reference was made to the what matters statements and progression steps, and leaders were encouraged to use the resources available from their subject professional associations to identify new knowledge. An understanding of the importance of depth of learning and achieving ‘mastery’ was explored in professional development meetings; this was important to avoid content overload, and focus on deep learning that builds powerful and long lasting schema (knowledge that will stick). Work on the importance and value of interdisciplinary links within AoLEs was introduced; colleagues in different subjects within AoLEs shared their threshold concepts, knowledge and skills, and identified where purposeful and authentic links could be made. These links could be supported by retrieving and connecting across subjects, developing a shared enquiry or developing post mastery creativity and problem solving. Faculties developed and trialled the use of interdisciplinary links such as the shared enquiry (Humanities), connections across subjects (Languages and Social Sciences) and creativity and problem solving (Science & Technology  and Mathematics).

The ‘How?’ of the new curriculum involved research into curriculum narratives and ways to sequence a curriculum. At this point we also reviewed the importance of spacing and interleaving to maximise memory and learning. All subjects developed a curriculum narrative and mapped the Key Stage 3 curriculum using threshold concepts, knowledge, skills and experiences, whilst also referencing what matters statements and progression steps. Interdisciplinary links identified in the previous stage were also added to the map. Maps have been shared to enable a better understanding of curriculum in all AoLE and further develop purposeful interdisciplinary links. In order to develop a continuum of learning, links to the Key Stage 2 curriculum in subject skills and vocabulary will be developed together with opportunities for secondary teaching staff to experience Year 6 lessons in primary schools. Pedagogy to support the new curriculum such as the development of ‘elaboration’ (‘priming’ and ‘tethering’) has been introduced and will be part of the professional development programme as the new curriculum progresses. 
 
 

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

Throughout the school’s development of the curriculum, improving teaching has remained a central focus. School leaders understand that without high-quality teaching, curricular developments would likely have minimal impact. Over recent years, there have been substantial improvements in the quality of teaching.

Faculties and departments have embraced the opportunity of a new ‘Penglais Curriculum’ to evaluate current provision and research, trial and evaluate new learning experiences. In Design & Technology the Year 7 programme of learning has been re-designed to allow for fewer projects and a greater focus on practical experiences and mastering skills. A local design company has provided an architecture brief that provides students with a real life context to apply their skills. The outcomes have shown a marked improvement in the quality of product design and application.  Students have also become far more independent in the development of their designs as they have the mastery and knowledge of the skills required. Students have also been more motivated with their product design as they have a ‘client’ to make for. In Humanities the Year 7 shared enquiry between History and Geography has developed the conceptual links between the two subjects when addressing ‘Why do we live where we do?’.

This has enabled students to bring together the threshold concepts of Place (site, settlement) and Space (migration) in a podcast that explains why people have settled in Aberystwyth. Students were highly motivated to complete the podcast and they will be used by Year 6 students in transition activities. In English the choice to use a more challenging novel in Year 9 – ‘Things Fall Apart’ by Chinua Achebe has culminated in a final exhibition piece where students tell a different story of Wales; this builds on the understanding gained from the novel of the danger of a single story. The exhibition pieces have been highly individualized and show a greater understanding and appreciation of Cynefin as a place of multiple belongings. There are opportunities here to develop interdisciplinary links with Languages and Humanities. In Maths the re-introduction of methods to develop pupils’ metacognitive skills has impacted on students’ ability to shift from concrete to abstract thinking, develop their verbal reasoning and express ideas concisely and logically. In these lessons writing assists thinking and is not an end in itself.

How have you shared your good practice?

Within school, all faculties have presented their curriculum development work in briefings. County network meetings have been used to share practice between schools in Ceredigion. Recent on site meetings with representatives from primary feeder schools have enabled professional conversations regarding approach and progress with the new curriculum. 

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice

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Information about the school

Ysgol Gyfun Bro Myrddin is a designated Welsh-medium mixed community school for pupils from 11-18 years old and is maintained by Carmarthenshire local authority. It is situated in Croesyceiliog, Carmarthenshire. There are 912 pupils on roll and 190 students in the sixth form. Four point two percent (4.2%) of the school’s pupils are eligible for free school meals. Many (around 70%) of pupils come from Welsh speaking homes but all are able to speak Welsh

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

Following the lockdown periods, the school recognised that maintaining and ensuring the school’s Welsh ethos was an increasing challenge. Although all subjects are now taught through the medium of Welsh, there was a need to ensure that pupils use the language regularly, particularly as 30% of pupils come from non-Welsh-speaking families. Following the lockdown period, feedback from staff and pupils suggested clearly that there had been a decline in the use of the Welsh language socially and that there was an immediate need to respond to that challenge. It was necessary to rebuild pupils’ confidence in their use of the language. It was decided to proceed immediately, following the lockdown period, to resume their previous plans and move forward.

Description of the nature of the strategy or activity

Developing Welshness following the lockdown period’ was set as one of the priorities in the school development plan. A new vision was created for the school jointly between pupils, governors and staff, which placed an increasing emphasis on the importance of Welshness and the importance of ‘belonging’ to the school family and community. A strong emphasis was placed on all members of staff embracing and celebrating the school’s Welshness and Welsh heritage and this responsibility is noted in the job descriptions of all members of staff.

Awareness was raised of the importance of the language in the classroom and extra-curricular activities through a number of plans. It was ensured that all departments in the school celebrated culture and Welshness in their departmental schemes of work to ensure pupils’ understanding of the importance of their language and traditions. This was also a key part of planning for the Curriculum for Wales, which will be implemented in the school from September 2022. The Curriculum for Wales has been branded with local Welsh characters to celebrate the local area and the county’s heritage.

A mural has been created to celebrate local culture with the artist, Rhys Padarn, and the mural has been used as a permanent decoration on one of the school’s walls and as a background for the school’s digital platform for the new curriculum. The school’s Welshness committee has been rebranded, omitting one committee and creating the ‘Torri Arfer’ committee. Activities have been planned, including a virtual Eisteddfod, numerous assemblies, concerts, a small ‘Maes B’, special competitions and external presentations on the advantages of the Welsh language. Awareness has been raised of local cultural events, such as the town’s St David’s Day Parade, the Urdd winners’ concert, arrangements for the Urdd Eisteddfod in Carmarthenshire and the Town Centre Festival.

Great emphasis is placed on supporting pupils to appreciate Welsh heritage and culture and providing them with continuous opportunities to put their language into practice and celebrate it with pride. Plans are underway to develop a pupils’ forum to discuss the way forward, a theatre in education activity by the sixth form and numerous extra-curricular events.
 

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

The school takes pride in the fact the its recent inspection stated that ‘nearly all pupils take pride in their Welshness and take advantage of the extensive opportunities that are available to learn and socialise through the medium of Welsh. This, in itself, shows that its plans have come to fruition and that it is beginning to regain the ground lost due to the harm caused during the lockdown period. The school acknowledges that the battle is far from being won but the numerous plans have certainly rectified the situation. Developing and promoting Welshness is a continuous battle, even in a school that is well-known for its ‘Welsh’ ethos.

How have you shared your good practice?

The school places a great emphasis on celebrating the school’s successes on its numerous social websites and in the local press. Therefore, good practice is disseminated widely. It is also planning its new curriculum to focus on local well-known characters, which will again emphasise the importance of its culture, heritage and Welshness. Learners have created a series of Welsh wellbeing podcasts to discuss current affairs and the series will be shared publicly in the near future.

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice

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Information about the school

Cardiff Muslim Primary school is an independent faith school in the Cathays area of Cardiff. It is a happy family school that serves the local Islamic community successfully. The school aims to ‘nurture emotionally intelligent and morally uplifting role models who aspire to excel academically and strive for excellence.’ Part of the school’s vision is to ‘promote excellent character, human values’ and aspires for its pupils ‘to become model citizens and future leaders’. Staff prioritise a high level of care and support for their pupils. The school has a strong focus on developing pupils as respectful and responsible citizens.

Pupils come from a diverse range of backgrounds and the school has a higher than average number of pupils with English as an additional language, including those new to the country and city. A number of families move to Cardiff just to attend the school.

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

The COVID-19 pandemic affected pupils’ progress in many different ways. Pupils were directly impacted both physically and emotionally and experienced differing levels of support with their learning at home.

Challenges:

  • When pupils returned to school, the gap between pupils in the same year group was vast. Teachers found matching activities to meet the needs of all pupils effectively extremely challenging. 
  • Several pupils in Year 3 and Year 4 were not yet able to read effectively enough to be able to access the curriculum. This was having a negative impact on their wellbeing and behaviour in class. At this point it was unclear if these difficulties were due to underlying specific learning difficulties, or as a direct consequence of being away from school for long periods of time due to COVID-19.
  • Pupils lacked confidence and were heavily reliant on both the teacher and any support staff in order to complete tasks.

Description of nature of strategy or activity

The school employed an independent external specialist teacher as their Additional Needs Coordinator (ALNCO) on a part-time basis. This has improved provision for pupils with additional learning needs (ALN)  significantly in many ways. This has included accurate specialist screening and diagnosis of pupils with specific learning difficulties. The impact of high quality targeted provision ensured many of these pupils made rapid progress and developed their confidence as learners. The school also employs an intervention teaching assistant and together with the ALNCO and class teachers, they have introduced and delivered a range of innovative teaching approaches.

These included:

  • Establishing Year 3 and Year 4 intervention groups, managed by the ALNCO specialist teacher and delivered by the intervention teaching assistant. Sessions have covered literacy and mathematics and although continued to broadly follow teachers’ planning, were adapted to meet pupils’ needs. Staff included multisensory sessions including practical hands-on strategies to break down concepts in order to address gaps in pupils’ understanding. Staff understood that it was very important that the learning out of class was not merely a repetition of what the pupil were already struggling with in class. 
  • A specialist teacher targeted intervention support twice a week for pupils experiencing reading difficulties. Sessions focused on developing literacy skills, independent strategies and rebuilding learning confidence.
  • The school established a robust system for the early identification of specific learning difficulties and made onward referrals to other professionals promptly. Staff ‘screen’ pupils at risk of dyslexia and they are assessed by the ALNCO specialist teacher. ALN staff share their findings and detailed reports with class teachers and support them to implement recommendations.
     

Innovative approaches included

  • ‘Look Books’ to encourage pupils to be more independent in their learning. Look books act as a child’s unique visual reference bank. Personal look books are more discreet than visual references on a wall in class and, being mobile, can go with the pupil wherever they are learning. Staff encourage pupils to take ownership of their Look book and can add in anything they like. This could be colouring, games, checklists, times tables, mnemonic memory aids, high frequency/topic words etc. Once a pupils no longer needs an item, they can remove it easily.
  • Colour coded writing frames as part of the writing process. Writing is an area of difficulty for nearly all pupils in the intervention group. Pupils have lots of ideas but struggle to get these down on paper. Pupils lack confidence to write phonetically, and struggle with the planning and organisational aspects of writing. Staff designed a colour coded system, which they have embedded into the writing process across the school.
  • Brain talk – pupils learn about the brain and staff encourage them to reflect on how their own brains work. The development of strengths-based strategies (meta-cognition) is an area of focus in the intervention group. This is something staff would like to develop further across the whole school in order to continue to foster the inclusive ethos at the school .
     

External referrals

Independent schools can struggle to instigate referrals for pupils they are concerned about, however, providing parents with a letter from a specialist teacher proved to be a successful approach to securing GP referrals. As a result of this approach, six pupils from Years 3 and 4 had specific needs diagnosed.

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

The intervention group has shown that many pupils with ALN make excellent progress when the school has identified and addressed their specific learning needs. Providing pupils with a smaller group provision helps to fill gaps in their learning. Staff support pupils to develop independent strategies to enable them l to feel more confident. By promptly identifying underlying specific learning difficulties, staff help ensure that they recognise pupils’ needs across the school and that they put adjustments in place. Targeted interventions appropriately support, monitor and celebrate incremental progress closely.

Low literacy levels in particular were having a detrimental effect on pupils’ learning across all subject areas. Pupils who attended the intervention group have made excellent progress in literacy, which has in turn enabled them  to access learning more effectively across all subject areas.
 

Staff development

The school works hard to provide pupils and staff with a positive and inclusive environment, where they celebrate and acknowledge pupils’ strengths. It is also fundamental to nurture within all pupils the notion that everyone is different and are good at different things. The school works hard to ensure that they support all pupils to understand how they learn and are able to recognise areas they need support with. 

Following several staff training sessions and an ALN specific online group, staff across the school are continuously developing their understanding of additional learning needs and as a result they now identify and support pupils at an earlier stage of their education. Classrooms have become more inclusive, and leaders encourage positive attitudes towards different learning styles.

How have you shared your good practice?

The school has a good relationship with several other local independent schools and regularly share any useful information, relevant news and innovative practice. Staff also worked directly with an independent school in Birmingham to set up a similar system in regard to ALN provision and processes following the positive impact of the school’s successful approach to supporting pupils with ALN.

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice

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Information about the school

Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn is situated on two sites in Morriston and Penlan in Swansea and is maintained by the City and County of Swansea local authority. It is a special school for pupils from four to 19 years with moderate learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties and autistic spectrum conditions. Pupils come from all areas of the City and County of Swansea and in addition there are three pupils from other authorities.

The school provides residential accommodation for a few pupils aged from 14 to 19 years. Nearly all the pupils have a statement of special educational needs, which include physical, sensory, medical, emotional and behavioural difficulties. 

English is the predominant language of nearly all pupils and no pupils speak Welsh as their first language at home. There are a few pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and a very few pupils for whom English is an additional language. Around 42% of pupils are in receipt of free school meals.

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

Film skills at Pen y Bryn has developed from the school’s successful enterprise programmes such as Pen y Bryn Books and Pen y Bryn Films productions. 

The enterprise initiative originally focused on termly projects developing and producing professional quality books with interactive digital content. The school has printed over 20 publications, which have also been downloaded more than 20,000 times in as many as 49 countries across the globe. This has led to animations; narrated green screen silhouette animated short films; live action silent films with voice over, narration and live action films with dialogue.

The film skills curriculum results in producing three films annually and culminates in an official launch at the end of each term, which includes access for public viewing on the Pen y Bryn Films social media platform. Each film is accompanied by the production of a professional quality magazine giving insight into how the film is made and a variety of features linked to each project.

In line with the principles of the Curriculum for Wales and the development of authentic learning experiences, the school aims to create a programme for pupils to understand and gain industry standard experience of film making. With the support of the school’s partnership with industry professionals, pupils use these skills to produce professional quality work.  
 

Description of nature of strategy or activity

Film skills are provided to all pupils on a rotating termly carousel. This plan allows all pupils to contribute to both a film production and an accompanying magazine. 

All aspects of film making are explored including sensory lessons for the school’s most complex learners to production design for the school’s sixth form learners. Pupils are supported in developing technical skills in camera work, lighting, sound effects, editing and special effects and are encouraged to develop creative expression alongside technical skills in acting, set design, prop making, storyboard writing, composing musical scores and choosing soundtracks.

The school’s external partnerships enable pupils to experience professional film making environments within commercial film studios as well as at the school. In addition, pupils experience location filming and study associated logistical planning considerations that enable successful film shoots. Learning experiences have included a visit to a professional film studio in Cardiff, a location shoot at Margam Abbey and a question and answer session with a professional prop maker, actor and set designer.

Pupils edit the films’ content and produce a trailer which is uploaded to the school’s social media platform in advance of the film’s release. Pupils practise their graphic design skills when producing a poster to advertise the film. 

Producing the accompanying film skills magazine enables pupils to develop further skills as they prepare questions for and conduct interviews, prepare features and consider graphic design requirements. 
 

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

Film skills has a significant and positive impact on pupils’ confidence, engagement, resilience, and skill development. 

The film skills curriculum enables learners to advance across several Curriculum for Wales areas of learning and experience. It has also had a significant impact in supporting pupils to achieve IEP (individual education plan) targets by supporting the application of several cross curricular skills in a variety of learning contexts. 

From September 2022 key stage 4 and sixth form pupils will have the opportunity to undertake work experience placements, which will enable the learners to transfer the skills learnt in film skills into a professional film making work environment. 

How have you shared your good practice?

The school uses its social media platforms to celebrate and share the good work completed by pupils. A film skills magazine is produced each term to accompany the film made by the pupils. This is professionally printed and distributed to stakeholders and partners to celebrate and showcase the achievements of the term’s project. This is also available for digital download. Each term the film project has a launch date and premiere screening event, at which parents, governors, partners and guests are welcomed to share in the celebration of the work created by each film skills group. Pre-pandemic the films were launched at a “red carpet” event in a local cinema. The school plans to launch a new film at a professional film studio in Cardiff Bay, in a special event planned for the pupils.
 
The school has invited various stakeholders to film skills open sessions. These guests have included parents, staff from other schools, members of the Welsh Government, the former Welsh Minister for Education and Professor Graham Donaldson.

In partnership with a professional film making organisation the school has developed a series of freely available film skill lesson plans in Welsh and English for other schools to share. The lessons are aimed at teaching different aspects of film making and are available for pupils of all abilities.

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice

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Information about the local authority

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council has a total population of around 60,000. The local authority maintains 28 schools, comprising 22 primary schools, four secondary schools, one special school and one pupil referral unit.  
The Youth Service is comprised of two local authority managed centre based open access provisions and one team of street based youth workers. Through commissioning arrangements, the local authority also supports six local third sector community based youth provisions, including a joint funded Welsh language youth provision with Urdd Gobaith Cymru.

There are four grant funded local authority managed targeted youth teams and they offer young people support to overcome a range of barriers including NEET prevention, mental health and well-being and youth homelessness.

The local authority provides young people with the opportunity to have their voice heard through the Merthyr Tydfil Borough Wide Youth Forum (MTBWYF). 
 

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

The local authority uses core and grant funding to maintain a balance between open access, universal provision and targeted programmes that address specific needs. Youth work is utilised to support the Education Department agenda through the Raising Aspirations Raising Standards (RARS) strategy, with other aspects of the targeted work also supporting the national Youth Engagement and Progression Framework.

The authority has been successful in embedding targeted youth work within schools that provides effective educational and pastoral support to young people. 

Schools value the positive contribution that youth work makes to pupils’ education and well-being and consider it an integral aspect of their provision for learning and pastoral support.
 

Description of nature of strategy or activity

The targeted youth work approach in local secondary schools and the PRU is designed to support young people’s emotional well-being needs, using a range of non-accredited, tailored group activities and one-to-one interventions. In addition there is a clear focus on the delivery of BTEC and Agored Cymru personal and social development and work related education qualifications in line with the RARS Strategy. 

The provision complements school curriculum provision and the implementation of the Welsh Government’s Framework on embedding a whole-school approach to emotional and mental well-being. The qualifications support young people to progress to a post-16 destination and steps are taken early in the planning process to ensure that accredited programmes complement a young person’s qualification profile in order to avoid duplication.

Young people expressed their desire to have greater access to youth workers in school to support their well-being and personal development, along with the opportunity to participate in accreditation programmes offered by the youth service. The youth service has responded by adapting their approaches and reviewing themregularly to ensure that they meet the needs of young people. Examples include delivery of the BTEC to whole year groups in one school, and the current format of delivery across multiple school and PRU settings to young people in smaller nurture-type groups.

The key to embedding youth work in Merthyr Tydfil schools has been good communication and quality of provision, including offering qualifications that are valued by the schools and young people. This has ensured that interventions are targeted appropriately and used effectively to benefit learners. Schools recognise the professionalism of youth workers whose skills have been enhanced to ensure consistent messages are delivered, for example through PGCE training, Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) training and trauma informed practices. 

Planning begins at the end of the summer term and the beginning of the autumn term when team leaders work with school pastoral staff to identify young people who would benefit from additional support and discuss their individual needs. This, along with a referral form, is used to tailor the interventions, with an action plan drawn up in conjunction with young people. Vulnerability profiling and engagement in the monthly school NEET panel meetings are used effectively for referrals to the Inspire 2 Achieve project. Panel meetings are facilitated by the youth service NEET co-ordinator and attended by school representatives and relevant partner organisations.

Lead workers from the Inspire 2 Achieve project are allocated to each secondary school and the PRU and work exclusively in that setting, enabling relationships with young people to thrive. Other targeted teams work across schools and the PRU and are given regular time slots in which to deliver their provision, be that qualifications, group work or one-to-one support. Having a regular presence in school ensures that staff and young people know when and where youth workers are available.

Schools are kept up to date with the progress of their young people and any issues that may arise and require additional support. As the academic year progresses, teams adopt a flexible approach and address needs as they arise through bespoke group work. For example, in 2019-2020, and in response to an increase in the number of young people on EOTAS programmes becoming NEET, the Inspire 2 Achieve project was reshaped to include topics such as goal-setting, decision-making, communication skills and improving self-esteem. All of the young people involved achieved either an Agored Cymru Level 1 in Personal Social Education or Work Related Education.
 

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

Accreditation outcomes for learners accessing qualifications delivered by the youth service school support team and Inspire 2 Achieve project are good with almost all (around 97%) young people gaining an accredited outcome in 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. Retention rates are excellent, with 97% of starters completing their course each year.

Take-up of support is high. For example, from 533 referrals to the Inspire 2 Achieve project since it started in April 2016, 513 young people successfully engaged. Outcomes are good and every year around 90% of Year 11 young people receiving support make a successful transition to a post- 16 opportunity. The well-being of participants is captured using a ‘Star Assessment’, with 86% of participants reflecting on their personal progress and reporting, on exit, an improvement in one or more of the well-being areas within the assessment. 

Upon exit, most young people receiving one-to-one support from the Youth Support and Mental Health and Youth Homelessness Teams report that their needs have been met and there are very few re-referrals for support.

How have you shared your good practice?

The work of the youth service has been shared internally at education department learning away days and through case studies that support reporting for grant funding and the Quality Mark for Youth Work. Good practice is also shared with schools in order to improve provision for the benefit of learners.

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice

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Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

In January 2016, the Council launched its ‘Cardiff Commitment’ to the children and young people of the city, providing an overarching strategy for youth engagement and progression within the context of the wider ambitions for the future social and economic prosperity of Cardiff.

The strategy set out how Cardiff Council, together with schools and a wide range of partners in the public, private and third sectors, would seek to raise ambitions, increase opportunities and ultimately ensure a positive destination for every young person in Cardiff after statutory schooling.

The Cardiff Commitment was initiated in response to rising figures for young people not in education, employment od training (NEET) in the city, at a time when the percentage of young people becoming NEET on leaving Year 11 in Cardiff was the worst in Wales. It was very apparent that the approach to supporting young people was far too narrow, and that local authority action to provide support for transition for pupils at then end of formal schooling was too late and too limited.

The Council acknowledged the need to mobilise the social, economic and cultural capital of Cardiff to open up opportunities and develop long standing partnerships on behalf of children and young people in the city. The Cardiff Commitment Strategic Leadership Group chaired by the Chief Executive of the council was formed and has continued to provide direction to this city wide partnership to date. This innovative and unique partnership endeavours to ‘open eyes and doors, showing children and young people the vast range of possibilities open to them in the capital city of Wales and beyond.

The partnership has built gradually over the last five years, enabling the reach to extend into the primary sector and to become more focused in secondary communities.

A prudent approach has been developed, with a small co-ordinating team at the core, which is entirely dependent upon collaboration and partnership. The Programme Manager was appointed in November 2019. Contributions to the programme now extend across several Council departments and out into the wider public, private and voluntary sectors, as illustrated in the governance framework.

This approach enables both universal and targeted programmes to work together and stay focused upon the shared vision that all children growing up in Cardiff should have equal opportunity to realise their potential. The vision recognises the importance of the journey to independence being a continuum that should be nurtured from primary school into secondary school, and through to post 16 education, training and employment.

Whilst some of the approaches of the partnership are universal, targeted programmes of work are directed to the southern arc of the city where disadvantage is more prevalent.

Description of nature of strategy or activity

Accelerator projects led by the core team and undertaken with schools are identified by information about pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM), looked after children in education (LACE), pupils with additional learning needs (ALN), pupil progression data and the Wales Index of Multiple Deprivation. The Cardiff Commitment accelerator areas aim to get most benefit and value from partnerships and look to provide sustainable approaches for schools and employers. The Cardiff Commitment Forward Plan and Annual Reports and provide evidence and more detail on the core priorities.

The Senior Policy Manager for Welsh Government – STEM, Curriculum and Assessment has indicated that the Cardiff Commitment is an “exemplar of good practice in relation to the links developed between schools and settings and industry.  There is a clear ambition to ensure that careers education is embedded across all areas of the curriculum through the provision of a wide range of relevant work-related learning experiences and environments. This will help prepare Learners for the challenges and opportunities of further learning and the ever-evolving world of work.”

Priority 2, Experiences of Work is the Cardiff Commitment’s approach to developing a career and work-related experiences (CWRE) offer that works for schools and employers. Programme benefits include a coordinated and collaborative approach to experiences of work making best use of stakeholder resources. This is a move away from ad hoc CWRE activities and a move towards meaningful delivery in context. It is a needs led approach developed in partnership and suited to schools’ demographics. It increases pupil, school and parent/carer awareness of career pathways and regional skills and develops awareness for parents/carers with regard to education and career pathways for their children. The programme challenges barriers associated with social mobility, additional learning needs, disabilities and gender and race stereotypes.

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

Extensive national and local research into education and employment underpins the approaches being followed by the Cardiff Commitment. It is anticipated that the medium to longer term impact of the partnership will result in improved educational achievement in key subjects (particularly for the most disadvantaged), better informed career choices by young people, better retention in Post 16 provision, enhanced skills capacity in key growth sectors, improved wellbeing for young people and ultimately improved social and economic prosperity for the region.

Positive qualitative feedback from employers, teachers, children and young people is very encouraging and testimonies and case studies are included in evidence for information. Cardiff West Community High School have commented on the “excellent range of experiences on offer for pupils from the Cardiff Commitment” and Willows High School have cited the benefits that “strengthened links and access to FE providers and contacts” provides to pupils. Further, Cathays High School indicated they “are looking forward to building strong relationships with partners, that provide opportunities for our pupils and teachers to develop the work-related knowledge, skills and experiences needed for their futures”.

Whilst quantitative data is available, officers recognise the need to monitor this in the longer term. This will be an important consideration for the partnership as the work moves forward.

Highlights of outcomes achieved are illustrated below:

Post 16 Progression – Year 11 NEETS data

  • Provisional data indicates that 2.1% of young people (74 young people) leaving year 11 (age 16) in 2020/21 will be identified as NEET, compared with over 8% in 2010.  This provisional figure for 2021 is slightly higher than the 2020 result (1.7% / 57 young people).
  • Of the pupils registered as on the main EOTAS roll (32 pupils), provisional data indicates that 27 will progress to education, employment or training in 2020/21 (84.4%). 15.6% of EOTAS pupils were NEET (5 pupils).
  • Provisional data indicates that of the children looked after by Cardiff Council on March 31, 2021, (83 pupils), 73 will progress to education, employment or training in 2020/21 (88%), 12% will be NEET (10 pupils).

Examples of Pupil Feedback 2020/21 – Experiences of Work

  • Virtual Work Experience & Open Your Eyes Weeks – Key Stage 3. A survey of 100 pupils was completed to evaluate the experiences against the Gatsby benchmarks. 78% of pupils stated the sessions were excellent or good, 88% of pupils stated the activities opened their eyes to the different roles and responsibilities businesses have and 90% of pupils said they knew a little or a lot more about the sector after taking part in the activity.
  • Open Your Eyes Week Summer 2020. During the week commencing the 14th of June, the Cardiff Commitment hosted their Open Your Eyes Week – a week-long series of business engagements with twelve host businesses from sectors across the Cardiff Capital Region. The event was attended by an estimated 150 classes from 65 schools across Cardiff’s northern and southern arcs, reaching around 3,500 pupils from Years 5 and 6. Evaluation informed us that Microsoft’s session performed best overall, with an incredible 44% of young people feeling it was ‘excellent’ and a further 32% describing it as ‘good’. Microsoft’s presentation was one of the most highly attended, with an estimated 95 classes and around 2,300 pupils watching the presentation live. Many young people were not aware of the host companies before their sessions and Westfield Technology was the least well known, with 57% of young people responding that they knew nothing about the company before, and 74% of respondents saying they had learned a lot after their engagement. In our focus groups, 33% of pupils stated they would like to see events like Open Your Eyes Week repeated termly, and a further 33% requested them monthly, showing just how much of a positive impact and enjoyable experience this event has been for pupils.  

For City Employers

Below are some direct benefits of the Cardiff Commitment that have been highlighted in employer testimonials:

  • The Cardiff Commitment is the first point of contact for businesses when looking for partnership opportunities with children and young people.
  • It provides access to youth support services and schools to promote opportunities, resources etc. for schools and young people on behalf of the partner.
  • It supports partners with their needs and agendas i.e., improving social mobility and then linking partners with schools based on data i.e., FSM, LACE etc.
  • It provides partners with examples of how to engage with schools and young people – sharing best practice.
  • It supports partners with information/training on platforms of engagement which allows greater reach.
  • Through the formation of the Business Forums, partners can view potential delivery partnerships more pragmatically, especially those within some of our very competitive industries.
  • It provides training opportunities for partners around engaging with schools and young people.
  • It supports partners in engaging with primary school children to create more awareness of careers at an earlier age.
  • The team is approachable, and partners are able to discuss concerns and ideas.
  • It provides opportunities to work with partners to create a bespoke offer in collaboration with others.

How have you shared your good practice?

Communication and marketing of the Cardiff Commitment takes place in a variety of ways because of the variety of stakeholders. This provides opportunities to not only showcase best practice but also to provide information on how the city is realising the vison.

Newsletters

The monthly Schools Newsletter provides the 127 schools across Cardiff with a variety of opportunities which they can access. The termly Business Newsletter informs our employers and partners the good work, which is going on to develop ambition, deliver skills and create opportunities which support children and young people to progress. This provides healthy competition across the city and raises expectations about what we can do collectively to support young people into education, employment and training.

Cardiff Commitment in Action

Is an infographic that’s showcases a project which is supporting the city to realise the vision of the Cardiff Commitment. It is emailed to employers, schools, youth support services and councillors and following its publication the team very often receive correspondence from stakeholders who want to access or get involved in supporting the projects.

Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn. Twitter

Targeted and sponsored posts provide ways to communicate to a wide range of stakeholders.

Websites

The Cardiff Commitment has developed and maintained two websites – What’s Next and the

Cardiff Commitment. What’s Next promotes provision and opportunities for 16 to 24-year-olds across the city.

Events & Networking

Youth Support Services Events

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice

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Information about the local authority

Cardiff Council is in the city of Cardiff and has a population of 369,000. The local authority maintains 126 schools. There are 101 primary schools, including 17 that provide Welsh-medium education and three maintained nursery schools. There are 18 secondary schools including three Welsh-medium schools. In addition, there are seven special schools and one pupil referral unit.

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

Cardiff has the most diverse population in Wales as it contains the largest concentration of non-white population both in terms of actual numbers and percentages of any local authority in Wales. More than 40% of Wales’s non-white population are resident in Cardiff. More significantly, some 55% of black groups resident in Wales are living in Cardiff.

Cardiff’s ethnically diverse population is due in part to its past trading connections and post war immigration. Many groups of people arrived and settled in the following decades. Cardiff has also been a dispersal area for asylum seekers for more than a decade. The council was part of the Syrian re-settlement scheme (SRVSP) before the COVID-19 pandemic and at the time of the inspection had families on the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme, waiting for dispersal. The council provides education for children who are part of these schemes, even if they are only in the city for a short time. In recent years, EU nationals have arrived, along with large numbers of students from around the world who attend local universities and bring their families. This presents challenges for schools as their population increases and becomes more diverse, often at short notice.  

The council receives additional funding through the Minority Ethnic/Gypsy Roma Traveller (ME/GRT) grant to support ethnic minority pupils and those with English or Welsh as an additional language. Since 2015 the majority of this funding has been delegated to schools. The authority maintains a small central team including five ‘closing the gap’ officers who oversee support for schools across the city and a small team of teachers and teaching assistants. Support for Welsh medium schools is through the medium of Welsh. In recent years, the central team’s support has mainly focused on supporting schools who have not traditionally had pupils who are asylum seekers refugees or migrants and have not got established expertise in working with pupils with English as an additional language.

Description of nature of strategy or activity

The decision to delegate the majority of the Minority Ethnic/ Gypsy Roma Traveller (ME/GRT) grant to schools and to maintain a small central team has supported school staff to improve their provision for pupils from a diverse range of backgrounds. Although support is still available through the central team, schools are no longer solely reliant on this external support and school staff are more confident in providing learning experiences that meet the needs of the increasing diversity of their school populations.

The central team organise regular training events and forums for school staff to support this work, for example on re-engaging with pupils who have English as an additional language (EAL) after the school closures caused by the pandemic and supporting the wellbeing of asylum seekers and refugees. The team use these events effectively to share good practice between schools. Team members provide materials and resources to support schools, including for refugee week and Black History month.

The team has produced an induction pack for schools to support the process of admitting a refugee, asylum seeker or a migrant with little English or Welsh. All new parents have support to complete admission forms and to help them to provide information on their child’s previous experiences including language background, personal interests, previous schooling and any relevant information about the family. Interpreters and translated materials are provided for families when required. This information is passed on to class/subject teachers prior to the child starting school. Schools ensure that new pupils have school uniform ahead of their first day.

Cardiff was officially recognised as a City of Sanctuary in 2014. Schools in Cardiff embrace this and have become part of the growing Schools of Sanctuary network across the UK. Schools are creating a culture of welcome and inclusion whist raising awareness of the issues faced by refugees and asylum seekers. The programme is being driven by the central team and through the local authority’s Race Equality Action Plan.

The EMTAS team works with school staff to ensure that the views of asylum seekers and refugee pupils about the school’s provision and support are considered. The central team has facilitated training on best practice in terms of family engagement and continue to work with outside agencies to seek best practice in reaching families that are hard to reach. Officers secured valuable support from Bridgend local authority about how to improve family engagement.   

Supporting schools whose demographic is changing is key to the work of the central team. Some schools in Cardiff have extremely well-established practice, others need support to establish their practice. Wherever possible school to school support and networking is encouraged. One Cardiff secondary schools in the last four years has trebled its numbers of EAL learners to 16% of the total school population with 36 known languages spoken. The headteacher has worked with members of the EMTAS to establish a small support team to ensure that bilingual learners are quickly settled into school life and are challenged to reach their full potential.

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

Many pupils who have English as an additional language achieve well when compared to their peers, particularly by the end of key stage 4.

Schools in the Schools of Sanctuary network have noted that their children have improved their knowledge and understanding about the meaning of refuge and what it means to seek sanctuary. In some instances, evidence showed that initially children viewed the concept from a position of trepidation and a focus of its impact on them and how it affects their lives. As they engaged more in exploring the meaning of refuge, so their understanding of the challenges refugees faced developed, and the emphasis shifted to one where there was a growing empathy for those seeking sanctuary.

Provision and support for individual pupils and families have resulted in pupils settling well into schools and many make good progress in learning English.

How have you shared your good practice?

Termly EAL forums are now well established in the local authority and provide the opportunity to share good practice from schools in Cardiff and from other local authorities.

The School of Sanctuary network has been established and schools have been able to share  innovative practice and their school of sanctuary journeys. Schools in Cardiff have learned from schools in England and the network is now accessible to all local authorities across Wales.

Officers have shared many aspects of our practice across authorities in Wales, shared resources and supported developments in other local authorities.

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice

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Information about the local authority

Cardiff Council Youth Service is aligned to the Education Directorate of Cardiff Council. The youth service in Cardiff provides a range of services for young people aged between 11 and 25 years of age. This includes open access youth work in communities, street-based youth work, youth mentoring support aligned to schools as well as a post-16 offer to support the Youth Engagement and Progression framework. The local authority has approximately 90,000 young people 11-25 years of age.

Youth work was a focus during Cardiff Council’s inspection in 2021. The team reported that in the 12 months prior to the inspection, the youth service developed an innovative digital youth work offer to deliver effective youth work to a broader range of young people in the city. This work is led by young people who worked effectively with youth workers and web developers to create a bespoke young person friendly website for the youth service. They collaborated with partners to determine the content and most appropriate digital platform for online activities. The local authority has recognised the value of this approach and has plans to further develop this aspect of youth work provision.

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

The onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 meant that the Cardiff Youth Service team was unable to provide its usual face to face support. It was clear that the service, in line with youth organisations worldwide, was not ready to deliver services remotely. The online offer from Cardiff Youth Service was extremely limited, consisting of a few staff members using social media infrequently. This caused concern considering young people’s use of social media and digital technology in their everyday lives. This was a challenging situation and Cardiff Youth Service responded quickly to develop a strategy to continue its youth services with young people. The first step was to invest in a digital youth work team to support the work of the Youth Work Strategy for Wales.  

The youth service team recognised that the development of any new team and new ways of working requires research. They researched the evidence base and best practice examples for digital youth work with much of this coming from countries in Europe. They used the philosophy of Digital EU which describes digital youth work as ‘proactively using or addressing digital media and technology in youth work. Digital youth work is not a youth work method – digital youth work can be included in any youth work setting (open youth work, youth information and counselling, youth clubs, detached youth work…).  Digital youth work has the same goals as youth work in general and using digital media and technology in youth work should always support these goals.  Digital youth work can happen in face-to-face situations as well as in online environments – or in a mixture of these two. Digital media and technology can be used either as a tool, an activity or a content in youth work.  Digital youth work is underpinned by the same ethics, values and principles as youth work. Youth workers in this context refer to both paid and volunteer youth workers.’

Description of nature of strategy or activity

The digital team and wider youth service gathered the views of young people in communities. This ranged from formal consultation to informal discussion in youth work settings. From this work, youth workers identified a need for information about the services that Cardiff Youth Service offered as well as information on wider youth support services to be easily accessible to all in a single online site. Young people told youth workers that they wanted opportunities to develop digital skills including filming, photography and editing and to communicate with youth workers through access to social media and safe digital spaces.

To ensure that young people’s needs were being met the youth work team ensured that staff members  had appropriate equipment and support to be able continue to communicate with young people through social media. To stay up to date with latest platforms young people are using there was need to review existing methods of communication and social media policies and develop and update a social media and digital media guidelines and procedures document for all staff members. One staff member noted that 85% of their engagement with young people in their role as a youth mentor is through social media due to young people being able to use Wi-Fi at little cost.

Young people have been central to digital developments in the service. They established quickly that the information about the Youth Service area on the corporate council website required updating. A website development group was set up and group members met weekly online to explore other websites and generate ideas about important features and site design. The group met with the web developer to outline their views, opinions and vision for the site. The site was improved and now contains useful information about Cardiff Youth Service, including a meet the team section, resources, membership forms, information about wider youth support services and a blog feature. The site can be accessed here. To ensure that young people can access the site, the street-based team explored how this can be done through QR codes.  This system has been adopted throughout the service with the codes on posters and business cards.

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

One young person has shared his experience of being involved in the website development group and discusses the impact it has had on him here. As a result of the website development, the young creator’s group was formed to enable young people to create and develop content for Cardiff youth services’ website, social media channels and to help them to develop new skills.

The young creators group has provided opportunities for the service to explore other forms of digital youth work. The digital team offered weekly online opportunities for young people to learn new skills in graphic design, blog writing, videography and editing. These have given young people the skills to express themselves confidently and share their views on matters that are important to them  in addition to improving their skills in creating online content. Some of the work that the group has produced can be found using the following links.

Day in the Life Of the Class 2020/2021 – YouTube

https://youtu.be/VTZKHITcKoc

Pride Month (cardiffyouthservices.wales)

The group has been in existence over a year now and members continue to meet weekly at Butetown youth club. Nearly all the young people that have engaged with this project are new members of Cardiff Youth Service. One young person provided the following feedback about his involvement of the group.

‘I found out about Cardiff Youth Service’s Young Creators from an email my headteacher sent out to the whole school. The things listed in the email included various topics of content creation, such as video editing, graphic design and blog writing – I was quite interested in the latter two at the time, so I signed up. That was exactly a year ago. 

My time at the Young Creators has helped me to develop my skills in a wide variety of media – if it weren’t for this club, I probably would never have used a professional camera, edited using specialist software, written blogs for a website, hosted social media takeovers, interviewing members of the public – the list goes on.

Alongside this, I’ve also boosted my confidence slightly and made some new friends – and those are never bad things. Since I joined in November 2020, I have also volunteered to work for Cardiff Youth Service’s Gaming Club and have since produced a promotional video for them’. (Young Person).

This project was a catalyst for other work with young people. The youth service has offered opportunities for young people from different areas of Cardiff to get involved with similar projects.  The youth service has many example of this work that young people are willing to share.

Members of the young creators group have volunteered to support others at a gaming club run by Cardiff Youth Service. The club provides a safe space for young people to meet up with like-minded people that were socially isolated from their peers. Through this young people have built relationships with others and improved their communication and teamwork skills while receiving support from youth workers. This online work has developed into face to face activity held at a bespoke gaming facility in Cardiff city centre. The club runs weekly at the venue and is accessed by a wide range of young people, including those who have physical disabilities, learning difficulties and emotional health issues. All current members are newly involved with Cardiff Youth Service. Referrals to this provision are made from wider youth support services for young people they work with.

How have you shared your good practice?

Throughout this time of exploring digital youth work approaches with young people there has been increased demand for sharing youth work practice to further develop youth workers and wider youth support services skills and abilities as well as being able to offer digital services and opportunities with young people.

Cardiff Youth Service’s digital team coordinated two events ‘digital spaces and approaches’ that consisted of a range of presentations focusing on digital youth work from our national, local and regional partners that covered the following themes: expressive arts, health and wellbeing, employment education and training, digital tools, QR codes, Gaming, Digital citizenship and wellbeing. The presentations covered their approach, outcomes, learning from their pieces of work and opportunities for questions and answers.

Two digital conferences took place, the first for the youth support services in Cardiff and then this was followed up regional partners and was attended by 174 professionals. One attendees feedback from the day ‘Online content, the struggles of engaging young people during a difficult time (it was nice to hear that others were faced with the same barriers as working from home you can sometimes feel you are the only one) ideas for engaging young people digitally and widen knowledge of support in other areas’ (Youth Worker). https://www.cardiffyouthservices.wales/images/pdf_doc/Digital_spaces_and_approaches_for_young_people_report-7-compressed.pdf 

and the resources from the events can be found here

Digital spaces and approaches event 14/01/2020 / Digwyddiad lleoedd a dulliau digidol 14/01/2020 (padlet.com)

In addition to this event the service has also offered staff members opportunity to develop their digital skills through learning how to use ‘Mentimeter’, ‘Quizzes’, ‘Canva’ all great digital engagement tools that are available for free. We have also been able to work with ‘Wise Kids’ to offer all staff training in digital citizenship and wellbeing. Next financial year there is an on-going commitment to further develop teams’ skills and capacity to develop digital youth work and we will be building upon our existing relationship with ‘Youth Link Scotland’ to offer a range of training opportunities in addition specialist support our digital team can offer teams and individuals.

Further information and references

Children and parents: media use and attitudes report 2020/21 (ofcom.org.uk)

DFI-Youth-Report.pdf (nominet.uk)

NC0218021ENN.en_.pdf (youth.ie)