Effective Practice Archives - Page 7 of 63 - Estyn

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice


Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice


Information about the school

St. Andrew’s Primary School was established in April 2014 following the amalgamation of St. Andrew’s Infant and Junior Schools. There are currently 744 pupils on roll. Approximately 35% of pupils are eligible for free school meals and 39% are identified as having additional learning needs. At St. Andrew’s Primary School, diversity is seen as a strength, something to be respected and celebrated by all those who learn, teach and visit there.

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

Leaders, teachers and teaching assistants at St. Andrew’s aim to provide authentic and purposeful learning experiences for all pupils through the three enablers underpinning the non-maintained curriculum. Staff have been inspired by its focus on the importance of play, schema and Froebelian principles. Practitioners in the school’s early years classes highlight the importance of deep-level involvement and uninterrupted active play for pupils, rooted in real-life, authentic situations.

Description of nature of strategy or activity

Practitioners adopt the notice, analyse and respond approach to observing younger pupils engagement with learning experiences indoors and outdoors. Froebel’s “freedom with guidance” approach encourages staff to facilitate pupils’ learning, offering them open-ended responsibility. Staff use planned and spontaneous observation approaches. During the ‘notice’ stage they seek to find out what drives pupils’ interest or curiosity, as well as how pupils choose resources and use the space available to them. During the ‘analyse’ stage, practitioners interpret pupils’ skills and knowledge development, assess their progress and analyse a pupil’s preferred schema. For example, whilst exploring teleporting within the block area, pupils demonstrate enjoyment in making enclosures (enclosure schema) using the blocks. Finally, observations are used as a catalyst for planning future learning experiences. This may include staff making adaptations to the environment, planning opportunities for pupils to refine or consolidate a skill and enrich experiences further.

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

The effective use of adults within the planned environment has supported the school to create a more responsive and reflective process of planning. Staff understand pupils’ fascinations and what motivates them. They assess levels of engagement, and respond appropriately through planning. Planned and spontaneous observations enable practitioners to analyse what they see and hear, to support the school’s assessment practices and to respond in ways that will ensure progression. Practitioners identify opportunities to enable pupils to make relevant links in their learning, drawing on previous knowledge and experiences. Staff act as enablers, modelling and enhancing pupils’ independence, confidence and ownership of their learning environment. The school ensures it celebrates its diverse community through the environment. Staff ensure that play resources, images and books represent all pupils, their families and their experiences. This gives pupils a strong sense of belonging and encourages purposeful connections between pupils’ homes and the community. Overall, the effect of this ‘slow pedagogy’ approach enables pupils to revisit their ideas and supports their individual learning journey. Valuing children’s curiosity as “teachable moments” has resulted in many unexpected experiences offering opportunity for learning and pupils asking questions to deepen their understanding further.

                                    

How have you shared your good practice?

The school is currently in partnership with regional consortia for early years professional development. This work involves sharing examples of effective practice of early years pedagogy, hosting sharing practice events, research to inform the professional learning offer and contributing to early years network meetings. The school led a cluster research project based on how a Froebelian approach supports purposeful learning in the early years.

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice


Information about the school

Ysgol Hen Felin is a maintained Rhondda Cynon Taf local authority special school for pupils with severe learning difficulties, autistic spectrum disorders, Profound and Multiple Learning difficulties and complex medical needs. 

The school is located in a residential area of Ystrad Rhondda. Nearly all pupils are based on the main site. The school has three classes based at a satellite provision in Coleg Y Cymoedd Rhondda Campus for pupils aged 16-19yrs. 

The school provides for 237 pupils aged from 3 to 19, nearly all with statements of special educational needs, individual development plans (IDPs) or equivalent. Pupils’ needs include, severe learning difficulties (SLD), profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) or visual impairment (VI). 

Pupils are taught in 22 classes. There are 22 full time teachers and 75 learning support assistants. 

The headteacher was appointed in January 2018. 

Ysgol Hen Felin is a school that encourages all pupils to believe in their ability to achieve. Their aim is to develop all pupils to their full potential, both educationally and socially in a safe and purposeful environment.

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

The school has refined its self-evaluation and improvement planning process over several years. The school promotes a strong team ethos to lead and manage self-evaluation and improvement planning, with an emphasis on the involvement of all staff and a wide range of stakeholders in the process.

Description of nature of strategy or activity

The school has produced a self-evaluation framework that allows the leadership team to make effective observations on the current work of the school whilst considering input from a wide range of stakeholders. 

Distributed leadership is an approach to school improvement that emphasises shared responsibility and collaboration among all stakeholders. It recognises that effective leadership is not solely the domain of a single individual, but rather a collective effort involving members of the school community. In the context of our school this includes actively engaging with and involving all staff, pupils, the governing body, and a wider range of stakeholders, including parents, local authority, and regional consortia in improvement planning. 

The school effectively utilises inset twilight sessions to facilitate self-evaluation conversations between staff. This approach encourages teachers, teaching assistants and administrative staff to contribute their unique perspectives and expertise. 

Pupils’ involvement in the improvement process is crucial. They provide valuable insights into their educational experiences, helping identify areas for improvement and contributing to the development of effective strategies that cater to their diverse needs. The school has established a range of pupil voice groups that contribute directly to the self-evaluation and improvement planning process. 

Parents bring valuable insights into the needs and aspirations of pupils. The school collaborates with parents through forums, surveys, and regular communication using various media. This helps to create and maintain strong and effective partnerships with parents. 

The governing body plays a vital role in steering the school toward improvement. Its role extends beyond oversight to active participation in decision-making processes, strategic planning, and the establishment of policies that align with the school’s improvement goals. This collaborative approach ensures that the governing body is well informed about the school’s challenges and successes, allowing for more effective governance and support. 

The school works closely with the local authority and the regional school improvement service. The school benefits from access to resources, expertise, and best practice. This supports the school in the school improvement journey.

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

School improvement teams have been instrumental in driving the school improvement process. They facilitate communication, coordinate improvement activity, and ensure that the views of stakeholders and considered as part of the self-evaluation process. 

By involving a broad range of stakeholders, the school has created a collaborative culture that fosters innovation, responsiveness, and sustained improvement. As noted in the recent inspection, nearly all pupils make strong progress towards their individual targets during their time at the school. They gain relevant accreditation or qualifications and progress to appropriate placements when they leave the school. Nearly all pupils demonstrate positive behaviour and attitudes to their learning. Pupils are at the heart of school life.

How have you shared your good practice?

  • Leaders have delivered training via local authority and regional consortium to share best practice. 
  • The school self-evaluation and improvement plan is published on school website.

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice


Information about the school

Ysgol Hen Felin is a maintained Rhondda Cynon Taf local authority special school for pupils with severe learning difficulties, autistic spectrum disorders, profound and multiple learning difficulties and complex medical needs. 

The school is located in a residential area of Ystrad Rhondda. Nearly all pupils are based on the main site. The school has three classes based at a satellite provision in Coleg Y Cymoedd Rhondda Campus for pupils aged 16-19yrs. 

The school provides for 237 pupils aged from 3 to 19, nearly all with statements of special educational needs, individual development plans (IDPs) or equivalent. Pupils’ needs include, severe learning difficulties (SLD), profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) or visual impairment (VI). 

Pupils are taught in 22 classes. There are 22 full time teachers and 75 learning support assistants. 

The headteacher was appointed in January 2018. 

Ysgol Hen Felin is a school that encourages all pupils to believe in their ability to achieve. Their aim is to develop all pupils to their full potential, both educationally and socially in a safe and purposeful environment.

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

The school established a Well-being Centre on site in 2018 and subsequently appointed a full-time well-being officer to lead and manage the provision. Through rigorous self-evaluation, the school identified a number of priorities that could be addressed via the Well-being Centre. These included increasing parental engagement and skills, developing community links, and enhancing staff well-being.

Description of nature of strategy or activity and impact has this work had on provision and learners’ standards.

The Well-being Centre has emerged as a crucial hub for enhancing community engagement and promoting overall well-being of pupils, parents and staff. Among its various initiatives, the ‘Little Rainbows’ pre-diagnosis parent and toddler group supports families with young children facing developmental challenges. This provides a vital space for parents to share experiences, gain insights, and access early intervention resources. 

Training and workshops organised by the Well-being Centre play an important role in equipping parents with the tools they need to navigate the complexities of raising children with specific or complex needs. These sessions cover a range of topics, from supporting pupils with sensory needs, toileting and sleep, and behaviour management. These sessions provide practical guidance with the aim of enhancing parental confidence and competence. 

The Well-being Centre also offers a range of educational opportunities for families, aiming to empower them with knowledge and skills. For example, sessions focus on developing reading, maths, numeracy and online learning. 

The Well-being Centre provides a range of support for current pupils, for example hairdressing sessions, after-school clubs and introducing emotional well-being initiatives. 

Parent coffee mornings provide a casual and valuable forum for parents to meet and share their experiences. The informality of these sessions fosters open communication and allows parents to discuss challenges they may face, thus building a strong sense of community. 

Staff well-being sessions are integral to maintaining a supportive and effective workforce, for example through Well-being Centre led social opportunities and celebration of staff achievements.

How have you shared your good practice?

  • The provision offered through the Well-being Centre is shared with new pupils and parents during admissions meetings, the school website, social media, school newsletters and via the school prospectus. 
  • External agencies are invited to deliver training via the Well-being Centre. 
  • Posters / flyers are shared with parents and the community inviting them to events.

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice


Information about the school

Cefn Hengoed Community School is an English-medium 11-16 school maintained by Swansea local authority. The school is based in the Eastside of Swansea. There are 918 pupils on roll. Around 33% of pupils are eligible for free school meals. Around 10% of pupils are learning English as an additional language. The school has a specialist teaching facility (STF) for pupils with severe to moderate learning difficulties. The capacity of the STF is 20 pupils.

The percentage of pupils with additional learning needs (ALN) is around 47.4% of the overall school population. The proportion of pupils who have a statutory plan of additional learning needs (Statement/EHCP/IDP) is approximately 6% (including the STF).

The senior leadership team consists of the headteacher (appointed in 2017), the deputy headteacher, two assistant headteachers and two senior teachers.

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

Cefn Hengoed Community School prioritises supporting those families from the school community that are affected by the impact of poverty. Over 33% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, rising to 44% when transitional protection to Universal Credit is considered, with many families struggling to manage financially. The school receives around £319K of Pupil Development Grant funding each year. In addition, 37.3% of pupils live in the 20% most deprived areas of Wales, according to the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation. Consequently, tackling the impact of poverty has been a long standing school priority, with the main focus being the development of the school as a focal point for the community. The school designs all aspects of its well-being provision to ensure that every pupil in the school is able to access all areas of school life, positively impacting on attendance, attitudes to learning and outcomes. A key priority for the school is to raise pupils’ aspirations and encourage them to make positive progress in their learning. There is a notable focus on improving pupil attendance and a clear understanding that tackling the impact of poverty is a key factor in enabling this.

Description of nature of strategy or activity

At Cefn Hengoed Community School, leaders and pastoral staff plan strategically to effectively support those families in most need. Strategies are informed by research and best practice, but also through leaders and staff having extensive local knowledge of the school community. As a result of this work, vulnerable pupils, including those who are eligible for free school meals make strong progress from their starting points and generally engage positively in school.

The pastoral team has secured strong community engagement. Excellent home to school links underpin the school community, with positive relationships key to the success of building trust and engagement. The school employs three Pastoral Support Officers (PSOs), whose main focus is to develop positive relationships with pupils and their families. This helps the school to secure improvements in attendance, well-being and attainment. The team works successfully with pupils to limit any barriers to their learning. The PSOs are in contact with families through regular phone calls, text messages, and meetings. When required, PSOs undertake home visits and are instrumental in identifying poverty as a barrier to learning. The PSOs work closely with the Key Stage 3 School Manager, Year 9 Learning Manager and Key Stage 4 School Manager, all of whom have a light teaching load to enable them to support pupils and families on the ground.

The school also employs a Wellbeing Manager who has extensive links with the community and with external agencies. They work closely with the school’s most vulnerable learners and their families. Pivotal to the pastoral team’s success is their local knowledge of the community and its families. This helps them to identify and signpost those families struggling with poverty at an early stage, allowing for effective support and intervention.

Cefn Hengoed collaborates well with its cluster primary schools and together they effectively utilise the Looked After Children (LAC) Pupil Development Grant funding to employ a Cluster LAC Support Officer. The LAC Support Officer works closely with children looked after by the local authority across all seven schools, removing barriers to pupil well-being and learning, as well as supporting with transition.

The school has established a school well-being fund. Contributions are made to this fund by staff, local businesses and a small number of financially successful ex-pupils. This, along with regular fund raising events, is used to provide food hampers at key times during the year, as well as fuel vouchers. The school also supports those families and pupils who suffer from significant hardship due to bereavement, personal tragedy or physical injury. The Wellbeing Manager has close links with the local Eastside food bank and St Thomas Church’s after school meal service. All pupils are issued with fortnightly ‘Wellbeing Slips’ during Personal and Social Education (PSE) lessons. This provides learners with a confidential opportunity to share their worries and concerns with pastoral staff who are then able to identify issues not only relating to poverty, but also other aspects of well-being. This strategy has been invaluable in identifying pupils and families in need of the most support and is key to enabling the child to fully engage with school life. For example, the support offered includes the purchasing of uniform, PE kit, school equipment and, in some cases, extends to the provision of homeware such as bedding and furniture.

The school works tirelessly with the local community in an effort to address any barriers to learning, particularly as an impact of poverty. A large number of children live just inside the 3 mile radius, meaning that they miss out on free transport and walking to school is a notable challenge. To support with this, the school works successfully with important community partners, such as local community councillors and with local and national transport providers to provide a bus service at less than half the cost of public transport. This has helped improve pupils’ attendance and punctuality as well as reducing the cost of the school day.

The school continues to run successful breakfast clubs for all age groups. Year 7 receive a bespoke breakfast service through the school’s partnership with the local authority catering service, whilst Years 8 to 11 have access to the school-based breakfast provision. This is a cost neutral affordable breakfast offer, allowing pupils to benefit from the advantages that a nutritious breakfast delivers. This has also supported the school to improve punctuality at the beginning of the school day.

The school offers an extensive out of hours revision service for both Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 pupils. These are well attended by pupils. Key Stage 4 pupils benefit from daily after school revision offers from both core and foundation subjects. Key Stage 3 pupils benefit from a range of after school homework clubs as well as workshops aimed at supporting specific needs such as dyslexia. Staff at the school coordinate holiday revision sessions regularly throughout the academic year. This is predominantly for Key Stage 4 pupils and impacts positively on their well-being and outcomes. There are also a number of additional extra-curricular clubs that are well attended by all groups of pupils.

The school’s successful uniform Swap Shop provides high quality recycled school uniform and essentials such as coats, shoes and school bags. The Swap Shop is successfully promoted at key times during the academic year through social media, and is well supported by local community groups. Positive working relationships between the school and its local community have meant that significant steps have been taken to remove the stigma associated with the recycling of uniform and instead promotes the Swap Shop as a positive initiative to reducing waste and unnecessary family expenditure.

The school supports digitally excluded learners through the provision of an innovative Laptop Library donated by a local organisation. Seventy five devices are available to pupils from all age groups for loan periods of up to half a term. Engagement has been high, with many pupils benefiting from improved access to digital technology. This has had a positive impact on pupil engagement, and in improving their digital skills.

The school is a hub of the community and as such hosts a broad range of events. These include the Key Stage 4 GCSE Information Evening, the Year 7 and 8 Help Your Child Revise Evening and an effective programme of Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3 transition events. During the pandemic, the school developed an innovative series of virtual community events. These included informative and educational sessions exploring topics such as mental health, staying safe online, and sexual harassment and coercion. These were well valued by the community and have continued to be offered following the pandemic.

School leaders have made effective use of the School Health Research Network (SHRN) report to plan and target appropriate provision for pupils and their families. This has led to the introduction of Community Safeguarding Evenings which educate pupils and their families about important aspects such as substance abuse, healthy food and physical activity, sleep, and screen time and sexting. In addition, the school has run successful workshops for parents and carers demonstrating how to provide healthy meals on a budget. To support these events, the school has worked with a wide range of external partners and agencies, such as Barod, YMCA, CAMHS, and its school nurse and local community police officer. The events are interactive and held in the school’s community use areas, but are also recorded and available digitally to allow access to a wider audience. The school recognises that parental involvement in all aspects of their child’s education has a powerful impact on their attainment and well-being.

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

The school has taken a measured yet proactive approach to developing the range of interventions to tackle poverty. It has utilised pupil views, for example through the SHRN report, and responded appropriately, whilst also using external agencies and involving the whole school community in the development of the provision.

The school has broadened its support for pupils and families struggling with the cost of living through targeted provision such as the Laptop Library and Swap Shop. Initiatives such as the fortnightly Wellbeing Slips allow pupils confidential access to support and guidance. This enhances the already strong pastoral provision.

The collective impact of the range of measures employed by the school continues to have a positive impact on the aspirations and outcomes of the pupils. Alleviating poverty, whilst developing community links, breaks down barriers to learning, improves well-being and develops a positive attitude to learning. Pupils at Cefn Hengoed are motivated and resilient learners.

Pupils are increasingly able to demonstrate awareness of healthy eating and are able to reflect on their physical and mental health. Learners engage in the wide range of extra-curricular opportunities, including those held during and after school. They take advantage of the additional academic support on offer. This has contributed to consistently strong outcomes.

Pupil attendance, including the attendance of vulnerable groups and those pupils eligible for free school meals, has improved notably and pupils who are eligible for free school meals make effective progress and attain well as the progress through the school. Pupils are respectful of the school’s high standards and this is demonstrated through their positive attitudes to learning. The rate of fixed term exclusions remains low and compares favourably to pre-pandemic levels.

How have you shared your good practice?

The school has shared this practice through a range of professional networks both within and outside of the local authority.

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice


Information about the school

Heronsbridge is a residential special school maintained by Bridgend local authority. The school provides education for pupils aged 4 to 19 years. Nearly all pupils attend on a day basis. There are currently 266 pupils on on roll with 240 members of staff. Many pupils have either a statement of special needs or a local authority individual development plan (IDP). Pupils at the school have a range of needs, including profound and multiple difficulties (PMLD), severe learning difficulties (SLD) and autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). The school is organised into departments, primary, secondary, post-16, and a centre for pupils across the age range that have a primary diagnosis of autism and complex needs. Forty-one per cent of pupils receive free school meals. Attendance rates are around 91%.

The school has a well established vision, ‘We give them wings, our Herons will fly’ and strong values, which are shared by all staff and stakeholders. These firmly place the pupils at the core of all that happens at the school. ‘Together we can’ is deeply embedded in everything that occurs across the school. The school is a Rights Respecting School, an Investors in People Platinum school and Investors in Families Diamond school. As a result, all staff have high expectations and aspirations for all pupils.

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

Heronsbridge actively engaged in curriculum reform as a pioneer school for curriculum and professional learning, and as a pilot school for the new, ‘Professional Standards for Teaching and Leadership’, ‘Professional Standards for Assisting Teaching’ and ‘The Schools as Learning Organisation model’ (SLO). This addressed the Welsh Government’s focus on preparing the workforce for transformational change: to develop a highly trained education workforce committed to continuous learning for all, with an emphasis on professional learning to realise the ambition for all learners in Wales.

As a pioneer school, Heronsbridge was encouraged to rethink its pedagogy, be innovative in approaches and facilitate teacher agency in exploration and understanding of Curriculum for Wales. The SLO model and new professional standards were the vehicles used for this. The SLO model enabled the school to create the right learning climate, culture and structures to adapt to change. The professional standards helped to set high expectations alongside developing reflective practitioners taking responsibility for their own and collaborative professional development needs.

Description of nature of strategy or activity

The school’s vision: ‘We give them wings, our Herons will fly’, is the purpose and SLO model underpins all school improvement processes. The annual survey informs the school of where it is and where it wants to be. It is vital for all staff to have a voice in school improvement and the starting point for this is the SLO survey, rating the performance of the school in the seven action-orientated dimensions; highlighting the aspirational goals and processes to transform a school into a learning organisation. Results from the survey are the seeds from which the school improvement plan grows. Additionally, all staff are given opportunities to reflect on their practice using the professional standards and their ‘Professional Learning Journey’ folders, as a catalyst to promote personal awareness alongside collective discussions on professional learning across the school.

By responding to SLO survey results, the senior leadership team are able facilitate a programme of professional learning opportunities, which addresses the needs of the school and empowers staff to take ownership of their learning journey. This work ensures that the school: meets the individual learning needs of pupils, supports curriculum delivery, supports pupil learning experiences and proactively manages the learning environment to ensure nurturing relationships with pupils.

Grants are used effectively to allow staff to access training and support from a bespoke Heronsbridge directory alongside access to external opportunities.

Examples include:

  • Comprehensive induction/probation package, including mandatory training and E-learning.
  • Termly Twilights – entitlement for all – with a heavy focus on well-being and readiness to learn skills – supported by the health team, pupil support team and communication/digital team.
  • Heronsbridge Development Programme: to sustain progression and standards across the school.
  • Opportunities for professional discussion on pedagogy through peer coaching, video analysis and reflections, learning walks and booklooks – calendar of meetings and their purposes.
  • Qualification and Credit Framework (QCF) training and links with external training providers to support accredited learning routes.
  • Global involvement in sharing practice through British Council funded project BOTAWA (link to schools in Botswana, Tanzania and Wales)
  • Many staff being trained as accredited trainers, ensuring that skills and knowledge are sustainably delivered.
  • Subscription to E-learning providers to allow a flexible approach to learning, the staff area on the website offering further direction to learning opportunities.
  • A ‘Directory’ of training to guide staff in their learning journey.

This is not an exhaustive list but illustrates the school’s investment into the best professional learning offer for staff, to support the success of all learners.

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

An extensive professional learning offer – linked to school values, performance management and school improvement targets – fulfils the professional learning needs of all staff. This is integral to improvement planning, with an extensive evaluation of impact on learners and learning by leaders. Impact is measured through attendance, behaviour ratings, attitudes to learning, engagement, well-being and progress in learning and personal achievement.

‘As a result, the school has a highly trained work force who are skilled in managing the needs of pupils across the school extremely well.’ (Estyn 2023)

How have you shared your good practice?

  • Systemic opportunity through central south consortium’s networks, the National Professional Enquiry Programme (NPEP), Teaching Assistant Learning Pathway (TALP) and special school collaboration groups.
  • Key staff regularly deliver training through central south consortium – e.g. Teachers New to ALN & Future Leaders (Special Schools).
  • Staff trained by the National Autistic Society (NAS) to provide training to parents, with additional training provided by our family engagement team.
  • Heronsbridge’s professional learning systems have been shared with other leaders of special schools across the South Wales Association of Special School Headteachers and South West Association of Leaders of Special Schools networks at both meetings and conferences.
  • The school’s professional learing playlist is shared on Hwb: Staff development and learning opportunities: Heronsbridge School – Hwb (gov.wales)

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice


Information about the school

Heronsbridge is a residential special school maintained by Bridgend local authority. The school provides education for pupils aged 3 to 19 years. Nearly all pupils attend on a day basis. There are currently 266 pupils on on roll with 240 members of staff. Many pupils have either a statement of special needs or a local authority individual development plan (IDP). Pupils at the school have a range of needs, including profound and multiple difficulties (PMLD), severe learning difficulties (SLD) and autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). The school is organised into departments, primary, secondary, post-16, and a centre for pupils across the age range that have a primary diagnosis of autism and complex needs. Forty-one per cent of pupils receive free school meals. Attendance rates are around 91%.

The school has a well-established vision, ‘We give them wings, our Herons will fly’, and strong values, which are shared by all staff and stakeholders. These firmly place the pupils at the core of all that happens at the school. ‘Together we can’ is deeply embedded in everything that occurs across the school. The school is a Rights Respecting School, an Investors in People Platinum school and Investors in Families Diamond school. As a result, all staff have high expectations and aspirations for all pupils.

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

Since 2016 the school was a curriculum pioneer rand has subsequently both trialled and refined its curriculum reform journey. It has done this by embedding model of enquiry, reflecting on the needs of pupils and making reference to and aligning its work with Welsh Government guidance and legislation, including the aspirations in Our National Mission: high standards and aspirations for all.

It all began with translating the four purposes into what they look like for pupils, ensuring that they were at the heart of everything the school does.

Description of nature of strategy or activity

The school’s curriculum design started by creating an enquiry group tasked with the question “How do we embed the 4 purposes in Heronsbridge?” Heron avatars were created, embodying the four purposes and the vision for the curriculum. Pupils helped to develop a pupil-friendly version, used in lessons to embed their understanding.

The school developed a four year cycle of topics that had enough scope and excitement to span the whole school (4-19). Pupil curriculum workshops finely tuned this topic plan, as pupils said what they would like to learn. Feedback from parent and governor workshops informed the school that they approved of the proposals and had “trust in the school improvement processes”.

Each termly topic was mapped, ensuring breadth and coverage of AOLEs, What matters statements and cross curricular skills. Mapping progression within the topics ensured that each topic sustains high levels of motivation and engagement of learners as they progress through the school.

Working across the four departments, AOLE teacher groups meet termly to produce topic advice for the whole school. Learners benefit from an experience, skills and knowledge model of progression, which recognises that the richness of the learning experience is crucial for engagement in learning. This is an ongoing process and one which continues to evolve, with the desired outcome to create planning that is developmental across experience, skills and knowledge and also meeting learner profiles. Cross curricular themed enquiry groups were created to develop these themes and teachers meet termly to provide advice.

Individual pupil progress is mapped via learning journeys, which are drawn from summative assessment and person centred planning meetings. Teachers evidence termly progress against each of the five action plan targets to compile an individual learning journey, where appropriate, pupils self-assess.

The schools as learning organisations model underpins all of the school improvement processes. The school’s rich enquiry ethos drives its curriculum, creating buy in and subsidiarity. Professional learning runs succinctly with the school improvement plan, ensuring that staff are well equipped to fully meet the various needs of learners.

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

Through tracking, the school is able to demonstrate that pupils continue to make strong progress, not only from their starting points, but also compared to historical learning profile norms. The school uses a ‘Brilliant Blue and On The Way Orange’ marking and assessment in learning strategy, which supports pupils to become aware of their progress. Where they are able, some pupils self-assess and a few peer assess. The pupils are happy, have a positive outlook on learning and are well prepared for their next steps in life.

How have you shared your good practice?

Research, collaboration and co-construction have played a crucial part of the curriculum journey and have informed design at every step. Teachers and the senior leadership team work with staff from cluster schools to develop progression maps and interdisciplinary ways of working. The school has found network meetings particularly helpful and informative. Senior leaders are members of the of the All-Wales Special School Progression and Assessment Network, where cross-consortia work on progression and assessment in special schools is being developed. Senior leaders have have participated in designing a progression map programme to support practitioners across the central south consortium region.

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice


Information about the setting

Derw Bach is a preschool playgroup attached to Ysgol Calon y Dderwen Primary. It is situated in the centre of Newtown and serves an area of deprivation.

Derw Bach is registered for up to 32 three to four-year-olds offering three plus education hours and the childcare offer. It is an English medium setting but strives to use and encourage the use of the Welsh language.

Derw Bach provides a diverse, friendly and safe environment where children are actively encouraged and supported to become kind, respectful and independent individuals.

At present Derw Bach has families from Poland, Turkey and Ukraine. It strives to communicate in a family’s own language through greetings and the use of key words

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

Evaluation practise identified that there were low attendance figures during the previous term, and this had led to children not making as much progress as they could. Practitioners decided to focus on further improving and building relationships with parents to improve attendance. They felt that this was an opportunity for children to make greater progress, and raise attainment in children facing elements of disadvantage. There was also an opportunity for parents to develop a better understanding of how their child learns and to feel empowered about how to support their child’s learning. Derw Bach decided to promote healthy eating, improve parents understanding of how children learn and to strengthen setting-home links.

Description of nature of strategy or activity

A number of strategies and activities were put in place using the early years grants available at the time. The healthy preschool policy was reviewed initially as the setting felt that it had to get a healthy eating message across to parents about lunch boxes. Strategies put in place included, ‘healthy eater’ stickers, lunch box ideas on social media, offering warm lunches to those who needed it, free lunch boxes, visits to the local food share, and simple cooking activities with the children. Grants were used to provide an extra member of staff to enable many children to stay an extra two hours and have lunch at the setting.

The setting provided each child with a home time pack to keep, which included activity ideas, recipes, Makaton signs, reading tips and yoga activities as well as a set of Numicon and a wordless book. The setting held open days for parents and grandparents and outings were arranged with children and families.

Each child received a personalised report at the end of their initial six weeks at the setting, to inform parents of what their child had achieved and how parents could help further at home. A useful app is also used, with each child having weekly photos shared with the home, including ideas about how parents can support the child’s learning.

Poor mental health is also on the rise in the area with increasing numbers of families struggling with day-to-day routines and with providing the stability and routine that their children need. Derw Bach recognises the struggles faced and provides for each individual need, whether this is simply by providing a place for a chat or offering encouragement and support to bring their children in regularly. Derw Bach often sends messages to parents who do not turn up and offers flexible times to arrive and depart. Parents are always welcomed to “stay and play” if they need to settle children. Derw Bach offers extra hours for children to enable parents to attend hospital appointments or during challenging times. It also offers free books, milk and lunches.

During transition days to school, the setting supports parents to send children. Some children are taken to the school by staff when parents are working, and others are met at the door of the school to support parents through this difficult, emotional time.

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

The setting has already seen an improvement in the quality of meals provided in lunch boxes. There is now lots of fruit and vegetables present. Children confidently tell the staff about the healthy food they have brought for their lunch. The extra hours offered over lunch time have increased attendance figures. Children’s confidence and independence have also grown.

Contacting parents when children are absent and offering support has made a difference to the confidence of parents and therefore children turn up even if they are late. Many more parents contact the setting to inform of absences as there are a number of ways to get in touch.

As a result of the home time packs, children have shown an increased level of skill with the Numicon shapes, and many are familiar with the story shared in the pack and are able to comment appropriately. Parents have commented how children are keen to take part in the activities and have grown in confidence since the packs were introduced. Children love to count with the Numicon shapes.

Practitioners are confident that this work will continue to have an impact on the children’s well-being. It has become obvious that parents are taking note of the activity suggestions sent home as children’s skills increase. Many parents have shared photos of their child taking part in suggested activities through the app. Children show pride when they demonstrate the skills learnt. Parents are now socialising and feeling more confident to attend as the setting has opened up the foyer for parents in the mornings. They are now more able to access the free books, leaflets, information and free milk available to them.

All September school starters settled quickly and confidently into school.

How have you shared your good practice?

Good practice has been shared with other early years settings.

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice


Information about the setting

Derw Bach is a preschool playgroup attached to Ysgol Calon y Dderwen Primary School. It is situated in the centre of Newtown and serves a flying start area. The setting is registered for up to 32 three to four-year-olds offering three plus education hours and the childcare offer.

It is an English medium setting but strives to use and encourage the use of the Welsh language. Derw Bach provides a diverse, friendly, and safe environment where children are actively encouraged and supported to become kind, respectful and independent individuals.

At present, Derw Bach has families from Poland, Turkey, and Ukraine. It strives to communicate in a family’s own language through greetings and the use of key words.

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

Leaders and practitioners at Derw Bach always consider the impact of provision on the children’s learning and well-being. Consistency builds teamwork and trust between practitioners and maintaining high standards ensures high quality provision for children.

Description of nature of strategy or activity

Practitioners continually reflect on their practise and the provision. Children’s individual play is closely observed and planning of activities and provision is amended based on children’s interests and needs. All practitioners have the same approach to this process. Regular staff meetings and effective communication ensure a consistent approach. Practitioners regularly reflect on the ongoing improvements at the setting including the impact of any training attended and how it has been implemented.

The setting development plan, which is drawn up annually, connects with any early years grant spending. This ensures that funds are targeted at current priorities with the interest of the child in mind. Supervisions are held regularly and include discussion about how best to improve the provision. Practitioners are always encouraged in their personal development and opportunities to reflect on their practice emphasise how well they are doing. For example, all practitioners undertook Autism Wales award training to gain a better understanding and to provide effective and consistent support for children with emerging needs.

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

Children make good progress in learning by following their own interests. Practitioners know each child well, provide for continual learning during play and have a consistent approach to behaviour management. As a result, children have a strong sense of well-being and belonging.

Children with emerging needs made great progress with communication skills after practitioners had trained through Autism Wales. Makaton signs are used in appropriate ways and the environment has been adapted to suit children’s needs, ensuring a calmer environment and therefore calmer children.

How have you shared your good practice?

Good practice is shared with other settings.

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice


Information about the setting

Little Explorers has been open since September 2022. It is a Non-Maintained Early Years Education setting for children aged 2-4 years old and offers Flying Start provision. There are two full time members of staff. It is registered for 19 children but has no more than 11 children in on a given day, with many children attending on at least four days a week. All children have English as their first language. At the time of inspection, approximately 30% of children attending nursery had additional learning needs. Both leaders have worked together in early years provision for 15 years.

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

The nursery’s vision is to create an inclusive setting where everyone feels welcome and all children are able to flourish, feel fulfilled and happy. It wants all children to have the experiences they need to reach their full potential as independent citizens of Wales by providing an environment where well-being is at the heart of everything that the setting does.

The nursery’s vision is a golden thread throughout its practice. This is evident within the relationships between adults, children, families, and the whole community. It is woven through the rhythm and routines of the day and in every part of the learning environment. The children are at the centre of practice. They are young people who are loved and valued. Practitioners value their own lived experiences, their interests, and their schematic play. They want the setting and their relationships to further the children’s natural curiosity and support them to be autonomous, independent learners. The Curriculum for Non-Maintained Nursery Settings has children at the centre, with a positive focus on what children can do rather than what they are not yet able to achieve. This aligns with the setting’s vision and practitioners’ belief that they are facilitators in the children’s learning, who provide playful and authentic experiences in response to observations of the children. 

image - little explorers nursery

Description of nature of strategy or activity

Relationships between adults, children, families, and the whole community

Relationships matter and having nurturing, knowledgeable adults is central to the setting’s pedagogy and practice. Developing the use of observations and practitioners’ role as nurturing, knowledgeable adults is of great importance and has been a continuous priority when developing practice. Practitioners learn a lot about the children’s lives and experiences through observing them playing. Observations help in understanding their friendships, schematic play, interests, ideas and feelings.

Through observations, practitioners recognise the importance of adults’ careful interactions, allowing children space to explore, experiment and take risks in their learning. They learn to solve problems, persevere, and apply new knowledge to different contexts. Practitioners have attended a course on Froebel, an early years educational theorist, to learn about his principles. This developed their understanding of the value of children having ‘freedom with guidance’ and the important role of the adult in skilfully interacting with the child without interfering in their learning. The setting feels that it is crucial that practitioners remember this in their role as enabling adults.

The small group size and unhurried approach ensure that the children know the adults well and feel secure and content. Children have an excellent voice within nursery. They know their thoughts, ideas and opinions are listened to and valued. Children vote for the rhyme or book of the week and are learning that the book with most votes is chosen. Through this, the children are developing an understanding of fairness, choice, and listening to other people’s views. With the support of staff, children answer questionnaires about how they feel about nursery, what they like and who they play with. These requests are listened to, and the environment and experiences are developed in response.

Parents comment that the nursery is like a second home for their children and that it feels homely, cosy, and welcoming. The staff and parents have developed close, supportive, relationships where both parties are able to interact in a variety of ways. For example, staff share videos and voice clips of sign language and Welsh. Parents are happy to share their family news and celebrations on the private social media group and many parents say that they consider nursery to be an extended part of their family. Parents receive weekly updates in the form of photographic collages, which outline learning experiences, celebrations and learning through play. Individual updates are shared with parents, regarding a child’s individual successes and achievements.

Learning environment

Practitioners have attended regional sharing of practice events, which provide an opportunity to see other learning environments and provision, showcasing authentic experiences and resources. This motivated them to make the setting an extension of home, where all children would feel a sense of belonging in a familiar and comforting environment. The environment created is cosy, with real furniture, kitchen resources, soft textiles, and ambient lighting. All the children see themselves represented in the nursery with framed family photos on the mantel piece in the role play area. Dolls, textiles, utensils and books help every child see their own home and family represented. Role play is of great importance to the children, so the setting’s role play area is extensive and includes a dressing room, kitchen, living room and shop. The real plates and bowls in the role play area are duplicates of the crockery the children use at snack time to provide authentic learning experiences. The children visit the shops, library and post office in the local area to provide them with authentic learning experiences. Opportunities to revisit these experiences are recreated in the setting through role play at the shop. This includes authentic resources to support children’s maths, literacy and digital development, including calculators and digital scales.

Rhythm and routines of the day

The daily routine provides unhurried and uninterrupted time to play and is carefully considered to balance both the necessity for routine and the freedom to play. The routine ensures that children have the time and space to be deeply involved and have ownership of their play. The routine allows time for children to consolidate, revisit and be emersed in exploring their ideas and fascinations. Routines are flexible and responsive to the children’s needs. This approach gives children a sense of security, but also ensures that their choices are noticed and valued. After sustained periods of uninterrupted play, practitioners use song, sign and objects of reference to enable positive transitions. Within the setting, children have their own place for their belongings They self-register using an emotion symbol. The adults provide a warm welcome and talk to them about how they are feeling.

Leadership and self-evaluation for improvement

Practitioners have participated in a community of practice to find innovative approaches to the self-evaluation process. Their aim is to make self-evaluation more useful and user-friendly, and to include the children’s ideas. The new self-evaluation process helps to document how practitioners are developing their practice through text, photos and quotes from the children. Their approach is shared with parents and stakeholders, who have commented positively on the new format. Practitioners now find the process useful to ensure that priorities for improvement align with the setting vision.

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

Practitioners know that children feel a strong sense of belonging. They are happy and come in bursting with joy and enthusiasm. The children are familiar with the daily routine. They value consistency in the rhythm and routines of the day and the experiences on offer. The children have wonderful friendships with each other and play well together. They are very mature and show great care for one another. The children recognise each other’s strengths and support one another. Staff observe children who are keen to celebrate their own achievements and their friends’ successes. They value children as capable and independent people. The setting’s role is to facilitate, carefully interacting to ensure that children have high levels of engagement and autonomy in their play and learning. Consequently, the children are flourishing cognitively, intellectually, emotionally, socially and physically. Strategies are shared with parents on how best to support their children’s learning. This approach strengthens the partnership and builds consistency and trust. Parents are highly supportive of the nursery team and there is an ‘in it together’ ethos.

How have you shared your good practice?

Practitioners attend EAS and LA non-maintained setting network meetings, to share and discuss good practice and pedagogy. Recently they shared their observation, assessment and planning process, which has child centred practice at its heart.

The setting has hosted professional learning events for the local authority, providing an opportunity for other practitioners to view its learning environment both indoors and out. Following this, more settings have been to visit on an individual basis.

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice


Information about the school

Langstone Primary School is in the Newport local authority. It provides education for 352 pupils in an affluent area with only 3% efsm. Staff and governors at the school put well-being at the heart of its work, prioritising developing secure working relationships with pupils. Leaders and staff create a positive and inclusive environment in which pupils thrive. The school’s vision is for a highly effective, child-centred learning organisation where all are valued, supported and challenged to achieve their aspirations. 

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

Langstone Primary School is situated in the east of Newport. Very few pupils speak Welsh speaking at home and only 2.4% speak English as a second language. The school aims to develop plurilingual children who celebrate and take pride in their own culture and heritage, while understanding the importance of using their language skills in a diverse and ever evolving world. Leaders and staff recognise the importance of developing pupils as lifelong language learners. This is central to their work on developing pupils as plurilinguists, understanding the relationship between languages. Pupils also begin to use translanguaging skills to access information in one language and respond in a different language. There is a continuous and consistent focus on creating a whole-school approach to promoting language skills, including Welsh, French and BSL.

The school’s Literacy, language and communication (LLC) team comprises three full-time teaching staff who take responsibility for leading and supporting language development, including providing purposeful professional learning, monitoring and evaluating pedagogy and practice and leading the ‘Language Legends’ Pupil Pioneer group, supported by the Headteacher and Deputy headteacher. Staff have benefited from attending the Welsh sabbatical at Cardiff Metropolitan University, improving their knowledge, skills and confidence to support teaching and learning in Welsh across the school.

The school was awarded the Cymraeg Campus Arian Award in September 2022.

Description of nature of strategy or activity

Langstone Primary School’s REAL curriculum (Rich, Experiential, Authentic Learning Experiences) and its project-based learning experiences supports its organic approach to teaching and learning in languages. The school’s approach of ‘little and often’ successfully engages pupils. Teachers recognise the authentic opportunities available to immerse pupils in languages and to enable them to make links in their language learning. Strategies include encouraging pupils to participate in registration in a variety of languages including Welsh, French, and German; using British Sign Language to support basic incidental language i.e. greetings in assembly, saying ‘thank you’; learning songs in Welsh or with BSL elements; and adding French to resources used during lessons. Pupils are encouraged to suggest additions to the repertoire and these strategies ensure they are continually exposed to languages other than English.

The school’s plurilingualism journey began in 2018, when staff used research and enquiry to explore international languages. This initially involved a Discover and Do day, with staff trialling language lessons in a few classes. The school’s early evaluation was that pupils were enjoying their language learning, but the school needed a whole-school consistent approach to embedding linguistic skills. Staff undertook an audit to determine confidence levels, the extent of subject knowledge and the professional learning needed to improve this aspect of the school’s work. Having identified areas of strength, and the language experiences of pupils, staff decided to continue their journey, developing French in the first instance.

Regular LLC staff meetings and staff training opportunities supported the school to focus on achieving high quality teaching and learning in English using a range successful pedagogical techniques and useful resources. More recently, the school has focused its professional development on Welsh language pedagogy, led by an experienced and skilled teacher. Teachers have benefitted from support with planning, teaching approaches, engaging resources, games and activities. As a result, pupils have a renewed enthusiasm for Welsh language learning. They are excited by opportunities to learn languages and to develop as multilingual communicators.

Staff are enthusiastic supporters of the school’s approaches. The LLC team encourage plurilingualism in staff meetings and share resources from the ‘Routes into Languages’ library, maintaining a clear focus on progress in oracy, reading and writing in English.

In September 2022, a nursery pupil with hearing impairment joined the school. This was an opportunity to develop British Sign Language skills for all staff, ensuring a consistent approach to effectively communicating with all members of the school family.

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

Staff are committed to promoting languages and as a result, pupils across the school are highly engaged in language learning throughout the school day. Teachers ensure that planning develops pupils’ skills progressively. Younger pupils for example, use simple Welsh and French words, phrases and greetings. Older pupils use increasingly sophisticated vocabulary and phrases in their project learning. Teachers plan effectively for pupils to learn and improve their skills in authentic contexts and incidentally, for example through commands, instructions and learning resources. Recently, during their To Infinity and Beyond project, pupils in Year 5 and 6 enjoyed a visit to the school’s ‘International Space Station’, where they had opportunities for critical thinking, decoding French phrases into English, using QR codes to find BSL signs and subsequently created video presentations for other pupils. These activities enable pupils to use their translanguaging skills to decode phrases at different ability levels. Pupils enjoy applying their knowledge of vocabulary to other aspects of their learning. For example, they create sentences about different planets in Welsh, using familiar stems to begin their sentences. Over time, as pupils notice their own vocabulary and syntax developing, they grow in confidence and enthusiasm.

Pupils’ ideas and suggestions are key at Langstone, and they regularly influence decision-making. The pupil pioneer team changed their name from ‘Criw Cymraeg’ to ‘Language Legends’ to reflect the school’s plurilingual nature. The Language Legends group meets fortnightly with the LLC team and makes contributions to the School Development Plan. They take part in learning walks around the school, lead on ‘Siaradwch, Parlez, Speak’ assemblies to introduce new language patterns and signs, promote language and support ‘Patrwm y mis’ assemblies. The ‘Patrwm y mis’ provides a targeted focus Welsh phrase or question and answer, differentiated for younger pupils, for example Sut wyt ti? / Sut wyt ti’n teimlo? This approach is often linked to BSL, encouraging pupils to become plurilingual.

The school’s continuous focus on providing high-quality professional development ensures that staff improve their skills. This includes time for self-directed study. Staff use online resources and attend evening Welsh and BSL courses to develop their confidence and subject knowledge. The school’s weekly ‘Paned a Sgwrs’ provides an opportunity for staff to meet informally before school to practise their Welsh. This has a positive impact on building staff confidence in using the Welsh language.

Pupils access a range of texts in Welsh and French in classroom ‘Cornel Darllen’ and generally in their learning resources. This includes exposure to languages through feedback and marking. Music lessons provide an ideal opportunity for teachers to develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of musical terminology, bringing in elements of Italian vocabulary (forte, piano, staccato, etc) and terms such as allegro and andante, are used across the curriculum, for example in gymnastics and dance teaching and learning.

How have you shared your good practice?

The school has worked effectively to engage parents, using strategies such as the BSL sign of the week, greeting parents in Welsh, French and BSL at the start of the day and showcasing languages events throughout the year. Governors also attend these events.

The resulting research and enquiry projects have been shared across the region and included in the EAS language resources. Key elements of the school’s practice in language development have been included in the Senior Leadership Development Programme. Working with partner schools enabled staff to share experiences to and develop their understanding of progression for all pupils across the cluster.