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Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice

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Information about the provider

Cardiff and Vale College (CAVC) leads a partnership of 19 sub-contractors to deliver Welsh Government apprenticeship programmes. They deliver apprenticeships to approximately 2,500 learners at levels 2, 3 and 4 with most provision in the priority sectors. Eight per cent of learners are from ethnic minority groups, 10% have a declared disability and 35% are from areas of high deprivation.The college serve a diverse community in the capital region of Wales working with employers, local authorities, and the Welsh Government to promote apprenticeships. They work with over 1,000 employers, from multinational and national employers to SMEs, with 76% of employers from SMEs. The college has a clear purpose to change lives through learning with a particular focus on maximising opportunities for young people to engage with apprenticeships and to address barriers for under-represented groups.

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

The ALN Act provided an opportunity for CAVC Apprenticeships to review its provision to ensure that it most effectively supported those learners who had a disclosed ALN/learning disability. It was important to ensure that all sub-contractors were aware of the requirements of the Act and were in a position to meet the requirements. Cardiff and Vale College had a well-established, specialist team of ALN staff and this expertise was used effectively to develop provision across the network and to support implementation of new policies and procedures designed to meet the requirements of the ALN Code. All provision was closely aligned to Cardiff and Vale College’s strategic vision and improved opportunities to be able to actively recruit and support apprentices with ALN/learning disabilities into learning and employment.

Description of nature of strategy or activity

CAVC Apprentices learner support teams offer a wide range of services for learners. There are strong arrangements in place to identify learners’ support needs and to monitor support appropriately in order to develop learners and support their progress. Clear processes were devised for apprentices who presented with an individual development plan, those who declared an ALN/learning disability at the start of their programme and those who staff suspected had an ALN/learning disability. Within the process the following key areas were identified:

  • Adjustments that could be made through universal provision were highlighted.
  • A resource bank of tools and guides, including apps, were made available.
  • A clear referral process to the ALN team was devised.
  • A process was in place to track and monitor these learners at every stage of their journey.
  • Monthly ALN referral case management meetings were held with the CAVC ALN team, to discuss and agree ALN referrals for apprentices.
  • Links to the ALS support were found if necessary.

This provision enabled tailored support for any learner who had an identified/suspected ALN/learning disability. It also ensured that learner progress was tracked and any learners who needed additional support or were at risk were quickly identified.

All staff attended a comprehensive training programme on identifying ALN, universal provision, effective support strategies and all elements of the referral process. As a result links with the CAVC ALN team have been strengthened, and some providers have been able to develop their own additional support.

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

As a result of this work, the provider saw an increase in the number of learners disclosing an ALN/learning disability. There are now more learners accessing this tailored support and making good progress in their learning and in their workplaces. Progress and achievement data indicates that learners who disclose an ALN/learning disability do well when compared to others.

Staff have identified that they are now more confident in identifying need and working with apprentices who have an ALN/learning disability.

Employers are engaging effectively and are employing learners with ALN, they are recognising the skillsets of these learners and widening opportunities and participation.

How have you shared your good practice?

Cardiff and Vale College apprenticeships attend National Training Federation For Wales meetings and share their practice with other apprenticeship providers. They have worked closely with the Colleges Wales ALN Transformation lead attending meetings, reviewing training and reflecting on approaches to meeting the ALN Code.

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice

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Information about the school

Pontarddulais Comprehensive School opened in 1982, with a Specialist Teaching Facility added in 2007 for up to 10 pupils with profound and multiple learning disabilities. Located in a community with varied socio-economic backgrounds, pupils are drawn from a widely dispersed catchment area including urban areas, small villages and hill farms. There are currently 866 pupils on roll, around 16% are eligible for free school meals and around 20% are identified as having an additional learning need. The school’s vision of ‘Through inclusion, respect and resilience we will become better people and successful lifelong learners.’ supports the school’s motto of ‘Learn to live…live to learn.’

Context and background to the practice

Recognising the critical role attendance plays in pupils’ outcomes, in 2018 the school prioritised attendance as a driver for school improvement through a range of strategies. This initiative evolved from a basic understanding that attendance is not merely a matter of compliance but is intrinsically linked to pupil engagement, well-being and developing a sense of belonging. The school’s vision emphasised creating an environment where pupils feel valued, included, and excited about learning.

Description of the strategy

The strategy focuses on two key priorities: continuing to foster a nurturing, inclusive school culture, and ensuring engaging learning opportunities, including a diverse range of courses at Key Stage 4. The underlying principle is that pupils are more likely to want to attend school with the right culture and an interesting and engaging curriculum.

Specific strategies include:

Building and maintaining relationships: The school is a safe, secure and nurturing environment, where positive relationships are prioritised. A behaviour working party re-wrote the school’s Positive Behaviour Policy with a clear focus on ensuring a proactive culture that fosters these positive relationships and an understanding of the factors that affect pupil behaviour. The evidence-based practice such as emotion coaching techniques and trauma informed awareness underpin the positive behaviour policy. The simple yet effective rules of ‘Ready, Respectful and Safe’ are embedded throughout the school community. Regular staff training includes explaining the importance of how staff interact with pupils using the 5Cs approach, where staff are expected to be calm, consistent, clear, confident and compassionate when speaking to pupils. Alongside this, pupils are explicitly taught the importance of developing personal values such as kindness and empathy through a Character and Culture programme.

Promoting attendance: Through assemblies and form tutor sessions, the school emphasises the importance of daily attendance as a cornerstone of academic success and personal growth.

Robust monitoring and interventions: The school has a comprehensive monitoring system to identify attendance patterns early. Tailored interventions, including one-on-one support and family engagement, are key in addressing specific attendance challenges, particularly for vulnerable pupils. Key staff work as a team to create support plans that are individual to the pupil. This is regularly monitored through focused meetings with key staff. The school’s Family Engagement Officer (FEO) works closely with the Education Welfare Officer (EWO) to support families in a caring and sensitive manner, often providing outreach support within the community. As the EWO/FEO works with partner primary schools, practices are consistent throughout the cluster.

Curriculum Innovation: Recognising the diverse needs and interests of the pupils, the school expanded its curriculum in Years 10 and 11 to include a mix of GCSE and vocational subjects. The curriculum offer is designed to engage pupils in learning and align with their interests and career aspirations. The school feels that this has a profound impact on attendance for both year groups.

Impact on provision and pupils’ standards

The implementation of these strategies has led to improvements in the following aspects:

Increased attendance rates: Attendance exceeds modelled expectations, a testament to the effectiveness of the strategies. Pupils attend not just out of obligation but due to a genuine desire to be in school. For 2022/23, the school was in Benchmark Quartile 1 at 92.6%, 4.1% points above modelled expectations. eFSM pupils’ attendance was 87.8%, which is 8.4% points above the national average.

Enhanced school culture and ethos: The nurturing ethos contributes to a sense of social inclusion and community. Pupils report feeling part of a supportive network, positively impacting their well-being and academic engagement.

Academic success: The broadened curriculum in Years 10 and 11 has led to increased pupil engagement. Pupils enjoy their learning experiences, leading to very strong performance in external examinations.

Career pathways: The diverse and inclusive curriculum has enabled pupils to begin charting their career paths early, with many building on their studied school subjects to plan towards achieving their future career aspirations.

Pontarddulais Comprehensive School’s approach to improving attendance is a blend of strategic monitoring, personalised support, curriculum innovation, and fostering a nurturing school culture. This holistic approach has not only enhanced attendance rates but has fundamentally improved the educational experience and outcomes for pupils.

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice

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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

The planning for the progressive development of pupils’ skills is highly effective in Cefn Hengoed Community School. Leaders maintain a strong focus on improving the provision for pupils’ literacy, numeracy, digital, Welsh language and thinking skills. As a result, many pupils make strong progress.

The school has well-established approaches to the progressive development of literacy and numeracy skills across the curriculum and over the past two years has also been successful in coordinating and developing the progressive development of pupils’ digital skills. Leaders share high expectations with all staff and pupils, and have been successful in ensuring teachers provide authentic opportunities for pupils to apply and develop their skills in relevant subject areas.

Through its own quality assurance process, the school identified the need to strengthen pupils’ Welsh language and bilingual skills and this has been a strong focus. Leaders give high priority to the development of pupils’ Welsh language skills and ensure that all staff understand their role in developing this. As a result of this approach, the provision for Welsh language is a notable strength.

Description of nature of strategy or activity

Leaders and staff strive to provide pupils with purposeful and frequent opportunities to develop, extend and apply their skills across the curriculum. They recognise that many pupils enter the school with skill levels that are lower than expected for their age. Leaders in Cefn Hengoed have invested time and resources carefully to provide effective professional learning for their staff in order to develop the provision for the progressive development of pupils’ skills. Each subject area is supported well to develop subject specific resources.

The school employs Literacy, Numeracy, Bilingualism and Digital Competence Framework (DCF) Managers who meet regularly with the Assistant Headteacher with a responsibility for the coordination of cross-curricular skills, to evaluate and plan the school’s approach to cross curricular skills development. Both the Literacy and Numeracy Frameworks (LNF) and the DCF are mapped across all curriculum areas in order to plan for progressive skills development across Key Stage 3.

Each subject area works collaboratively and alongside the Literacy, Numeracy, Digital and Bilingualism Managers to ensure the planning for skills builds purposely on pupils’ prior learning and that opportunities to apply skills are progressive as pupils move through the school. There is a clear focus on creating authentic links between the cross-curricular skills and subject content to ensure lessons are meaningful and have a positive impact on pupil progress. Opportunities for pupils to apply and develop their skills are monitored closely by staff and leaders and this helps to ensure the progressive development of skills well. Leaders and staff regularly review and evaluate this approach and are continually sharing effective practice.

In addition, the school employs an enquiry based model for the development of cross-curricular skills where, following an evaluation of strengths and areas for development, each subject area trials a new initiative to improve an area of literacy, numeracy and digital competence. Best practice is shared with other teaching staff on a termly basis and, along with the other work being carried out, ensures that the progressive development of cross curricular skills is well planned and co-ordinated.

Critical thinking skills

In 2019 all teaching staff completed a self-evaluation exercise based on the 12 pedagogical principles set out in ‘Successful Futures’. This identified the need to enhance the opportunities to develop pupils’ critical thinking skills. Following a professional development session, each subject area developed subject specific resources and lesson activities to enhance the opportunities for progressively developing pupils’ critical thinking. Skills leaders worked with individual subject areas to improve teachers’ planning for the development of pupils’ critical thinking and the use of questioning. This involved creating rich and stimulating activities to encourage pupils to extend their thinking and explore different perspectives. For example, the English department developed an overarching critical thinking question for each unit of work. These questions were supported by smaller critical thinking activities designed to encourage pupils to take risks in their learning. Each subject area evaluated the success of their approach and shared their findings with the wider staff at the end of the academic year. The provision for thinking skills continues to form part of the school’s performance management cycle.

Literacy and numeracy skills

The school employs a strong approach to the progressive development of literacy and numeracy skills across all subject areas through the use of the Literacy and Numeracy Behaviours. Significant time has been invested during staff meetings and INSET to develop a shared understanding of how reading, writing, oracy and numeracy skills should be taught and how these skills can be developed in individual subject areas. The behaviours provide staff with a clear understanding of how to support pupils to apply and develop their skills. For example, the school’s reading behaviours help ensure that pupils activate their prior knowledge, visualise and question aspects of what they have read as well as developing higher order skills such as evaluation, analysis and inference. Similarly, the school’s numeracy behaviours provide clear guidance to support pupils to solve problems in a range of contexts. The effective use of the Literacy and Numeracy Behaviours across the school is evaluated through the school’s quality assurance cycle and informs professional development for staff.

Welsh language skills

To improve the standard of spoken Welsh in Welsh lessons and across the school, the Welsh department has developed a common approach to the teaching of oracy: ‘point, comment, expand, question’. This is used by all Welsh teachers and has helped to improve the quality of pupils’ spoken and written Welsh. The development of pupils’ bilingual skills outside of Welsh lessons is a whole school priority and leaders have maintained a consistent focus on this aspect of their work through their quality assurance cycle. As a result, each subject area has a clear action plan for how they will develop bilingualism in their area in order to encourage natural and spontaneous spoken Welsh in a school where very few pupils speak Welsh at home. The Bilingualism Manager, alongside the head of Welsh, has also developed helpful phrases that are displayed in each classroom and in the canteen. Over the past year, pupils have used these phrases in lessons to increase the frequency of incidental Welsh used both inside and outside of the classroom. Regular use of these phrases are linked to Cymreictod points and pupils are rewarded through the school’s rewards policy for the frequent use of everyday spoken Welsh. This strategy has helped to improve pupils confidence in their use of Welsh, their understanding of Welsh culture and has inspired pupils to be enthusiastic when learning the Welsh language.

Cross-curricular and cross-sector working

Cefn Hengoed Community School works closely with its partner primary schools on common approaches to the progressive development of cross-curricular skills. The Literacy Manager has recently provided update training, for example, on the teaching of reading to cluster primary schools. In addition, the Numeracy Manager has developed a cluster calculations policy to promote consistency in the teaching of maths and numeracy across the cluster. Furthermore, the Welsh department has begun work on a cluster reading project with Year 6 classes that will inform the teaching of Welsh in Year 7 next academic year. This is in addition to the work to develop a consistent approach to the teaching of oracy through the ‘point, comment, expand, question’ technique that is used successfully by the Welsh department.

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

The provision to support the progressive development of pupils’ skills is a notable strength of the school. There is a well-planned and co-ordinated approach that ensures that pupils build progressively on their knowledge, skills and understanding. Leaders consistent and strong focus on the development of pupils’ skills has led to effective provision that enables pupils to make strong progress.

Overall pupils’ attitudes to learning, the development of skills and particularly to learning the Welsh language are strong. Most pupils are motivated in lessons, engage positively in discussions and show strong speaking and listening skills. Many read and write for a range of purposes well and work confidently with number concepts. In addition, pupils are motivated to attend school and attendance rates have improved notably over the past year.

Many pupils who attend Cefn Hengoed Community School make good progress in developing their skills across all aspects of their learning. Generally, high quality teaching supports pupils well to develop their speaking, writing, numeracy, thinking, and digital skills.

How have you shared your good practice?

In addition to sharing practice with partner primary schools, Cefn Hengoed is also part of a school to school network with three other secondary schools in the local authority. This work involves a peer review system that this year, for example, includes evaluating the provision for literacy and the provision for numeracy skills in each school. Furthermore, the school is also part of a South Wales schools partnership with other secondary schools.

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice

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Information about the school

Pontarddulais Comprehensive School opened in 1982, with a Specialist Teaching Facility added in 2007 for up to 10 pupils with profound and multiple learning disabilities. Located in a community with varied socio-economic backgrounds, pupils are drawn from a widely dispersed catchment area including urban areas, small villages and hill farms. There are currently 866 pupils on roll, around 16% are eligible for free school meals and around 20% are identified as having an additional learning need. The school’s vision of ‘Through inclusion, respect and resilience we will become better people and successful lifelong learners.’ supports the school’s motto of ‘Learn to live…live to learn.’

Description of the nature of strategy or activity identified as effective or innovative practice

A distinctive feature of the school improvement cycle is the annual ‘School Improvement Launch’, a collaborative session involving staff, governors, and pupil representatives. This inclusive process ensures diverse perspectives are considered, fostering shared ownership of strategic priorities. This session shapes the School Development Plan (SDP), a dynamic tool guiding the entire school community towards shared goals.

The SDP triggers the planning phase of the school improvement cycle, which includes Area Development Plans (ADPs) that are similar in style and content to the SDP, though they are also designed to serve their context at an area/subject level. In turn, performance management objectives are natural outcomes of the SDP and ADPs. Aligning these processes ensures synergy and collegiate responsibility for school improvement. The SDP is RAG-rated by the Extended Headship Team and regularly scrutinised by governors, ensuring a clear understanding of progress and areas that require additional attention. Members of the Extended Headship Team lead on individual strategies, providing a continuous feedback loop within fortnightly link meetings.

Distributed leadership plays a pivotal role in the school’s success. All TLR holders collaborate to write sections of the SDP. This active participation engages middle leaders in the process and empowers them to guide school improvement. The involvement of middle leaders ensures a more nuanced and contextualised understanding of improvement priorities at an area and departmental level.

Middle leaders utilise the Subject on a Page (SOAP) evaluative tool each term, offering a concise and current overview of the strengths and areas for development, at a subject level. Likewise, the Autumn Standards Review programme enables subject leaders to present pupil outcomes to the Headship Team for discussion. These evaluative sessions include how item-level analysis is used to inform teaching and learning. Future development plans are tightly aligned with the outcomes of these processes, supplemented with a range of other scheduled and well-embedded self-evaluation processes.

External perspectives are embraced through collaborative work with three local secondary schools, providing valuable viewpoints and fostering the sharing of best practices. This engagement provides a valuable external viewpoint and facilitates the sharing of best practice. Additionally, the annual whole-school review, led by middle leaders who are following the school’s Aspiring Senior Leaders’ Programme, identifies strengths and recommendations on specific aspects to inform the following SDP.

Impact on provision and pupils’ Standards

  • Drive for continuous improvement: The school’s leaders utilise regular and robust self-evaluation activities purposefully to drive continuous improvement. Rigorous and cyclical self-evaluation processes have become a notable strength, encouraging active involvement from all staff and governors.
  • Collective responsibility: The active involvement of staff and governors in shaping improvement priorities and strategies has cultivated a strong sense of collective responsibility. This cohesion is central to the consistently positive impact of leadership.
  • Effective use of data: Leaders are confident in their analysis of a broad range of data, using it wisely to identify aspects that require improvement. The triangulation of findings from various evidence sources and the use of pupil and parent views contribute to well-informed decision-making.
  • Professional learning opportunities: Collaborative work with local secondary schools and internal whole-school reviews provide valuable professional learning opportunities for staff, especially at the middle leader level. This approach ensures that leadership skills are continually developed and refined.
  • Pupils’ standards and outcomes: Pupils’ standards are strong, as are rates of attendance.

Pontarddulais Comprehensive School’s strategic and inclusive approach to school improvement not only contributes to measurable improvements but also enhances leadership capacity. In turn, this develops a sustainable succession strategy and a self-perpetuating model of continuous school improvement.

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice

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Information about the school

Idris Davies School 3 to 18 (IDS 3 to 18) is an English-medium 3 to 18 school maintained by Caerphilly local authority. It serves the areas of Rhymney, Pontlottlyn, Abertysswg, New Tredegar, Fochriw and Phillipsotwn. There are around 900 pupils on roll, of whom 42 are in the sixth form and 36 in the nursery. Nearly all pupils speak English as their first language and come from a white British background.

Around 34.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals. The school identifies that around 8.9% of pupils have additional learning needs. A very few pupils have a statement of special educational needs.

The headteacher was appointed to the school in January 2018, which is the date that the school was opened. The SLT consists of an executive headteacher, two deputy headteachers, three senior assistant headteachers along with five skills leaders.

The school’s vision is summarised in the motto ‘Every Pupil – Every Opportunity – Every Day’, which permeates all aspects of the school’s work at all levels.

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

The school serves local communities with high levels of social deprivation and a significant proportion of pupils are defined as being disadvantaged and vulnerable learners. Disadvantaged pupils normally have barriers to succeeding in school because of detrimental circumstances beyond their control, whilst vulnerable learners are those who may be more likely to experience emotional, social and developmental barriers to learning.

The profile of pupils eligible for free school meals has changed significantly over the last few years and currently stands at 42.7% across both phases. Fifty per cent of the primary phase learners are currently eligible for free school meals, compared with 28.8% when the school opened in January 2018. In comparison, 40.3% of the school’s secondary phase pupils are currently eligible for free school meals, compared with 31.2% in January 2018.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has compounded the barriers to learning experienced by disadvantaged and vulnerable learners at the school, which have been further exacerbated by the impact of the cost-of-living crisis. To respond to these barriers and challenges it has been essential for the school to develop an agile leadership structure that is able to respond quickly and adeptly to the evolving needs of disadvantaged and vulnerable learners.

Description of nature of strategy or activity

On establishment of the new school, the headteacher along with the governing body, undertook a full consultation process to design and develop the school vision. It was clear from stakeholders that identifying and addressing the needs of disadvantaged and vulnerable learners needed to be a central ambition of the school’s vision. This led to an ambition to secure the best for all pupils: ‘Every Pupil – Every Opportunity – Every Day’. The school aspires to achieve this ambition in all aspects of its work.

To achieve this ambition a new staffing structure was designed and implemented from September 2018 with clear middle and senior leadership roles and responsibilities assigned to addressing and removing the barriers to learning experienced by disadvantaged and vulnerable learners. In addition, the school governing body was restructured and a senior member was designated as a ‘Disadvantaged and Vulnerable Learner Governor Lead’. All full governing body and committee meetings include strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation activities linked to disadvantaged and vulnerable learners.

The school created a new role, namely ‘Disadvantaged and Vulnerable Learner Lead’, who has responsibility for championing these learners and for leading the development of provision, tracking and monitoring key performance indicators for disadvantaged and vulnerable learners.

The Vulnerable Learners Lead collates all monitoring data linked to the engagement and performance of disadvantaged and vulnerable learners through a ‘Closing the Gap’ dashboard. This is then shared with all tiers of leaders, including key monitoring data, in order to inform the deployment of resources and facilitate monitoring the impact of strategies. The dashboard is a live document and is reviewed on a weekly basis in senior leadership meetings and termly governing body meetings, and shared with all staff in half-termly staff meetings.

The dashboard draws together monitoring data covering all aspects of the school’s work including:

  • Skills tracking data (including impact of intervention programmes)
  • Subject tracking data
  • Attendance
  • Rewards and sanctions
  • Curriculum engagement (including access to Key Stages 4 and 5 course provision)
  • Enhanced curricular engagement (for example access to music tuition and sport club provision)

Using this monitoring data, all strategic improvement planning is undertaken with the ‘golden thread’ of raising the achievement of disadvantaged and vulnerable learners weaved through it. All strategic priorities within the School Improvement Plan specifically address this aspect of the school’s work and clearly identify success criteria linked to raising the achievement of vulnerable and disadvantaged learners.

A comprehensive professional learning programme has been designed and delivered to all staff to ensure the effective implementation of all linked initiatives. Staff have a clear understanding of the needs of all disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils and the individual barriers to learning that they may be facing as well as the role they play in supporting pupils overcoming them.

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

Raising the achievement of disadvantaged and vulnerable learners is now fully embedded across all aspects of school improvement planning, which has been fully informed by monitoring data collated within the Closing the Gap Dashboard. The school has reviewed and redeployed the allocation of the Pupil Development Grant to ensure that it is targeted to address the areas of development identified through the Closing the Gap dashboard.

There are clear and comprehensive policies, systems, and procedures in place across the school to support staff in removing barriers to learning and success. The provision for care, support and guidance has been identified as being a significant strength and caters for both pupils’ academic and pastoral needs. The school employs key staff to support the provision, such as Attendance and Well-being Officers and the Pupil and Family Liaison Officer who are funded through the Pupil Development Grant. These roles are central in supporting pupils to overcome identified barriers to them attending school. This includes working with external agencies to support learners’ emotional and well-being needs.

The school closely monitors disadvantaged and vulnerable learners’ access to all learning experiences and ensures that at least proportional representation is achieved in all areas of provision. Pupil voice groups are used to develop curriculum provision and identify areas for development and advise on strategies to reduce barriers. For example, feedback from these groups has led to all pupils having access to universal provision of music tuition lessons with funding for disadvantaged learners provided through the PDG. In addition, the school allocates all departments with necessary resources to ensure that pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds can fully participate in activities. For example, pupils are provided with cooking ingredients for food technology lessons and physical education kits have been purchased to ensure that all pupils are able to participate in sporting activities.

There is a clear and well-planned programme of activities across the school to raise the aspirations of all pupils and their families. This programme involves formal curriculum provision where raising the profile of careers across the school is built into phase and departmental teaching and learning experiences. In addition, the curriculum is enhanced through initiatives with universities specifically designed to engage pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, and their families, in order to enhance participation rates and raise their aspirations from an early age.

How have you shared your good practice?

Practice has been shared with both the local authority and regional consortium via their dissemination channels. The school has also made presentations at conferences and has hosted best practice workshops and visits from other schools.

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice

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Information about the school

Ysgol Maes y Coed is a maintained special school for pupils aged 3-19 with additional learning needs. It has 121 pupils on roll who travel from across Neath Port Talbot local authority and present with complex needs.

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

Maes Y Coed was a Pioneer School for Expressive arts, firstly as part of a four-school cluster, then later as an individual school. The teacher responsible was also Arts Champion as part of the Lead Creative Schools project. Arts Champions were responsive to individual or clusters of school needs and then delivered bespoke training for them.

Maes y Coed has always had a strong focus on the expressive arts curriculum as its dynamic nature engages, motivates, and encourages the school’s pupils. By engaging with expressive arts, pupils have actively explored their own culture, the differences within their locality and the history of the local area.

The expressive arts are accessible to all pupils and are, as such, fully inclusive. They enthuse pupils and expand their horizons, developing their creative, imaginative, and practical skills whilst also developing their resilience and curiosity.

Pupil voice is an integral part of the ethos of Ysgol Maes y Coed. The choir was formed by the pupils for the pupils, the school’s music festivals and theatre trips also derive from pupil voice.

Description of nature of strategy or activity

The school’s expressive arts lead teacher designs and delivers bespoke training for all staff. Training is tailor-made to represent the school’s individual needs. Training aims to challenge staff perceptions and to remove barriers to learning. Training delivered includes creativity, integral skills, high impact low-cost arts day, and using Garage Band. Staff are encouraged to explore various art techniques and apply these to planning engaging lessons for pupils.

Musical experiences for pupils include school music festivals where rock bands, acoustic musicians, local schools’ orchestras, and choirs are invited to perform on different stages, the school’s very own version of Glastonbury! In addition, pupils experience samba workshops, harpists, bands, guitarists, brass bands, and choir performances. Pupils have performed at the Wales Millennium Centre, opened at a Childrens’ Commissioner for Wales event at the All Nations Centre in Cardiff and performed with the cast of Les Misérables in the Queen`s Theatre London. Pupils have featured in musicals including ‘Pride Rock’, which was written by pupils. In addition, they selected the music, produced the costumes and scenery, and provided animations for the stampede scene. With support from staff and a dance student from Bristol University, pupils choreographed the dance routines. All senior school pupils took part as performers, filmmakers, or as part of the backstage crew.

In the summer term of 2022, new musical instruments were provided by Neath Port Talbot Music Services. Instruments have been used well in the classes, with all classes having their own set of boom whackers so pupils can start looking at musical notation (using the colours), coloured hand bells and glockenspiels. In addition, the school has untuned percussion, a samba set and an orchestrated sound beam. This has made music composition accessible for all pupils.

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

Pupils are highly engaged and motivated by the variety of practitioners who have visited the school. Specific music skills have been taught and used and pupils are making good progress in this area. A few can read musical notation and play musical instruments with confidence. Staff are more confident in teaching music across the school, and this has resulted in more music being taught and used effectively in other areas of learning and experience.

Pupils’ art skills are developed consistently, and pupils decide on the direction of their learning. Teaching considers Welsh artists as a starting point as well as using different art forms. Expressive arts training has also helped to contribute to staff well-being and morale as demonstrated in staff feedback following training events.

The school has shared its work in a video for the Welsh Government to discuss the impact of its creative curriculum.

How have you shared your good practice?

The school’s curriculum lead has delivered training for schools within the local authority on creativity and music as part of her role as arts champion. Furthermore, the curriculum lead was invited to speak on a panel representing the Arts Council of Wales during an all-Wales conference. The school’s curriculum lead has also delivered sessions at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s and at Cardiff Metropolitan University, regarding expressive arts and additional learning needs. She has also taken part in a podcast on education and has hosted chats for Network Ed on X (formerly Twitter). The school has beneficial links with other special schools, resource units, and mainstream schools within the locality and nationally.

The school has shared its heritage projects with other local schools. Jeremy Miles AS has visited the school as part of his role as Minister for Education, to look at the music provision and how music is taught at Maes y Coed.

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice

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Information about the school

Ysgol Maes y Coed is a maintained special school for pupils aged 3-19 with additional learning needs. It has 121 pupils on roll who travel from across Neath Port Talbot local authority and present with complex needs.   

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

Ysgol Maes y Coed is a nurturing, happy and hard-working school that places a significant priority on the well-being of its staff and pupils. Leaders have created a strong culture of mutual support when working together and encourage respect and kindness between staff, pupils, and families.

Leaders recognise that the school’s greatest resource is its staff. They acknowledge the importance that all staff feel valued as an important and integral part of the school. The headteacher asserts that leadership is an interactive process involving noticing, feeling, and sense making in situations and in ways that connect with others. This method of leadership results in improved organisational performance, engagement, pupil outcomes, retention, and the well-being of the workforce.

The school’s vision for compassionate leadership comes down to small, everyday habits; the way that you treat people and the attitude you bring to the school every day. Leaders believe they should be kind to people, consider feelings, and listen to what’s happening in your team’s lives. Working in school leadership requires empathy, patience, and kindness. Leaders at the school strive to ensure that all team members share the same values regarding how others are treated.

In addition, leaders at the school recognise the significant impact of parenting a child with additional needs has and the isolation and lack of inclusive opportunities that families may experience. This was further impacted by COVID-19, which isolated many families and reduced their opportunities to access additional essential support.

The headteacher maintains that compassionate leadership is not a ‘soft’ option. Compassionate leaders are not ‘pushovers.’ They consider the feelings and needs of others, but ultimately, they must make the best decisions for their school. It places the emphasis on both people and outcomes, encouraging high performance through empathy, understanding and support.

Description of nature of strategy or activity

The expertise, compassion, and care shown by all staff at the school is ongoing. At Maes y Coed, compassionate leadership entails caring deeply for everyone within the school’s extended family.

A strong sense of identity and belonging at the school is considered vital by school leaders. These conditions are created by the school through investing in community engagement, building trust, and making connections. These networks are shaped by the school’s leaders who model compassion, empathy, and respect for others.

Leaders recognise the vital impact parents and carers have on their children and life at the school. Staff work extremely closely with parents to create a strong, supportive team around the child. The school enables parents and staff to meet and speak about any issues and concerns. Staff communicate daily with parents via an electronic platform as many of the pupils are unable to go home and talk about their school day due to the nature of their needs.

The school’s work with other agencies is pivotal in supporting pupils. As a result of effective multi-agency working the holistic, social, medical, and psychological needs of a pupil are taken into account when formulating any plans.

Where possible the school hosts clinics, appointments, and multi-agency meetings within school. Examples of these are paediatrician appointments, neurology appointments with the consultant neurologist, palliative care clinics, bi-annual dental visits and a hairdresser visits every week. This approach avoids disruption for pupils and supports families effectively.

Support for families doesn’t stop at the end of the school day. The school offers a range of after-school events that include whole families, and there is always an emphasis to include siblings and the wider family. The school organises special events for families such as the Santa light trail, Halloween and Valentine discos, cinema trips and bowling.

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

Staff at the school feel valued, supported, and cared for and as a result they go the extra mile for their pupils. Some ways to encourage kindness and show staff they are valued include:

  • ‘Marvelous – Mondays’ where every week, a range of staff win a free lunch, an extra 10-minute break, a highly prized car parking space!
  • Allowing staff to attend their child’s first Christmas concert or sports day. This means more than you will ever know!
  • Staff prizes at the end of the year recognising excellent attendance.
  • Supporting staff, providing toiletries in all staff toilet areas.
  • Staff team building events.
  • A chocolate egg for everyone who completes the staff well-being questionnaire at the end of every spring term.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic the school secured significant grant funding to purchase a slow cooker and other kitchen equipment for all families. The grant also covered food vouchers to purchase ingredients so that families could participate in a ‘Cook ‘n Cuppa’ session. The aim of the project was to show how to feed a family at a lower cost by batch cooking.  

Sessions with the family engagement officers have improved parental attendance and engagement at a range of events that the school provides. As a result, parents feel well equipped to meet the diverse needs of their children and feel able to implement strategies at home that pupils use at school. This improved consistency and collaboration has led to a reduction of behaviours that challenge at home. This evidence has been collected via care and support meetings, person-centered review meetings and from questionnaire responses. Parents also report feeling empowered to undertake activities that focus on themselves.  

How have you shared your good practice?

The school celebrates staff, family, and pupil successes in the school’s regular newsletters, via its digital platforms, social media posts as well as in governor meetings.

The school has shared its leadership ethos within the local authority.

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice

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Information about the school or provider

Gilfach Fargoed and Park Primaries have been federated since September 2019. Both schools serve the community of Bargoed and both experience relatively high levels of deprivation. Over 55% of children in Park Primary and over 30% in Gilfach Fargoed are eligible for free school meals. The federation serves 307 children between the two schools with 3% of children speaking English as an additional language. Both schools have full time nurseries and mixed year group classes.

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

There is exceptionally strong collaboration between staff across both schools in the federation, with the vision of “two schools, one team” understood by all. Coaching and mentoring activities, as well as other strategies to develop pedagogical practices, maximise the potential of the federation to allow best practice to be shared and developed widely. There are effective strategies in place for all staff to develop their leadership skills, often across the federation. This, not only builds capacity, but benefits the staff, in terms of their professional learning and effective deployment and. Most importantly, pupils benefit from the resulting effective teaching, making better than expected progress from their individual starting points.

Description of nature of strategy or activity

  • Initially leaders developed a supportive, open and honest culture across both schools, establishing expectations of teaching and of pupils’ learning. Securing a shared understanding of the non-negotiables of teaching and learning, the school prioritised their “Ten Commandments”, which link to pedagogical principles. To facilitate this development, staff shadowed others in a variety of roles to share best practice, and took part in professional learning to disseminate excellence.
  • The senior leadership team was expanded to include teachers from both schools. Leaders reviewed staff roles to focus on outcomes for learners and to strengthen leadership. Middle leadership roles were developed, with peer colleagues supporting one another in roles across the schools, and a collaborative approach to appropriate middle leadership training was taken.
  • Shared INSET days and training events enabled staff to work as a team and to facilitate relationships across the schools. For example, staff from both schools worked together to develop expertise in a specific AoLE as teams, attending training together and disseminating to all staff.
  • Involving governors proactively, in joint school visits to support self-evaluation activities, encouraged them to embrace the “two schools, one team” ethos and to reduce the impact of former loyalties.
  • There was an overhaul of existing cycle of self-evaluation practices so that practice aligned.
  • Staff established a shared calendar of events and activities for all pupils.
  • Coaching and mentoring teams worked across both schools, as did triad systems and paired roles such as ALNCo and Well-being lead. This enabled staff to develop a supportive culture of improvement, developing pedagogical practices for example.

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

Prior to federation, expectations of pupils at Park Primary were low, a culture engendered by the levels of deprivation in the community. The quality of teaching was inconsistent and the majority of pupils did not make the expected progress. There was very little evidence of pupil involvement in their learning. An Estyn monitoring visit found no evidence of collaborative planning in the school and “too little focus on consistency and progression.”

Following federation and confirmed by the Estyn inspection of 2023:

  • Most pupils at Park Primary School are now making “strong progress from very low baselines”. The strong collaborative work on Curriculum for Wales ensures that “nearly all children are capable and aspirational learners”.
  • Thanks to the effective development of pedagogy, and the consistency of expectations, teachers in Park Primary successfully motivate pupils to persevere and succeed in their learning.
  • Very successful partnership working on well-being, including an innovative approach to interventions, has ensured that standards of well-being are high in the school. Estyn describes this as “a notable strength and a valuable focus of the school’s work.”
  • Pupils now play a crucial role in school improvement, with many taking on useful and impactful leadership roles through a range of inclusive pupil groups.

Gilfach Fargoed Primary, too, has benefited enormously from the partnership, with enhanced opportunities for leadership roles, and wider team working, leading to improved outcomes for learners. In 2023, Estyn found:

  • There is effective use of distributed leadership throughout the federation, which works to the advantage of both schools, both being stronger as a result.
  • The focus on effective teaching and developing leaders has ignited a passion for learning within the school staff.

Collaborative planning and training, as well as shared research opportunities, have developed expertise, ensured a culture of enquiry and innovation and led to a more informed, reflective workforce who consistently demonstrate high levels of sustained professional practice.

How have you shared your good practice?

Gilfach Fargoed and Park Primary Schools Federation shares its good practice with other schools within its cluster regularly, as well as, more widely, in its role as a Partner School for EAS, focusing on wellbeing and numeracy. The Partner School role depends for its success on the thriving partnership between both schools in the federation.

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice

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Information about the school or provider

Gilfach Fargoed and Park Primaries have been federated since September 2019. Both schools serve the community of Bargoed and both experience relatively high levels of deprivation. Over 55% of children in Park Primary and over 30% in Gilfach Fargoed are eligible for free school meals. The federation serves 307 children between the two schools with 3% of children speaking English as an additional language. Both schools have full time nurseries and mixed year group classes.

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

There is exceptionally strong collaboration between staff across both schools in the federation, with the vision of “two schools, one team” understood by all. Coaching and mentoring activities, as well as other strategies to develop pedagogical practices, maximise the potential of the federation to allow best practice to be shared and developed widely. There are effective strategies in place for all staff to develop their leadership skills, often across the federation. This, not only builds capacity, but benefits the staff, in terms of their professional learning and effective deployment and. Most importantly, pupils benefit from the resulting effective teaching, making better than expected progress from their individual starting points.

Description of nature of strategy or activity

  • Initially leaders developed a supportive, open and honest culture across both schools, establishing expectations of teaching and of pupils’ learning. Securing a shared understanding of the non-negotiables of teaching and learning, the school prioritised their “Ten Commandments”, which link to pedagogical principles. To facilitate this development, staff shadowed others in a variety of roles to share best practice, and took part in professional learning to disseminate excellence.
  • The senior leadership team was expanded to include teachers from both schools. Leaders reviewed staff roles to focus on outcomes for learners and to strengthen leadership. Middle leadership roles were developed, with peer colleagues supporting one another in roles across the schools, and a collaborative approach to appropriate middle leadership training was taken.
  • Shared INSET days and training events enabled staff to work as a team and to facilitate relationships across the schools. For example, staff from both schools worked together to develop expertise in a specific AoLE as teams, attending training together and disseminating to all staff.
  • Involving governors proactively, in joint school visits to support self-evaluation activities, encouraged them to embrace the “two schools, one team” ethos and to reduce the impact of former loyalties.
  • There was an overhaul of existing cycle of self-evaluation practices so that practice aligned.
  • Staff established a shared calendar of events and activities for all pupils.
  • Coaching and mentoring teams worked across both schools, as did triad systems and paired roles such as ALNCo and Well-being lead. This enabled staff to develop a supportive culture of improvement, developing pedagogical practices for example.

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

Prior to federation, expectations of pupils at Park Primary were low, a culture engendered by the levels of deprivation in the community. The quality of teaching was inconsistent and the majority of pupils did not make the expected progress. There was very little evidence of pupil involvement in their learning. An Estyn monitoring visit found no evidence of collaborative planning in the school and “too little focus on consistency and progression.”

Following federation and confirmed by the Estyn inspection of 2023:

  • Most pupils at Park Primary School are now making “strong progress from very low baselines”. The strong collaborative work on Curriculum for Wales ensures that “nearly all children are capable and aspirational learners”.
  • Thanks to the effective development of pedagogy, and the consistency of expectations, teachers in Park Primary successfully motivate pupils to persevere and succeed in their learning.
  • Very successful partnership working on well-being, including an innovative approach to interventions, has ensured that standards of well-being are high in the school. Estyn describes this as “a notable strength and a valuable focus of the school’s work.”
  • Pupils now play a crucial role in school improvement, with many taking on useful and impactful leadership roles through a range of inclusive pupil groups.

Gilfach Fargoed Primary, too, has benefited enormously from the partnership, with enhanced opportunities for leadership roles, and wider team working, leading to improved outcomes for learners. In 2023, Estyn found:

  • There is effective use of distributed leadership throughout the federation, which works to the advantage of both schools, both being stronger as a result.
  • The focus on effective teaching and developing leaders has ignited a passion for learning within the school staff.

Collaborative planning and training, as well as shared research opportunities, have developed expertise, ensured a culture of enquiry and innovation and led to a more informed, reflective workforce who consistently demonstrate high levels of sustained professional practice.

How have you shared your good practice?

Gilfach Fargoed and Park Primary Schools Federation shares its good practice with other schools within its cluster regularly, as well as, more widely, in its role as a Partner School for EAS, focusing on wellbeing and numeracy. The Partner School role depends for its success on the thriving partnership between both schools in the federation.

Improvement Resource Type: Effective Practice

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Information about the school

Mary Immaculate R.C. High School is an English medium, Catholic, 11-16 comprehensive school in the west of Cardiff.  There are around 786 pupils on roll and the school admits pupils from a wide geographical area. Around 40% of pupils are eligible for free school meals. Around 11% of pupils have an additional learning need and a very few have a statement or Individual Development Plan (IDP). A majority of pupils come from a white British background, and many speak English as their first language. No pupils are fluent in Welsh. The headteacher has been in post since September 2014.  

Culture of high expectations

Leaders use their Catholic mission to take a strategic and comprehensive approach to reducing the impact of poverty on pupils’ attainment, removing barriers to learning and developing resilience and aspiration in their learners. The school aims to develop a culture that never drops its standards but ensures pupils meet those standards with support. Leaders strive to ensure that this ethos runs through everything they do.

Over 70% of pupils have been eligible for free school meals (FSM) at some point. Given that, what the school offers and does is for everyone. They track pupils eligible for FSM but understand that deprivation impacts on many other pupils and families, therefore the support and challenge is for all and not focused on one particular group. Leaders use test data to set very ambitious academic targets for all, but high expectations run through everything – including behaviour, relationships and uniform (which the school provides for pupils if needed).

Curriculum and Learning

The school places a strong emphasis on providing a very broad curriculum and a wealth of enrichment experiences that broaden pupils’ horizons and give them access to opportunities that may not be available to them otherwise. The school runs a timetabled enrichment curriculum for Years 9-11 to support enhanced skills development. This always involves non-examined courses that enhance pupils’ wellbeing and includes activities such as sign language, gardening, first aid, textiles or cake decorating. In addition, ‘Academic Review’ sessions take place during tutor time. These involve a course around building ‘cultural capital’ by giving pupils a breadth of historical and ethical knowledge that enhances their characters and breadth of understanding of their world. Pupils also benefit from a wide range of extra-curricular trips and activities that support learning and provide opportunities to broaden their experiences and develop further skills. This offer includes sports clubs, arts and crafts, trips to businesses or retreats to local areas for outward-bound activities. Pupils can access an after school bus service which supports them attending extra curricular activities

The school captures all the experiences accessed by pupils via their ‘Horizons Programme’. This tracks the cultural, aspirational, transition and careers events to ensure that all pupils have comprehensive access to experiences that enhance their aspirations. The annual culture week builds on this, with a celebration of the diverse nature of the school community.

Removing the barriers to learning

The school’s emphasis on building positive relationships with pupils and their families and the provision for supporting the well-being of pupils is central to its approach to alleviating the impact of poverty. The school’s ‘Bridge’ facility for vulnerable pupils offers bespoke support for pupils to overcome any barriers to learning, whilst nurturing them in readiness for the real world, with the aim of improving their emotional and mental well-being. The ‘Bridge’ provides sanctuary as well as providing bespoke interventions which include bereavement and emotional regulation interventions. The team in the facility includes a number of Mental Health First Aiders that support individuals in a mentoring capacity. Well-being staff work closely and successfully with a range of outside agencies, such Local Authority Specialist Teams, Primary Mental Health Services, School Nurse, external School Counsellor, Social Services and Music Therapist. With an often large number of pupils in local authority care (LACE), the school has appointed a LACE champion to specifically support their needs, along with specific support for the many young carers in the school’s community.

The school’s team approach to safeguarding means that a range of staff are trained to a high level in safeguarding processes. This means that there is a strong shared understanding of the central importance of safeguarding.

The school runs its own canteen facility. Staff in the canteen know the pupils well. They ensure that they have a good diet in school and pupils who may face deprivation are targeted for support.