28/4/2023

Inspectors have described Coed Glas Primary School in Llanishen as an exceptionally caring and inclusive school where all pupils are encouraged to succeed in all aspects of learning.

During its visit earlier this year, Estyn, the education inspectorate for Wales, found that pupils benefit from highly effective nurturing support and well-being sessions which help them to develop their social skills and engage in learning.

11.4% of pupils attending the school identify as having additional learning needs and inspectors noted that pupils attending the Hearing Impairment Learning Resource (HIRB) and those that are in need of additional support, have positive attitudes to learning and benefit from worthwhile experiences provided by staff.

The report goes onto say that staff work together as a team to provide an attractive and calm learning environment and provide authentic and purposeful experiences. Staff adapt provision consistently to best meet each child's stage of development and supports pupils to effectively to develop their language and independent learning skills within a short period of time.

The team from Estyn recognised that leaders have a clear vision and a strong understanding of the strengths and areas for development of the school and that the effective and compassionate leadership of the acting headteacher sees high aspirations and support for pupils and their families. As a result, the school is an integral and an important part of its diverse community.

Inspectors recognised that teachers plan literacy, numeracy and digital activities through established routines and structured sessions to support pupils to make progress in these skills.

However, meaningful opportunities for pupils to use and apply these skills in child-initiated and engaging learning contexts across the curriculum is sometimes missed.

Commended for the work the school carries out to provide authentic and engaging experiences in the nursery provision which inspire children's love of learning and develop their independent skills and also the support given to the well-being of pupils through self-referral to the school's highly effective nurturing ‘Nest' provision, Estyn have invited the school to prepare a case study for publication on its website.

Overall a positive report, Estyn have made a series of recommendations which the school will address in their improvement action plan.

• Improve the effectiveness of teaching to challenge and consistently meet the needs of all pupils
• Provide meaningful opportunities for pupils to use and apply their literacy, numeracy and digital skills across the curriculum
• Improve pupils' Welsh oracy skills

Reflecting on the report, Headteacher Sophie Notley, said:I am so proud of our school. To have been asked to write two case studies sharing our outstanding practice in Nursery and our wellbeing Nest provision is wonderful.

"The first sentence of the report, 'Coed Glas is anexceptionally caring and inclusive primary school where all pupils are encouraged to succeed in all aspects of learning' made my day! We work very hard to ensure that we support our children, their families and our staff. For this to have been recognised validates our efforts and cements our vision and purpose as a school."

Chair of Governors at the school,Meredith Gardinersaid; "The Estyn report is a long-awaited acknowledgement of the time, effort and support which our school dedicates to pupils and the wider community. I know that the inspectors were particularly impressed with the overwhelmingly positive feedback they gathered from parents and carers during their visit.

"I'm exceedingly proud of our excellent staff and delighted that their efforts have been recognised so favourably. We're looking forward to sharing both case studies with wider colleagues as evidence of the good practice that has been developed. As a school we have exceptionally high expectations for all our children and are excited to incorporate Estyn's findings into the next stage of our development plans."

Cardiff Council's Cabinet Member for Education, Employment and Skills, Cllr Sarah Merry said: "There is some really great work happening at Coed Glas Primary School and it is great to see that Estyn have recognised this.

"The work around well-being and support for pupils to develop the learning and social skills is superb and it is pleasing to hear that Estyn have requested to highlight this as an example of best practice for other providers.

"The areas where improvements could be made will be a priority for the school and the Council will provide the appropriate support help leaders to achieve them."

At the time of the inspection, the school had529pupils on roll,28.7%of whom were eligible for free school meals.23.7% of pupils speak English as an additional language.

Estyn has adopted anew approach to inspection in schools and Pupil Referral Units across Wales. Inspection reports will no longer include summative gradings (e.g. ‘Excellent', ‘Good' or ‘Adequate') and now focus on how well providers are helping a child to learn.

The new approach aligns with the personalisation of the new curriculum for Wales with inspections involving more in-person discussions, placing less emphasis on achievement data.

Estyn believe that the new inspection approach will make it easier for providers to gain meaningful insights that help them to improve without the spotlight on a judgement.