Alaw Primary School

Overview

Alaw Primary School is described as a “nurturing, caring school” that successfully adopts a “strong, inclusive approach.” While many pupils feel safe and make suitable progress, particularly in reading, the report highlights significant inconsistencies in teaching standards and assessment practices, particularly for older pupils.

Strengths

• The school provides “effective opportunities for pupils to reflect on important values such as equity and diversity.”
• Staff act as “positive role models” and offer “beneficial support to manage pupils’ emotional well-being.”
• The learning environment has been developed “thoughtfully to support pupils to self-regulate their behaviours,” aiding those returning post-pandemic.
• “Many pupils with additional learning needs (ALN) are supported well and make suitable progress.”
• Most pupils make “good progress in their reading skills,” and many younger pupils show suitable progress in oracy.

Areas to improve

• Older pupils’ progress in writing, numeracy, digital, and Welsh skills is “not as strong as it should be” due to independent tasks that do not focus well enough on skill application.
• The use of assessment and feedback “varies across the school,” with feedback for older pupils often failing to clarify how to improve.
• Self-evaluation and monitoring processes are “not robust enough,” leading to a “lack of focus on the important areas for improvement.”

Safeguarding

The report states that there are “appropriate policies in place to support safeguarding, healthy eating and lifestyles.”