Penycae Community Primary School

Overview

Penycae Community Primary School is described as a “happy and caring community” where leaders have created a “clear vision” to ensure a safe and inclusive environment. Staff know pupils well, supporting their emotional well-being effectively, while most pupils make good progress in their learning and demonstrate positive attitudes.

Strengths

• The school fosters a “nurturing, caring ethos” where pupils feel valued, safe, and supported by staff who have “warm relationships” with them.
• Most pupils, including those with additional learning needs, “make good progress” in literacy, numeracy, and digital skills, with effective interventions in place.
• Teachers plan “engaging learning experiences” that incorporate pupil ideas, creating “productive, active learning environments” both indoors and outdoors.
• Pupils display high levels of respect, politeness, and care towards peers, with effective strategies to manage emotions and behaviour.

Areas to improve

• Provide more opportunities for pupils to develop “independent learning skills,” including how they organise and present their work, as they are currently “over-reliant on teacher direction.”
• Ensure the quality of teacher feedback effectively targets “next steps in pupils’ learning” and allows sufficient time for pupils to act upon it.
• Further develop the curriculum to provide a “systematic whole school approach” to developing Welsh language skills and numeracy across all subjects.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the safeguarding culture is robust, and all staff understand their roles and responsibilities in contributing to pupils’ safety and well-being.”