Y BEDOL

Overview

The report states that "the wellbeing and care of pupils are central to the work of Ysgol y Bedol," with staff creating a "safe learning environment." However, it notes that teachers "do not always have sufficiently high expectations," resulting in a minority of pupils not making sufficient progress, particularly in key stage 2.

Strengths

• Staff create a "caring and supportive ethos," and most pupils "feel safe at school" and are confident sharing concerns.
• Leaders have established an "ethos of successful co-operation among staff" and made "beneficial improvements to aspects of provision."
• Pupils behave well, are "friendly and caring towards each other," and show a "positive attitude towards their work" in the foundation phase.
• The school provides effective support for vulnerable pupils, including intervention groups that have had a "positive impact on improving the behaviour."
• Governors are "very supportive" and act as "critical friends," contributing soundly to the school improvement plan.

Areas to improve

• Raise teachers’ expectations to ensure teaching is "challenging enough" and addresses the "lack of challenge in teaching."
• Improve pupils’ "Welsh language oral skills," as many do not build on these effectively or have a strong enough grasp of syntax.
• Strengthen leaders’ monitoring role to ensure procedures are "thorough enough to address the areas for improvement" and accurately assess standards.

Safeguarding

The report states that "safeguarding arrangements meet requirements and are not a cause for concern," though it highlights a health and safety issue regarding car park arrangements for dropping off and collecting pupils.