Ysgol Treffynnon

Overview

Staff are deeply committed to pupil well-being, underpinned by an ethos based on ‘SPIRIT – inspiring pupils’ self-belief, perseverance, respect, integrity and trust’. The headteacher provides ‘thoughtful leadership’ with ‘high expectations’, driving marked improvements in attendance, reading skills, and teaching quality. However, the school faces a ‘substantial financial deficit’ and challenges regarding behaviour and specific curriculum areas.

Strengths

• Staff know pupils well and strive to ensure regular attendance, resulting in ‘substantial unverified improvements’ in attendance rates.
• ‘Most teachers have positive working relationships’ with pupils, and many provide ‘engaging learning experiences’ with effective classroom management.
• In many instances, teaching is effective, with teachers planning carefully to ‘ensure that pupils are challenged to think deeply’ and providing useful feedback.
• Leaders plan for improvement effectively, leading to ‘marked improvements’ in key areas including reading provision and the quality of teaching.
• Beneficial staff training has been provided on strategies to develop pupils’ literacy and digital skills.

Areas to improve

• Reduce the rate of fixed-term exclusions, as high rates persist despite generally good behaviour in lessons.
• Work with the local authority to eliminate the ‘substantial financial deficit’.
• Improve the ‘underdeveloped’ provision for the progressive development of pupils’ numeracy and Welsh language skills.
• Improve teaching in a minority of instances where pupils do not engage well enough or develop independent learning skills.

Safeguarding

The report states that staff are ‘committed to ensuring the well-being of each individual pupil’ and that this commitment is ‘at the heart of the school’s work’.