Croeserw Primary School is in the Neath Port Talbot local authority. There are 159 pupils on roll, including 17 nursery pupils who attend part-time. There are seven mixed-age classes and one single-age class. These include two local authority resource classes for pupils with moderate learning difficulties. The average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals over the past three years is around 61%. This is well above the average for Wales of 18%. The school has identified around 35% of pupils as having special educational needs. This is considerably higher than the national average of 21%. A few pupils have a statement of special educational needs. Nearly all pupils are white British and speak English at home. No pupils speak Welsh at home. Croeserw Primary School, along with Glyncorrwg, Cymer Afan and Pen Afan Primary Schools, is part of the Upper Afan Valley Federation of Schools, which formed in September 2013. The federation was previously one of five schools, but reduced to four primary schools after the closure of Cymer Afan Comprehensive School in July 2019. The headteacher of the federation took up the post in September 2019; he had been the primary phase leader since 2013. Each primary school has a lead learner who is responsible for the day-to-day running of the school. Further information is available from the Welsh Government My Local School website at the link below. http://mylocalschool.wales.gov.uk/Schools/SchoolSearch?lang=en 1 A report on Croeserw Primary School January 2020 Summary All staff provide pupils with effective care, support and guidance and place a high priority on ensuring that they have high levels of wellbeing. As a result, nearly all pupils feel safe in school and enjoy its welcoming and inclusive environment. Strategies to improve behaviour are successful in ensuring that pupils behave well at lunchtime and break times and that they are ready to learn at the start of lessons. Most pupils have positive attitudes to learning and work well together. However, their problem-solving skills are underdeveloped and they do not have sufficient opportunities to develop skills such as resilience and perseverance. Nearly all pupils start school with skills lower than expected for their age. As they move through the school, many make suitable progress in their literacy, numeracy and ICT (information and communication technology) skills. Teachers provide learning experiences that excite and engage pupils but they do not always adapt tasks and activities well enough to match the needs of those of all abilities. As a result, not all pupils make the progress of which they are capable. Provision in the learning resource classes is a strength of the school. Pupils in these classes make good progress and participate in all aspects of the school’s life. Since the establishment of the federation of primary schools in September 2019, the headteacher and the lead learner at Croeserw have continued to focus on the wellbeing of pupils as an important priority. School leaders collect a broad range of information about pupils’ achievements and use this well to plan interventions for pupils needing extra support. However, their monitoring and evaluation activities do not focus well enough on evidence from classroom practices including the quality of teaching and the standards that pupils achieve. Arrangements to share best practice in teaching and in provision for skills across the federation are at an early stage of development. Inspection area Judgement Standards Adequate and needs improvement Wellbeing and attitudes to learning Good Teaching and learning experiences Adequate and needs improvement Care, support and guidance Good Leadership and management Adequate and needs improvement 2 A report on Croeserw Primary School January 2020 Recommendations R1 Improve teaching and learning so that all pupils make the progress of which they are capable R2 Improve provision to develop pupils’ literacy skills, particularly in reading R3 Develop pupils’ independent learning skills, including their capacity to reason, solve problems and improve their own work R4 Strengthen the contributions of leaders at all levels, across the federation, particularly to evaluation and improvement work R5 Improve attendance and punctuality What happens next The school will draw up an action plan to show how it is going to address the recommendations. Estyn will review the school’s progress.