School Risca Primary School is in the Ebbw valley, just north of Newport in the Caerphilly local authority. There are currently 326 pupils on roll, including 29 part time nursery pupils. There are 12 mixed-ability classes. Each year, the school receives about 30 pupils from a local infant school at the start of Year 3. The three-year rolling average of pupils who are eligible for free school meals is 15%, which is below the national average of 19%. Nearly all pupils speak English as their home language and a very few pupils speak Welsh as their first language. The school has identified 11% of pupils as having additional learning needs, which is well below the national average of 21%. There are a very few pupils with a statement of special educational needs. The headteacher was appointed in April 2009. The school’s most recent inspection was in January 2013. The school is currently a pioneer school and is working with the Welsh Government and other schools to take forward developments relating to the curriculum and professional learning. 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 Risca Primary School November 2018 Summary Overall, nearly all pupils make very good progress as they move through the school. They develop very strong literacy skills and solve real-life number problems very well. All pupils learn independently and productively across the school. Pupils are polite and very caring towards each other and show pride when talking about their community. The classrooms and corridors are colourful, stimulating and interesting spaces. The quality of teaching and assessment is consistently strong across the school. Pupils are influential in what and how they learn. They work with staff to shape a vibrant and engaging curriculum which contains many authentic learning experiences. As a result, learning matches pupils’ needs and interests well. Provision to develop pupils’ creative skills is excellent, especially in art. The headteacher and deputy headteacher lead a conscientious team of staff, who provide highly interesting and varied learning experiences for pupils. Staff are reflective practitioners with high expectations of pupils and themselves. They are forward thinking and share their findings and successes openly with other schools across the region. Inspection area Judgement Standards Excellent Wellbeing and attitudes to learning Good Teaching and learning experiences Excellent Care, support and guidance Good Leadership and management Excellent 2 A report on Risca Primary School November 2018 Recommendations R1 Improve attendance R2 Ensure that targets are specific and measurable for pupils with additional learning needs What happens next The school will draw up an action plan to address the recommendations from the inspection. Estyn will invite the school to prepare a case study on its work in relation to Professional Learning and distributed leadership for dissemination on Estyn’s website.