Treowen Primary School is situated on the outskirts of Newtown, in Powys local authority. There are 140 pupils between four and eleven years old on roll. Over a period of three years, slightly over 21% of pupils have been eligible for free school meals, which is higher than the national average of 19%. The school has identified 24% of its pupils as having additional learning needs. This is higher than the national average of 21% for primary schools in Wales. There are no pupils from homes where Welsh is the first language. Very few pupils are from a minority ethnic background. The acting headteacher was appointed in January 2018. The school was last inspected in November, 2012. 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 Treowen C.P. School May 2018 Summary The school places the development of pupils’ wellbeing at the heart of its work. Pupils enjoy coming to school and most have positive attitudes towards learning. Many make suitable progress from their starting points. Provision for pupils with additional learning needs is good. There are effective working relationships between adults and pupils. Teachers and support staff support pupils’ learning appropriately. However, teaching is not always challenging enough and teachers tend to overdirect pupils’ learning. Teachers plan engaging experiences for pupils, but do not always ensure that pupils develop their skills well enough across the curriculum. There has been considerable instability in staffing and leadership over the last year. This means that the school has not addressed the priorities in the school development plan or the recommendations from the previous inspection. The acting headteacher has developed a clear vision for the school and has introduced strategies to improve these shortcomings. However, it is too early to see improvements in pupils’ standards and the quality of provision. Governors are supportive, but they do not provide enough challenge or play a strategic role in school improvement. 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 Treowen C.P. School May 2018 Recommendations R1 Strengthen the strategic role of senior leaders and governors R2 Improve pupils’ reading, writing and information and communication technology (ICT) skills R3 Ensure that teaching consistently challenges all pupils, especially the more able R4 Ensure that teachers’ planning enables pupils to develop their skills progressively across the curriculum R5 Improve attendance 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.