Ysgol Bryn Derw is situated in the city of Newport and is registered to provide day education for children and young people between the ages of three and nineteen. All pupils that attend the school have a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). Nearly all have speech, communication and language difficulties and the majority of pupils do not communicate using speech. Nearly all pupils have severe learning difficulties also. Pupils come from a large catchment area across Newport. Just over a third of all pupils receive free school meals. No pupils speak Welsh as a first language. Just under a third of pupils come from ethnic minority backgrounds. A very few pupils are looked after by a local authority. It is not appropriate to compare the standards that pupils achieve at the school with national averages or to analyse the performance trends of groups of pupils over time because of the nature of pupils’ special educational needs. The school was opened in September 2017. The senior leadership team, consisting of the headteacher and deputy headteacher were appointed for the opening on the school. The number of pupils at the school has grown each year. Currently 69 pupils between the ages of four and sixteen are on roll. Due to the increasing numbers of pupils, over half of the staff were appointed after 2017. This is the first inspection of the school since it opened. 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 Ysgol Bryn Derw March 2020 Summary Ysgol Bryn Derw is a close-knit, nurturing community that provides outstanding care, support and guidance for its pupils. It has an extremely caring and supportive ethos, which promotes the individual needs of its pupils exceptionally well. The school has robust and well established systems in place to track the progress that all pupils make. In the short space of time since joining the school, nearly all pupils exceed their personal targets in social, communication and independence skills and many achieve or do better than expected in their literacy and numeracy skills. The school provides exceptional opportunities for parents and carers to support their children’s needs. The inspirational leadership and collaborative approach of the headteacher have enabled staff, pupils, parents and governors to be part of a highly successful school. Inspection area Judgement Standards Excellent Wellbeing and attitudes to learning Excellent Teaching and learning experiences Good Care, support and guidance Excellent Leadership and management Excellent 2 A report on Ysgol Bryn Derw March 2020 Recommendations R1 Strengthen curriculum planning to meet the needs of pupils as they move through the school 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 case studies on its work in relation to; establishing a new school for pupils with ASD and; meeting the communication needs of children and young people with ASD for dissemination on Estyn’s website.