Ysgol Dinas Brân is a bilingual, 11 to 18 mixed comprehensive school. It is located in the town of Llangollen and serves the town and surrounding areas. The school is maintained by Denbighshire local authority but around 70% of pupils come from regions within Wrexham local authority and a few pupils come from two other neighbouring local authorities. There are 1,062 pupils on roll, including 135 pupils in the sixth form. This is higher than at the time of the last inspection when there were 984 pupils, including 210 in the sixth form. Around 12.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is lower than the national average of 16.4% for secondary schools. Around 6.6% of pupils live in the 20% most deprived areas in Wales. Nearly all pupils are white, British and 1.2% of pupils speak English as an additional language compared to the Wales average of 3.0%. Currently, around 26% of pupils are on the special educational needs register, which is higher than the national average of 22.9% for secondary schools. Just over 1% of pupils has a statement of special educational needs; this is lower than the national average of 2.4%. This school is a Curriculum for Wales pioneer school for the expressive arts. The headteacher has been in post since September 2018. The senior leadership team consists of two deputy headteachers, one assistant headteacher and an acting assistant headteacher. 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 Dinas Bran November 2018 Summary Leaders, teachers and support staff at Ysgol Dinas Brân place a considerable emphasis on fostering positive and engaging relationship with their pupils. Most pupils are highly respectful of staff and visitors. Many pupils are proud of their school and its warm, friendly ethos. They engage well in the many beneficial activities that take place outside of lessons. Over the past four years, leaders have worked suitably to secure strong outcomes in the majority of performance indicators and to improve whole-school attendance. However, there has not been enough focus on improving the quality of teaching and assessment during this time. Opportunities to develop pupils’ skills, in particular writing and thinking skills as well as opportunities to work independently are underdeveloped. As a result, pupils do not make as much progress as they could in lessons. 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 Ysgol Dinas Bran November 2018 Recommendations A1 Raise standards in skills and for the more able A2 Improve the quality of teaching and assessment A3 Improve the provision for skills, in particular writing, thinking and in Welsh first language A4 Improve the quality of strategic planning for self-evaluation and school improvement A5 Address the health and safety issues identified during the inspection visit What happens next The school will draw up an action plan, which shows how it is going to address the recommendations. Estyn will review the school’s progress.