Ysgol Gymuned Penisarwaun is situated in the village of Penisarwaun, in a rural area at the foot of Snowdon, approximately five miles from Caernarfon in Gwynedd local authority. Pupils come from the village and the surrounding rural area. Welsh is the main medium of the school’s life and work. There are 60 pupils between 3 and 11 years old on roll, including 5 nursery age pupils. The school has two mixed-age classes. Over the last three years, around 3% of pupils have been eligible for free school meals. This is significantly lower than the national percentage of 18%. Around 70% of pupils come from Welsh-speaking homes. The school has identified around 25% of pupils as having special educational needs, which is higher than the national percentage of 21%. The headteacher has been in post since April 2016. The school was last inspected in June 2013. 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 Gymuned Penisarwaun October 2019 Summary Staff create a welcoming and inclusive environment at the school, which nurtures a supportive and hard-working learning ethos for pupils. An excellent feature is the familial ethos, which ensures that pupils and staff care for each other naturally. As a result, pupils are happy to attend, behave very well and develop positive attitudes to learning. During their time there, most pupils develop as competent and confident bilingual learners, make sound progress and achieve well. Teachers provide rich and interesting learning experiences for pupils, which meet most of their needs well. The school has a very strong Welsh ethos and there is a clear emphasis on providing a range of valuable experiences which reflect the nature and context of the school successfully. As a result, pupils show pride in their school and their language, and have a clear appreciation of the local area’s culture and history. The headteacher provides effective leadership which sets a clear strategic direction for the school. She receives strong support from dedicated staff, who work well together as a team. They show strong commitment to promoting continuous and sustainable improvements. Governors have a thorough understanding of the school and use their knowledge purposefully to challenge the school and hold it to account for standards. Inspection area Judgement Standards Good Wellbeing and attitudes to learning Good Teaching and learning experiences Good Care, support and guidance Good Leadership and management Good 2 A report on Ysgol Gymuned Penisarwaun October 2019 Recommendations R1 Refine monitoring procedures so that they focus more incisively on the effect of priorities for improvement on pupils’ outcomes R2 Provide more regular opportunities for pupils to make choices in relation to their learning and work more independently R3 Ensure that pupils are more aware of what they need to do to improve their own work R4 Improve the information and communication technology (ICT) skills of pupils in key stage 2 to handle data across the curriculum What happens next The school will produce an action plan to address the recommendations from the inspection 3 A report on Ysgol Gymuned Penisarwaun October 2019 Main findings Standards: Good During their time at the school, most pupils, including those with special educational needs, make sound progress in their learning and achieve well. Most pupils’ speaking and listening skills are developing quickly in the foundation phase. By Year 2, they concentrate well and discuss their tasks with increasing confidence, by using broad and accurate vocabulary. They are keen to talk about their work and experiences, for example when discussing a dinosaur’s visit to the class during the night. In key stage 2, nearly all pupils build well on this firm foundation. Most speak Welsh completely naturally and use rich language and purposeful vocabulary when discussing their work. They are able to express themselves maturely in Welsh and English, for example when discussing homeless people. Most pupils enjoy reading and make good progress regularly. The youngest pupils recognise letters and sounds correctly and are beginning to recognise words confidently. By Year 2, most read meaningfully and with expression, and discuss the content of their books maturely. In key stage 2, many pupils read intelligently in both languages. By Year 6, they practise their higher-order reading skills regularly and maturely to gather information from different sources. A good example of this is how pupils gather information about the experiences of an evacuee during the Second World War. Most pupils’ early writing skills are developing positively in the foundation phase. They use varied vocabulary and language increasingly. By Year 2, many are beginning to use extended writing by using sentences and suitable vocabulary to support their work, for example when writing a script for an imaginary character. Most pupils in key stage 2 develop their writing skills successfully and, by the end of the stage, they show a firm grasp of spelling patterns, paragraphing and punctuation in both languages. At the top of the school, many show a sound awareness of the features of a wide range of writing genres, for example when writing a letter to Lord Penrhyn to express their support to the local quarrymen. They use mature vocabulary in their writing, and use effects and similes successfully to enrich their work. In the foundation phase, most pupils make good progress in their mathematical development. Most in the reception class count a set of dinosaurs and sort them correctly by size. By Year 2, most handle money correctly and develop a good understanding of measurement, time and data. They use their numeracy skills confidently to solve problems successfully, for example when measuring the time it takes for ice to melt. In key stage 2, most pupils build well on their previous learning and, by Year 6, they use a wide range of methods confidently to calculate mentally. They apply these methods successfully to solve problems, for example when discovering the cost of a visit to the cinema. They apply their reasoning and interrogation skills successfully in subjects across the curriculum, for example when experimenting with, and investigating, how quickly a parachute falls to the ground.