Ysgol Llansawel is a small, rural school in Carmarthenshire which serves the village itself and the surrounding area. There are 15 full-time pupils on roll, along with five nursery-aged children. Children are admitted to the school on a full-time basis during the term following their fourth birthday. Welsh is the main language spoken at home by approximately 5% of pupils. Since 2010, a high percentage of latecomers have joined the school, particularly in key stage 2. The school does not consider the area it serves to be either prosperous or economically disadvantaged. Thirty-five per cent of pupils are entitled to free school meals, which is higher than the county and national percentages. The school has judged that pupils’ attainment varies greatly on entry to the school. Approximately 40% of pupils have additional learning needs, which is much higher than the county and national percentages. A very few pupils have a statement of special educational needs. The school was last inspected in May 2007. The headteacher was appointed in January 2006 following a previous period as the headteacher in charge. There have been no significant staffing changes since the last inspection. The individual school budget per pupil for Ysgol Llansawel in 2012-2013 is £9,297. The maximum per pupil in primary schools in Carmarthenshire is £25,997 and the minimum is £2,878. Ysgol Llansawel is in third place out of the 108 primary schools in Carmarthenshire in terms of its school budget per pupil 1 A report on Ysgol Gynradd Llansawel Mai 2013 Summary The school’s current performance The school’s prospects for improvement Adequate Adequate Current performance The school’s current performance is adequate because: • pupils in the Foundation Phase make good progress in their literacy skills; • there is a positive ethos, where many pupils commit to learning and work conscientiously in lessons; • pupils who receive additional support make suitable progress in their work; and • there is effective co-operation between the school, parents and the local community. However: • pupils do make enough progress in literacy in key stage 2; • staff do not have high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve, and staff do not motivate the majority of pupils in key stage 2 to work independently in their lessons; • there is a lack of detail in planning to ensure that work always provides pupils of different abilities with an appropriate challenge, particularly pupils of higher ability; and • individual pupils’ improvement targets are too general, and marking does not do enough to show these pupils what they need to do to improve the standard of their work. Prospects for improvement Prospects for improvement are adequate because: • there is a strong sense of teamwork among staff and a clear commitment to ensuring further improvement; • improving standards of literacy is one of the priorities in the school development plan; and • leadership has a significant effect on the school’s ethos as a learning community. However: • the self-evaluation process is not rigorous enough, particularly in terms of attention to standards and the progress pupils that make in their lessons and their written work; • the governors’ role as the school’s critical friends has not been developed fully; and • the school has not succeeded in responding sufficiently to the recommendations from the last inspection.