Ysgol Wirfoddol Llanddarog is situated on the outskirts of the town of Carmarthen in Carmarthenshire local authority. Welsh is the main medium of the school’s life and work. There are 93 pupils between 3 and 11 years old on roll, including five full-time nursery age pupils. They are divided into four mixed-age classes. Eighty-five per cent (85%) of pupils come from Welsh-speaking homes. The school has identified around 18% of pupils as having additional learning needs. This is lower than the national percentage of 21%. Very few pupils have a statement of special educational needs. Over a three-year-period, around 0.9% of pupils have been eligible for free school meals. This is significantly lower than the national percentage of 18%. The current headteacher was appointed to the post in September 2012. The school was last inspected in February 2013. Since the beginning of the autumn term 2019, a teacher in charge has been running the school from day-to-day. Estyn does not inspect religious education or the religious content of collective worship when it is a school with a religious character. Instead, the governing body is required by law to arrange for religious education and collective worship to be inspected separately. 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 Gynradd Wirfoddol Llanddarog October 2019 Summary Pupils’ wellbeing and care are at the heart of Ysgol Wirfoddol Llanddarog’s work. Staff place a strong emphasis on creating a caring and inclusive community in a happy environment. Most pupils have a high level of respect and tolerance towards others. On the whole, they have a positive attitude towards their learning and show obvious pride in the Welsh language and the history of the local area and further afield. However, teachers do not always have high enough expectations in terms of standards, particularly for more able pupils. As a result, not all pupils make effective progress. Staff work together closely, but their strategic roles are not clear at present. Although staff identify the school’s strengths and areas for improvement, self-evaluation procedures are not rigorous enough to identify or address important issues that are in need of 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 Adequate and needs improvement Leadership and management Adequate and needs improvement 2 A report on Ysgol Gynradd Wirfoddol Llanddarog October 2019 Recommendations R1 Develop the role of leaders at all levels to ensure that there are rigorous enough procedures to address areas for improvement R2 Improve the use of the pupil progress-tracking system and establish robust procedures to support pupils with special educational needs R3 Raise teachers’ expectations in order to provide an appropriate challenge for pupils and develop them as independent learners R4 Ensure regular opportunities for pupils to apply their numeracy skills across the curriculum What happens next The school will produce an action plan to show how it will address the recommendations. Estyn will review the school’s progress.