Ysgol Tir Morfa is a day special school situated across two sites in Rhyl and maintained by Denbighshire local authority. The school provides placements for pupils aged 3 to 19 years who have a statement of special educational needs, or who are undergoing statutory assessment. Pupils at the school have a range of needs, including autistic spectrum disorders, speech, language and communication needs and moderate, severe and profound learning difficulties. There are currently 136 pupils on roll, of whom just under 50% are eligible for free school meals. Nearly all the pupils are from homes where English is the main spoken language. The school aims to provide a happy, safe learning environment to nurture pupils in lifelong communication, independence and life skills. The school was last inspected in December 2011. The current headteacher took up post in April 2017. 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 Tir Morfa May 2018 Summary Ysgol Tir Morfa is a day special school that places great focus on providing a caring, nurturing learning experience for all its pupils. Staff, governors and pupils fully embrace the school’s motto ‘Learning to live, living to learn’. Over time, in relation to their needs and abilities, nearly all pupils make excellent progress in developing their independence skills. Pupil behaviour in classes and around the two school sites is usually exemplary. Staff foster positive, close and respectful working relationships with pupils. Teachers use well their knowledge of pupils’ needs and areas for development in planning stimulating learning experiences. The curriculum builds successfully on pupils’ existing knowledge and understanding. Leaders ensure positive outcomes for pupils, giving them the necessary skills to be happy, safe and as independent as possible. Leaders place a clear focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning and building positive staff-pupil relationships. 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 Tir Morfa May 2018 Recommendations R1 Develop the curriculum in order to extend the range of accreditation on offer, particularly for the more able R2 Develop consistent approaches to the use of agreed communication strategies across the school R3 Address the site security and wellbeing issues identified during the inspection R4 Strengthen self-evaluation procedures 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 a case study on its work in relation to keeping parents informed about their children’s progress, for dissemination on Estyn’s website.