Name of provider Ysgol Treffynnon Local authority Flintshire County Council Language of the provider English Religious character N/A Number of pupils on roll 508 Pupils of statutory school age 508 Number in sixth form No sixth form Percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals over a three-year average (The national percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals over a three-year average in Secondary is 21.2%) 29.9% Percentage of pupils identified as having 27.6% additional learning needs (a) (The national percentage of pupils identified as having an additional learning need in Secondary is 14.8%) Percentage of pupils who speak Welsh at home 3.7% Percentage of pupils with English as an additional language 3.1% Date of headteacher appointment 11/10.2015 Date of previous Estyn inspection (if applicable) 20/01/2016 Start date of inspection 22/01/2024 Data reported is sourced from the latest available Pupil Level Annual School Census. These figures may be slightly different to those observed during the inspection. Further information is available from the Welsh Government My Local School website: mylocalschool.gov.wales a. The term ‘additional learning needs’ is being used to describe those pupils on the SEN/ALN register of the school. 2 A report on Ysgol Treffynnon January 2024 Summary At Ysgol Treffynnon, staff are committed to ensuring the well-being of each individual pupil and this is at the heart of the school’s work. The school’s ethos is based on SPIRIT – inspiring pupils’ self-belief, perseverance, respect, integrity and trust. Staff know pupils well and strive to ensure that they attend school regularly and are ready to learn. During the current academic year, the school’s work with the community has resulted in substantial unverified improvements in the attendance of all groups of pupils, although attendance overall remains slightly below pre-pandemic levels. Most teachers have positive working relationships with their pupils and many teachers provide engaging learning experiences. In many instances, teachers have effective classroom management and, as a result, behaviour in lessons is generally good. However, over time, there have been incidents of poor behaviour, which have led to the school’s rates of exclusions being high. The headteacher provides thoughtful leadership and is ably supported by the rest of the senior leadership team. They provide a clear strategic direction for the school and have high expectations of themselves, staff and pupils. Although there is variation in the quality of middle leadership, leaders at all levels know the school well. Many have a suitable understanding of the quality of provision in their areas of responsibility. They plan for improvement effectively, considering carefully what professional learning is required. This has led to marked improvements in many important areas of the school’s work, including attendance, the provision to develop pupils’ reading skills and the quality of teaching. The school is in a difficult financial situation and currently has a substantial financial deficit. In many instances, teaching is effective. In these instances, teachers plan their lessons carefully to ensure that pupils are challenged to think deeply. They monitor pupils’ progress closely and provide useful feedback that helps pupils know how to improve their work. As a result, in these lessons pupils, including those who have additional learning needs, make sound progress in developing their knowledge, understanding and skills. In a minority of instances, there are shortcomings in teaching, which leads to pupils not making as much progress as they should. In these lessons, pupils do not engage well enough with the work and do not develop their independent learning skills. The school has provided beneficial training for staff on effective strategies to develop pupils’ literacy and digital skills. However, the provision to develop pupils’ numeracy and Welsh language skills is underdeveloped.