Ysgol Y Castell is in the town of Kidwelly in Carmarthenshire. There are 258 pupils on roll aged from 3 to 11 years, including 11 who attend part-time in the nursery. The school organises its pupils into eight single-age and three mixed-age classes, plus the nursery. Around 28% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is above the national average of 18%. The school identifies about 28% of pupils as having additional learning needs. This is above the national average of 21%. A very few pupils come from an ethnic minority background or have English as an additional language. A very few pupils speak Welsh at home. The headteacher took up her post in September 2015. The school’s previous inspection was in June 2014. 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 Y Castell July 2019 Summary Most pupils enjoy attending Ysgol Y Castell. They have positive working relationships with staff and behave well in lessons and around the school. However, the school’s arrangements to ensure pupils’ safety are not robust enough. Most pupils achieve suitable standards in English and mathematics during their time at the school. They make good progress in the development of their information, and communication technology (ICT) skills. However, as a result of insufficient challenge and a lack of consistently high expectations, too many pupils do not make sufficient progress overall. In many cases, teachers plan activities that interest and engage pupils. However, many lessons and much of the timetabled week consist of activities that are too adult led. This limits opportunities for pupils to develop wider skills and become capable independent learners. A high proportion of the school’s leadership team have left the school recently and there is a lack of clarity over roles, responsibilities and lines of accountability. Staff and leaders do not have a shared vision for school improvement. Fractured working relationships between staff mean that maintaining and improving the quality of the school’s work is challenging. Self-evaluation and improvement work does not ensure that the school identifies and addresses the most important areas for improvement. Inspection area Judgement Standards Adequate and needs improvement Wellbeing and attitudes to learning Adequate and needs improvement Teaching and learning experiences Adequate and needs improvement Unsatisfactory and needs urgent improvement Unsatisfactory and needs urgent improvement Care, support and guidance Leadership and management 2 A report on Ysgol Y Castell July 2019 Recommendations R1 Address the shortcomings in safeguarding and health and safety identified during the inspection R2 Improve leadership at all levels and promote effective collaboration among all staff R3 Improve the effectiveness of self-evaluation and improvement planning R4 Ensure that staff have high expectations of pupil achievement and provide pupils with tasks and feedback that challenge them to make the progress of which they are capable R5 Improve attendance R6 Ensure a balanced curriculum that allows appropriate time for pupils to develop the full range of skills and greater opportunities to learn independently R7 Ensure that the school’s information about pupils’ progress is accurate and used well to inform next steps in learning What happens next In accordance with the Education Act 2005, HMCI is of the opinion that special measures are required in relation to this school. The school will draw up an action plan to show how it is going to address the recommendations. Estyn will monitor the school’s progress on a termly basis.