IT’S BEEN a terrific few months for Radnor Valley County Primary School.

A positive Estyn inspection in February was followed by the school being chosen as a case study, while the school has celebrated its 50th birthday at the end of May.

A glowing report in February highlighted many of the 49-pupil school’s attributes, from being an “inviting, nurturing place to learn”, staff “strive to improve all aspects of school life” and an all-inclusive environment in which parents and governors are heavily involved in “ensuring that the school is a safe and happy place to be”.

“We are pleased that the hard work of everyone at Radnor Valley has been recognised within our recent inspection,” said headteacher Ros Beck, who has been in her role since September 2015.

“There is much to celebrate throughout the report such as the wellbeing and behaviour of our pupils, attitudes to learning, parental support, standards of reading, governor support and our learning environment, to name just a few.

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“The report itself is very detailed and focuses on the many different elements of effective provision at Radnor Valley as well as the next steps needed to take our school forward. Many of these steps had already been highlighted in our school development plan.

“We are delighted that Estyn will be inviting the school to prepare a case study on its work in relation to the work of its governing body, for dissemination on Estyn’s website.

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“This highlights the excellent working relationship between staff, pupils and governors to ensure the continued success of our school.”

The report was capped by the school celebrating being open half a century on May 23.

Three recommendations were put forward by Estyn, which include: a need to strengthen leadership capacity in order to address improvement priorities; develop teaching to secure effective progress for all pupils and learning experiences that allow pupils to explore concepts in enough depth; and a need to provide opportunities for pupils to take more responsibility for their learning and develop as independent learners.

“Throughout the school, pupils’ behaviour is exceptional and they often engage positively with their learning,” read an overview statement of Radnor Valley’s report.

“Pupils enjoy opportunities to learn more about the heritage and culture of Wales, beginning at their doorstep, and especially enjoy learning and practising the language. As a result, pupils become confident speakers, readers and writers and their enthusiasm spills into the community, where local businesses are now keen to practice the language too.

“Across the school, pupils develop extremely positive attitudes to reading and make accelerated progress in developing their reading skills. They use digital skills well and make the most of opportunities to be active, especially in the school’s extensive, natural outdoor environment.”

In terms of areas that require some improvement, the overview continued: “Many develop good mathematical skills and knowledge but do not use these skills often enough in their work across the curriculum.

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“They do not always build systematically on literacy or creative skills coherently enough to make the progress they are capable of. Teachers use questioning well and provide pupils with appropriate guidance to support their learning during lessons.

“The school is developing its understanding of how pupils make progress but this is at an early stage of development and arrangements to monitor pupils’ progress over time are less secure.

“Teachers include pupils’ ideas when planning learning experiences and when choosing how to learn during lessons. From a young age, pupils are keen to do well.

“They develop as articulate learners and follow instructions carefully when completing work. However, pupils do not generally have enough opportunities to learn in a wide enough variety of ways to enable them to become independent learners. They do not learn in enough depth across the curriculum.”

The school will now draw up an action plan to show how it is going to address the recommendations. Estyn will work with the local authority to review the school’s progress.

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