A visit by Estyn inspectors saw a Welshpool school praised for addressing recommendations made in a recent report.

Estyn inspectors followed up after a report on Welshpool Church in Wales Primary School, and said the school had “refocussed the school’s attention” on addressing the recommendations made in an earlier report.

The interim visit was carried out in October 2024, to assess how the school had progressed in in addressing two recommendations since Estyn’s inspection in March 2022.

The two notes for improvement in the earlier report were for the school to improve provision for the development of pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills as well as strengthening the self-evaluation processes to focus more specifically on the impact of teaching on learning.

OTHER NEWS:

In assessing the first recommendation, the report said: “Since taking over leadership responsibility for the school, the headteacher and senior leaders have refocussed the school’s attention on addressing this recommendation.

The school’s focus on improving pupils’ oracy skills is effective. Across the school, most pupils listen well in lessons and present information about their learning clearly using an appropriate range of vocabulary.

Leaders have implemented a whole school approach to teaching phonics. This work has a positive impact on pupils’ progress in developing early reading and spelling skills. Leaders are now preparing to build on this practice to further improve provision for older pupils.

“Overall, most pupils develop a sound understanding of mathematical concepts. However, they are not always confident to apply this knowledge independently, for example in problem solving activities and do not have sufficient opportunities to use their skills in authentic, real-life contexts.”

Regarding the second recommendation of strengthening self-evaluation processes, the report added: “In a relatively short amount of time, the headteacher and senior leaders have established appropriate processes to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the school’s work.

“They have worked diligently to put processes in place that involve all staff and governors and promote whole school collaboration.

Having established a collaborative culture and appropriate processes, senior leaders recognise the need to develop their evaluation work further to focus more sharply on the impact that teaching and learning experiences have on pupils’ progress.”