Ysgol Bro Alun and Ysgol Plas Coch Estyn inspection reports

In June, the education and training inspectorate visited Ysgol Bro Alun in Gwersyllt and Ysgol Plas Coch near the town centre, both Welsh medium schools which are part of a federation and share the same headteacher.

As noted in the reports, the headteacher spends around half of his time each week at the Ysgol Plas Coch site and the other half at the Ysgol Bro Alun site, with deputies responsible for the sites in his absence.

And leaders were praised for taking advantage of occasional opportunities for staff and pupils to work together as part of the federation agreement. Staff attend training events jointly and older pupils are given opportunities to work together before transferring to secondary school.

The report for Ysgol Bro Alun found that overall the school is a positive environment and experience for pupils, although some improvement could be made to ensure pupils “at the top end of the school” achieve the best of their ability and improve their numeracy and literacy

Elsewhere the report states: “The headteacher and other leaders at Ysgol Bro Alun succeed in realising their vision to provide a caring, supportive, happy and safe environment for pupils.

“This in turn allows most pupils to develop their self-confidence and self-discipline.

“They are supported effectively by dedicated teachers and support staff who support pupils to develop a range of skills appropriately in a proud Welsh environment. As a result, many pupils make sound progress.

“Lessons have clear objectives and, on the whole, teachers plan a range of methods, activities and resources to engage pupils’ interest appropriately. At the top of the school, learning experiences do not always challenge the full range of pupils to support them to make the best progress possible.”

Ysgol Plas Coch in Wrexham. Source - Google (Image: Google)

The report for Ysgol Plas Coch found that overall the school is a setting in which “nearly all pupils make good progress”.

It states: “There is a supportive and productive relationship between teachers, support staff and pupils.

“This encourages respect, courtesy and trust and contributes very strongly to the ethos of inclusion at the school. Most adults model language appropriately and encourage and support pupils to use the Welsh language consistently.”

However the reports for both schools note that “many pupils have a tendency to turn to English too often in formal and informal situations”.

For Ysgol Bro Alun, the following recommendations for the future have been made;

• Improve pupils’ standards of literacy and numeracy, particularly at the top of the school
• Ensure an appropriate level of challenge for pupils, particularly at the top of the school
• Strengthen strategic planning processes to prioritise the most important steps for improving pupils’ outcomes

For Ysgol Plas Coch, the following recommendations for the future have been provided;

• Strengthen strategic planning processes and prioritise the most important steps to improve pupils’ outcomes
• Encourage pupils to speak Welsh regularly in formal and informal situations

Both schools are to draw up an action plan to address the recommendations from the inspection. The reports for both schools can be found in full on the Estyn website.