TEACHING needs to improve at a Swansea primary school which will now have increased oversight following a visit from education inspectors.
While Welsh Government education body Estyn cited areas of good practice at Brynhyfryd Primary School, Brynhyfryd, it was concerned about inconsistent teaching standards and “limited progress” in addressing the majority of recommendations from the previous inspection eight years ago.
Estyn has recommended the primary is placed into special measures, requiring an action plan to be drawn up by the school along with enhanced monitoring by inspectors.
Swansea Council said a lot of work had already been done since the inspection, with additional support immediately put in place.
Estyn’s report, following a visit in March, said there were were significant weaknesses in teaching. Teachers did not plan well enough to challenge pupils suitably, it said, particularly more able ones.
“Teachers’ feedback to pupils is largely congratulatory and does not usually focus on how pupils can improve their work,” said the report.
“Although leaders have introduced suitable processes to track pupils ongoing progress, teachers do not use this information well enough to plan next steps in pupils’ learning.”
Inspectors also said pupils developed misconceptions in a few classes, often due to teachers’ lack of subject knowledge.
Where lessons were most effective, teachers took their time to ensure learners had a good understanding before moving on.
The report said senior school leaders planned a curriculum with a suitable breadth of learning but class teachers had little input in developing it, which meant they didn’t always adapt learning experiences well enough.
Inspectors said the majority of pupils enjoyed going to school and behaved well. When pupils were less well behaved, it was usually linked to a slow pace to teaching, poor classroom management or activities which didn’t engage them well enough, in particular older learners.
The report described the school as inclusive and caring and said pupils received high-quality pastoral and well-being support.
Many pupils made good improvements in reading, it said, Welsh language sessions were “engaging”, and a majority of learners made suitable progress in maths.
But inspectors said too many pupils had weak writing skills and progress in mathematical understanding was inconsistent.
School governors visited the primary regularly but didn’t challenge senior leaders well enough about pupil progress, added the report.
The school has around 350 pupils, plus around 50 in nursery, and a slightly higher proportion eligible for free school meals than the Wales average.
Estyn has set out four recommendations to help the school improve and will monitor progress every four to six months.
A council spokesman said: “A lot of work has already been done since the inspection in March with additional support for the school immediately put in place.
“The report recognises many strengths at Brynhyfryd primary, particularly in pupil well-being, reading development and pastoral support, but the school accepts the report and we are working together to address all points raised.
“We are encouraged by the initial progress and remain fully committed to supporting the school through this period of improvement.”
