Developing leadership at all levels to benefit teaching
Information about the School
Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Castell-nedd is a designated Welsh-medium school that serves the town of Neath and the nearby villages in Neath Port Talbot local authority.
There are 312 full-time pupils at the school, and 81 part-time nursery pupils. Pupils are taught in eight classes in the Foundation Phase and six classes in key stage 2, and 14 teachers are employed, including the headteacher. Seventy two per cent of pupils come from homes where English is the main language. The remainder come mainly from Welsh-speaking homes. Very few come from an ethnic background and 11% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is lower than the national average.
At present, 11% are on the additional learning needs register and no pupil has a statement of special educational needs.
The headteacher was appointed to the post in September 2006
Context and background to sector-leading practice
The headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the senior management team and the school’s governing body have a clear vision and strategy for improvement. Their aim is to develop the school as a caring community that places the children at its heart, and to “provide an opportunity for all pupils to succeed”, namely the school’s motto. The school has a strategic ambition to focus on improvements and raising standards. This vision is known to all the school’s stakeholders.
Description of nature of the strategy or activity
The headteacher tries to create and maintain a whole-school structure that differentiates clearly between leadership and management. This, in turn, encourages suitable leadership at all levels across the school. Enabling people to make decisions, in a professional manner, is completely core to the success of the structure.
The heads of unit and members of the senior management team operate effectively across the school: they are a team of conscientious and enthusiastic workers who lead through example. This model enables the four heads of unit, who have responsibility for three or four classes, to be accessible to all staff and especially to the staff within their specific units. They have been empowered to run their units extremely effectively. This therefore encourages a direct approach and input from them in terms of matters that involve improving the school. They monitor the quality of learning and teaching when checking teachers’ long-term and short-term plans, discussing with learners and monitoring pupils’ work books. They prepare reports that arise from monitoring, and outline strengths and areas for development, as well as identifying the steps needed in order to improve. They too are also mainly responsible for mentoring newly qualified teachers, and do so in an effective and sensitive way.
The school timetables two non-contact days each every term for all heads of unit. This enables them to observe other teachers in the unit as they work, and gives them an opportunity to provide direct support, guidance and training in the classroom. This is separate to their role of monitoring and challenging. Following the observation, attainable targets are set for all teachers, and within three weeks, a revisit is arranged in order to ensure that all teachers have acted on them, and that improvements are in place.
Members of the senior management team have very high expectations of staff and the school’s ethos ensures that all stakeholders feel that they are appreciated. Leaders share their expectations effectively in school improvement meetings, in addition to through the performance management process. The school operates a full performance management programme for teaching assistants in addition to teachers, and responds appropriately to their training needs. Members of the senior management team meet weekly to discuss matters that include an update of progress against the priorities in the school improvement plan, self-evaluation issues, discussing internal monitoring reports, in addition to analysing data and benchmarking. They analyse data effectively in order to identify strengths, weaknesses, areas for development and set targets for improvement.
Regular unit meetings are an integral part of the in-service training programme: they provide opportunities for four groups from among the workforce to discuss matters that are more specific to their teaching situations, separately. The matters that they discuss include curricular planning, teaching and learning strategies and standardising learners’ work. In turn, the results of these findings are shared with other members of the senior management team in their weekly meetings.
The school’s leaders place a high priority on developing the workforce: performance management and professional development are very successful in terms of fostering effective practice and addressing underperformance. A comprehensive six-termly monitoring and self-evaluation cycle exists across the school. This has a positive effect on learners’ standards and the quality of teaching. A wide range of evidence is used in reaching judgements: scrutinising information and communication technology folders and books, staff observing each each other’s lessons in trios, talking to learners, teachers’ curricular planning, completing a progress-tracking programme, and so on. The process has led to a completely open atmosphere in which everyone respects each other’s comments and builds on their previous practice in order to ensure improvement in their teaching.
In addition, members of the governing body have a sound understanding of the requirements for raising standards of learning and the quality of teaching within the school. Their roles and responsibilities are clear. They are wholly familiar with the school’s current performance and contribute knowledgeably and confidently to discussions about the school’s development. All governors (in pairs) have responsibility for specific aspects of the school improvement plan (SIP). They meet on a termly basis with members of the senior management team who have responsibility for the SIP. Governors, in turn, provide comprehensive feedback to the full body, based on the discussion that was held.
What effect has this work had on provision and learners’ standards?
These activities have set a clear strategic direction for the school’s work. The structure is tight, effective and has now been embedded firmly. All of this contributes effectively to the consistency in provision across the school and the clear communication procedures that exist between all staff.
The school’s most recent targets for the last three years expect that outcomes at the end of the Foundation Phase and key stage 2 will continue to improve.
How have you shared your good practice?
The school is a ‘New Bargain Pioneer School’, sponsored by the Welsh Government. The headteacher has already shared his philosophy about his school’s leadership structure with all the headteachers in the local cluster of schools, in addition to addressing a National Conference for Pioneer Schools, which was arranged by the regional consortium.
The school is also a part of the regional consortium’sTrinity St David’s Professional Learning Schools network. Its area of expertise is leadership. The school is expected to continue to develop its good practice; to share its good practice with other schools; to develop staff as trainers or mentors; and to establish itself as Centre of Excellence.
Useful links
Other resources from this provider
Science and design and technology at key stage 2
pdf, 1.11 MB Added 13/07/2017