ESTYN inspectors who visited KHS earlier this year have delivered a positive appraisal of the school, its staff, pupils, and working practices.

The inspectors were particularly impressed by the culture of reading that the school promotes and explained, “Pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9 benefit from dedicated reading sessions in the library where they make use of a structured reading approach to support their progress. The library is a welcoming and engaging environment. It is well stocked and supported by a librarian and pupil monitors who help identify books which uphold the school’s values.”

They also highlighted the “provision of extra-curricular activities to support pupil well being and create a strong sense of well-being.”

They explained, “This broad provision to support pupils’ social development and enjoyment of school makes a valuable contribution to their sense of belonging to the school community.”

The Headteacher, Mr J. Watson was described as “a passionate and committed leader.” The inspectors claimed, “He has a clear vision for the school that aspires to ‘believe in the limitless capacity for everyone to achieve great things’ and has shared this vision purposefully with pupils, staff, governors and the wider school community.”

They added, “In the short time since the all-age school’s opening, the headteacher has successfully nurtured a sense of belonging and secured notable improvements in key areas identified as shortcomings before the amalgamation of the former schools. These include pupil behaviour and attitudes to learning, attendance and the quality of teaching.”

They also pointed out that, “Many pupils enter the school with below-expected literacy, numeracy and communication skills but make suitable progress over time, with a few achieving strong outcomes.” Although they did warn, “Whilst whole-school attendance rates have improved, the attendance of pupils eligible for free school meals remains too low.”

In summary the report found Overall pupils’ literacy skills are developing suitably, supported by the development of a positive reading culture. However, there is a lack of clear strategy to develop pupils’ numeracy, digital and Welsh language skills across the curriculum and opportunities for pupils to develop their extended writing across subjects are inconsistent.”

They also pointed out that there are “inconsistent opportunities across phases for pupils to learn about and explore Welsh culture in depth.”

There were only five recommendations in all. The first was to strengthen the strategic planning for the progressive development of pupils’ numeracy, digital and Welsh language skills. The second to ensure that pedagogy and learning experiences are appropriate to pupils’ stage of development. The third to Improve the attendance of pupils eligible for free school meals. The fourth to ensure self-evaluation and improvement processes focus sharply on the impact of provision on pupils’ standards and progress over time. And the fifth was to continue to develop the all-age ethos by providing opportunities for staff to collaborate across phases and make a valuable contribution to the strategic direction of the school.

Mr Watson explained, “This is an incredibly positive report that reflects the hard work and great efforts of our staff, pupils, and community.

“We are now excited to continue work on our recommendations mentioned in the report.”

Mr Watson would like to congratulate all pupils, staff, and the whole community for a wonderful Estyn report.