PENCOEDTRE HIGH SCHOOL in Barry is to remain in special measures after a monitoring visit by inspections body Estyn in December found serious concerns with the quality of the teaching.
While Estyn acknowledged improvements had been made to the troubled school’s disciplinary procedures in recent months, the inspectors were highly critical of the methods used by teachers and the overall learning environment.
The school opened in 2018 as a replacement for the girls-only Bryn Hafren Comprehensive School, and in 2022 it moved into a new £34 million building. The same year it was placed in special measures following an Estyn inspection that cited high rates of persistent absence and low attendance.
The 2022 report also stated that, “Across all subjects, pupils produce relatively little written work” and “the majority of pupils make frequent spelling errors”.
Poor discipline has also been a longstanding problem at the school, and in January 2023, teachers and other members of staff went on strike due to the behaviour of pupils who were subjecting them to verbal and physical abuse, with some teachers resorting to locking the doors of their classrooms to keep themselves and pupils safe.
Later the same month, the school’s executive headteacher Debra Thomas departed to focus on her duties at Cowbridge Comprehensive, and she was replaced by Whitmore High School headteacher Innes Robinson.
Towards the end of the summer term, Estyn inspectors reported to the Vale Council’s Learning and Culture Scrutiny Committee where they praised Mr Robinson’s structured plan to turn the school around.
Following the most recent monitoring visit in December, Estyn has submitted its findings to the committee where it acknowledges some improvements have been made to the way the school is run, saying: “Pupils’ behaviour has improved and there is now a calmer school environment.
“While internal truancy has reduced, it remains an area of concern. There is a clear graduated response for addressing absences and a suitable range of strategies used to promote good attendance. However, there is inconsistency in how leaders carry out their roles in tackling pupils’ absences and promoting good attendance.”
The Estyn report states that the school is attempting to offer “appropriate activities to allow pupils to regulate their behaviour; however, these activities do not support pupils’ academic progress.”
Turning their attention to the quality of the teaching, the inspectors cited serious concerns and highlighted several areas where major improvements were needed. The new report says: “Around a half of teachers do not deal decisively with pupils’ lack of engagement and low-level behaviour; they do not use the school’s behaviour management strategies appropriately.
“Many teachers demonstrate sound subject knowledge, although they do not always encourage pupils to use subject vocabulary well enough.
“A majority of teachers plan a range of relevant and challenging activities. However, too often teachers’ planning does not meet pupils’ needs well enough.
“In a few lessons, teachers use probing questions to deepen understanding. However, in many lessons, teachers do not question pupils well enough, and this limits opportunities for pupil engagement and does not deepen their thinking.
“In a minority of lessons, teachers circulate the classroom well and provide purposeful verbal feedback that enables pupils to improve their work in a timely manner. However, in the majority of instances, teachers’ feedback does not enable pupils to know precisely what they need to do to improve their work.”
On Monday, 31st March, a meeting of the Vale Council’s Learning and Culture Scrutiny Committee took place where councillors had the opportunity to question Cerys Pritchard, the Principal Improvement Partner of Central South Consortium, the school improvement service that operates on behalf of five local authorities in south Wales.
Photo: Vale Council.
Addressing Ms Pritchard, committee chair Cllr Rhys Thomas (Conservative, Plymouth ward) said: “It’s been two years in special measures and I appreciate you can’t give a specific timeline as for when Pencoedtre will be out of special measures, but it just seems that these are quite key, core, deep-seated issues, and I know that Mr Robinson has spoken previously about techniques for improving lesson plans and management of teachers and things like that, so there are improvements that we do welcome, but I just worry that this has been dragging on for such a long time. Is there the body of staff there that is able to actually achieve these goals and get Pencoedtre out of special measures given all the criticisms that are in this report?”
Ms Pritchard replied: “In terms of Pencoedtre, there have been significant improvements in terms of where they were. And yes, there are things to further improve, and that’s part of the feedback that Estyn have given them.
“What the school will do now, they are prioritising the teaching and learning to ensure that the diet that pupils receive in the school are the best quality. They’re working closely with staff members, I [earlier] referenced the coaching approach that’s being used as well to ensure that the teaching is of the highest standards.
“So yes, there are areas for improvement, but what the school does is to take those and to focus on those in readiness for the next monitoring visit. If you think back to where we were 12 months ago, we were in a very different situation there, if you think about the [latest] report, Estyn said there was a very calm learning environment.”
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