NESTLED against a backdrop of stunning scenery, Deri View Primary is a school that has close ties to the community it serves.

As you enter the main reception, you are greeted by smiling faces and an expansive mural proudly showcasing Abergavenny’s heritage – including a painting of local Olympic cyclist Becky James.

When traversing the school’s winding corridors, brightly-coloured displays leap out from the walls showing the creativity and projects adopted by pupils and staff over the years.

Since opening in 2005, children at the school have gained the benefits of a modern learning environment complete with a library, ICT suite, cookery and music rooms.

Acting head teacher Adelaide Dunn took up her role in September this year and last left the school in 2015 after working as acting deputy head and a foundation phase leader.

Although the acting head is just settling into her new position, the school’s motto ‘inspire, challenge and empower’ remains as vital now, as when she left.

“It’s really important to us to inspire all of our children to be the best that they can be and as a school community we want to give our children the skills to empower them,” she said.

“Obviously in terms of ‘challenge’ we ensure that children reach their potential and that they’re challenged in everything they do.

“Those three things are key to everything that we do because ultimately, that’s where we want our children to be able to aim to and be.

“Being a head teacher is a huge privilege as you have an opportunity to make a difference in your community and to the children who are part of your school.

“It also goes beyond that as you have an impact on their families and that wider community.”

Referencing the school’s striking mural, she added: “We had an artist in residence, Elin Sian Blake, come in to work with the children to create that mural.

“The real special thing about it is that it represents the community that our children are in and is linked to Abergavenny and Welshness.

“It gives those children that cultural feel and being part of something which is really important.”

Behind every classroom door is a hub of excitement and energy, as the school’s large staff work to provide youngsters with new experiences.

This ranges from pupils learning African-style drumming and releasing a CD with arts company ‘Upbeat’ to work around the environment – reflected by the school’s platinum eco status.

Other highlights include an active school council, strong links with the Abergavenny Eisteddfod and a Criw Cymraeg group who promote and foster Welsh language use across the school.

Road safety is also important, with younger pupils taking part in ‘Kerbcraft’ sessions which teach them about potential dangers of traffic and how to safely cross roads.

When we last visited Deri View in 2013, the school was one of the first pilot schools for the Welsh Government’s IT platform ‘Hub’, which gave parents the chance to see their child’s work at home and in school and to communicate directly.

For Mrs Dunn, digital literacy is still one of the school’s strengths with 100 iPads available to pupils and a programme encouraging older pupils to share their digital expertise with peers.

“We have a set of digital leaders here who are year five children,” she said.

“They go into other classes and teach I.T skills to some of the younger children across the school.

“The drive for the new curriculum that’s coming in in Wales looks at literacy and numeracy skills and digital competency skills.

“Digital skills are certainly an important driver but it’s also important to keep that balance.”

Deri View’s unique approach to learning is also symbolised by the project ‘Philosophy for Children’ - featured on BBC’s kids channel, Cbeebies - which aims to foster critical thinking skills.

“We found it a very powerful tool to use with our children, Mrs Dunn said.

“It gets them to think much more deeply about questions, to not necessarily accept things on face value and look a bit deeper and hear different perspectives.

“It gives them the opportunity to think more deeply, be more empathic and think about how people might respond to different things.”

At the time of our visit, the school was preparing for a series of festive concerts both at the school and at St Mary’s Church in Abergavenny.

Around 11 aspiring young writers are also celebrating after having their poems chosen for the Little Riddlers Welsh Voices anthology which will be published next February.

While the school already encourages pupils to experience the great outdoors with activities in the infant and junior yards and school field, it also plans to expand this provision in future.

This includes continuing horse riding lessons for youngsters with additional learning needs, using the forest school site and adopting daily exercise with Welsh Government’s ‘Daily Mile’ scheme.

Looking to the future, acting head Mrs Dunn wants to improve wellbeing and further develop the school’s relationship with parents by setting up a new group ‘Giggles’.

The group will involve looking at storytelling and art /craft activities in the community and the school has linked with Monmouthshire Housing and Monmouthshire Sports Development on the project.

“It’s looking at ways we can work with the community a little bit more moving forward, particularly with the new ‘Successful Futures’ curriculum coming in,” Mrs Dunn said.

“That’s very much part of our focus at the moment and we’re looking at how we can prepare our school and get ready.

“I’m really excited. It’s really refreshing to see the approach the Welsh Government have taken to involving schools in creating that curriculum.

“They have taken a lot of stakeholder views and gone to the people who are doing the job every single day to develop that.”

She added: “I couldn’t ask for more beautiful children, they always have the ‘Deri View smile’ for me and when you see it that’s the thing that reminds you why you do this job and why it’s so important.

“I want to give an incredible thankyou to staff and pupils for the welcome I have received coming here and the opportunity to be able to lead the school and work with them.

“I’m looking forward to continuing to develop that relationship and things going from strength to strength as the school moves forward.”

Fact File.

Headteacher: Adelaide Dunn

Number of pupils: 313 between school and nursery

Number of staff: 45

Chair of Governors: Andrew Cotton

Motto: Inspire, Challenge, Empower

Last Estyn Inspection: 2013