SCHOOL OF THE WEEK: Mount Pleasant Primary School

The school found itself under the national spotlight this month when world leaders prime minister David Cameron and US president Barack Obama dropped in for a visit.

But aside from staff and pupils meeting two of the most powerful men in the world, the school has celebrated an excellent year in other areas.

Earlier this year Mount Pleasant, in Rogerstone, was presented with two prestigious ICT and Investors in Pupils awards.

It is not surprising the primary school, which counts 256 pupils on its roll, has been praised for its use of technology after it was an internet tweet in June that sparked the visit to the school by Nato leaders.

Deputy head teacher Andrew Rothwell said a twitter feed is just one example of IT use at Mount Pleasant, which is the first school in Newport to be awarded the NAACE ICT Third Millennium award.

He said: “We had to do a self-evaluation and submit two videos to show how well we use ICT for teaching and learning and how kids use it.

“We’ve been trying to integrate iPads into schools meaningfully and so we are using them to allow children from different classes to work together on the same document.

“And of course our website is very popular. The traffic on our website is huge and especially last week [during the Nato summit] when the hit count went through the roof.”

In April this year the school was also awarded an Investors in Pupils award which praised children’s induction into Mount Pleasant and the way new children are looked after.

Mr Rothwell said the award also celebrated a move by the school to increase pupils’ financial awareness by looking at how much the school costs to run.

“We looked at how much stationery costs, for example. The kids found it fascinating. We also encouraged pupils to set targets and goals for themselves, not necessarily just in learning but outside of school as well.”

Stemming from its four pillars policy – identifying creativity, inclusion and emotional intelligence, physicality and academic achievement as the key areas – the school’s pastoral side is well-developed.

Equally their mission statement, ‘sowing the seeds for success’, clearly demonstrates the value the school places on treating the children as mini adults, which again came through when Mr Rothwell discussed the curriculum.

Perhaps unlike other schools, Mr Rothwell said Mount Pleasant also strives to make sure they have a vibrant curriculum which is relevant, reflecting world affairs and news trends.

He said: “One of our challenges is to maintain our dynamic curriculum in school, to ensure all pupils get such a rich and rounded experience. It’s up to us to make sure that continues.”

It was the varied curriculum, Mr Rothwell suggests, which contributed to the reasons Mount Pleasant was chosen for the Nato visit.

“One of the key things that brought the Nato visit to us was because we showed we take an interest in the world and were already working on the summit.

“The children were already keyed in to Nato. The curriculum is all about relevance. If kids can understand how it relates to them then they get it.”

The primary school, which takes most of its pupils from the local area, was last inspected by Estyn in 2013 and scored ‘good’ for its current performance and was marked ‘excellent’ for its prospects for improvement.

Standards at the end of Key Stage 2 were found to be good, as was teaching and planning for development of skills. Attendance rates were also rated consistently high, with the school being in the top 25 per cent for attendance compared to similar schools in Newport in the last five years.

Under prospects for improvement, Estyn highlighted the head teacher and senior management team as working very effectively, while relationships between parents and the school were seen to be very constructive.

This is something Mr Rothwell firmly agrees with, saying both staff and parents are incredibly supportive.

The deputy head, who has worked at the school for more than 10 years, said: “We think we are a really tight community and are very fortunate. We have got great parents and great kids. It’s a wonderful place to be and the parents are so supportive.

“We operate with an open-door policy and parents like that. It’s not some dark secret school but is an open primary. It was unfortunate in the past few years when we did have some teachers move on. But now we have got some great staff. They’re very committed staff who are willing to put in the extra mile.

“The Nato summit proved that. Every single member of staff from the caretaker was in the school at ridiculously early times. They worked continuously in the build-up, we just can’t stop them working.”

Community links are also apparent, with a lady from the local women’s institute regularly coming in to tend and upkeep the school garden.

Former pupils clearly also value their time at Mount Pleasant Primary School. Mr Rothwell said ex-pupils often stay in contact and come back to visit.

Teen author Beth Reeks, who has published two books, is a former pupil and will be returning to Risca to visit the school and give a talk to pupils.

In the most recent Estyn report, the inspectors highlighted an “excellent ethos of continuous improvement that is well established and central to [the school’s] strategic planning”.

Speaking to Mr Rothwell, this comes through.

The school appears to be constantly striving to do better, and challenges are cited as maintaining and improving on the already high standard.

Both the school’s more able and talented pupils, as well as those with additional learning needs, were highlighted as receiving “very good support and making very good progress”.

Again this is echoed in the school being the first Newport school to receive a NACE award for focus on more able and talented pupils, an award the school is hoping to win again this year.

As well as this renewal, prospects in the school continue to look rosy, with the Year 5 and 6 classrooms due to be replaced under Welsh Government scheme the 21st Century Schools Project.

No date has been confirmed for the new classrooms, but the current buildings will be replaced with more emphasis given to greenery and garden space.

There was a danger of life in the school feeling a bit flat post-Nato. But, according to Mr Rothwell, this is certainly not the case.

“It was manic that week and then on Monday it was back to business. But the buzz has continued, it’s such a dynamic school and wonderful place to be.”