SCHOOL OF THE WEEK: Pupils' reading improves at Maesglas Primary

As Maesglas Primary celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, it continues to improve the reading skills of many of its pupils.

The school is situated at the centre of the Maesglas estate and prides itself on its diversity. Within the school there are 21 separate languages spoken and 17 different nationalities which include Pakistan, India and the Philippines.

Phillip Harrhy, has been the headteacher for around four years, and says above all Maesglas is a 'happy school.'

He said: "Three years ago 1/10 were from an ethnic background and now 1/5 are from an ethnic background. We are quite proud of the diversity in our classrooms."

Mr Harrhy is incredibly proud of the progress many of the pupils have made in reading. The read and write inc programme has been designed to help children improve their reading age.

Some pupils have improved their reading age by 50 months in a year with the scheme which emphasises smaller classes and a relaxing environment to help the children with difficulty reading. He said: "The reading and writing programme is to offer a supportive environment which relaxes the children which allows them to achieve. We try and keep the classes small so the children get better one to one from teachers."

John Cronin, who teaches year 4, said: "We have had lots of discussion this week rather than purely all exercises. We want the children to understand and be able to think more independently."

The school itself is an old pre-war build with most of the original iron fixtures. A murial for their 50th anniversary was painted along the outside walls depicting a timeline of history from pre-historic to Star Wars.

Mr Harrhy said: "Some people can have a negative view of the school because of the estate but we are in the top 50 per cent in all indicators.

"The majority of pupils are from poorer backgrounds. We are never going to be a school like Langstone or schools from other more affluent areas but we aim to make the best start for these children."

He added: "I grew up on an estate and look at me. I want to be a role model to show these kids that they can do something and make something of themselves."

The school now holds 246 pupils from the age of 3-11 and also has a nursery attached for pre-infants. Mr Harrhy interacts with the children in an easy manner knowing each of their names.

Maesglas Primary are paving the way for sports activities in Newport schools coming out on top for sports in Wales according to the Sport's Wales School Sports Survey. They offer a range of lunchtime clubs and after school sports clubs including football, netball, dance festival club and rugby.

On the day we visited, the children enjoyed a day of penalty shoot out to raise money for school projects and offered certificates for the fastest boy and girl. Paralympian Nathan Stephens has in the past visited the school to promote sport.

Mr Harrhy said: "Sport is important in school. Ms Carolyn Charles, she's the P.E co-ordinator, has done great work with the children in sport."

The school playing field is shared by both Maesglas Primary and Maes Ebbw, a special needs school, located next door. Maesglas have very good links with Maes Ebbw with pupils from both, taking part in activities organised by the other.

Mr Harrhy said: "Some of the children from Maes Ebbw come across to our school for provisions. Three children in our school are autistic and we try to make the environment calmer for them.

"They sometimes go over to Maes Ebbw for a particular activity. Together we are more aware of the affects of autism and how we can do more for the children."

The primary also has strong links with Duffryn High School and co-ordinates on projects such as the music club which is a community first funded project. Members of the community are an active part of the school taking the time to paint classrooms with literary figures and local businesses providing funding for school activities.

The school offer chrome books to the pupils for interactive maths tests called Alfie and online assessments to improve learning. Mr Harrhy said: "We mainly use the computers to enhance learning. This way, the children can use the software at home as well."

Maesglas are an eco school and have already achieved green flag status. The school have garden beds set aside for the children to start planting and growing vegetables in the future.

Mr Harhhy said: "When I first came here, one of the focuses was on the school becoming a forest school but I thought the reading and writing programme was more important."

The school houses two guinea pigs and a rabbit, who the children help to look after and take it in turns to care for the animals on the weekend. Parent club is held one Tuesday a month where parents and teachers can sit down with the children with a movie night.

The headmaster says attendance is very good at the school with 94 per cent attendance in the first quarter of this year.

He said: "There can be problems sometimes with illness as many of the children live on the estate so if one catches something it can spread quite quickly. But generally attendance is very good."

Maesglas host question and answer sessions in Welsh and offer seren y dydd/ star of the day to deserving pupils.

Mr Harry said: "We try and incorporate as much Welsh as we can into lessons. We've recently changed our house names to names of Welsh castles which include Caerphilly, Chepstow and Raglan."

The school choir often sing Welsh songs and performed for the Newport City Mayor, Councillor Cliff Suller, who is originally from Maesglas.

The headteacher hopes to continue improving the reading and writing of pupils. He said: "Above all we want happy and independent children here at Maesglas."

Fact File

Head Teacher: Mr Phillip Harrhy

Pupils: 246

Head of Governors: Barbara Morse

School Motto: Learning and growing together.

Ages: 3-11

Estyn Report: 2012

The schools latest Estyn report states the current performance is adequate but with good prospects for improvement.

Staff work very effectively as a team and have high expectations of the pupils.

Self-evaluation is well established and enables the school to identify clear and appropriate areas for improvement.

Pupils show good reading skills across the school.

The standard of pupils’ wellbeing is a strong feature of the school.

Pupils feel valued and their efforts are celebrated and rewarded through creative displays throughout the school.