School of the Week: Blaenycwm Primary School, Brynmawr

IN EVERY quiet school there is a hum of activity and Blaenycwm County Primary School in Brynmawr is no exception.

Susan Ware has been the head teacher of the 250-pupil school for the last four years and in that time, behaviour has "massively improved", she said.

At the end of key stage 2 and the foundation phase, standards have improved year on year for the last three years and the school's motto is: "Where knowledge and friendship go hand in hand", complete with a circle of hands which was designed by the school pupils themselves.

The school building, with its two wings which are now 22 years old, was built when three much smaller schools closed and draws pupils from Nantyglo, Brynmawr, Ebbw Vale and Tredegar.

"We pride ourselves on being as what we would think of as a family, we are not a factory," said Mrs Ware. "I know every child and they know me, I am very visible around the school and I believe that's very important."

The square-footage of the buildings is vast and one of the biggest areas is the kitchen, where furniture has been specifically developed to be at child-height, with smaller furniture with the younger children and higher for the older ones. There are induction hobs for safety and there is also a breakfast club for all pupils.

Mrs Ware has brought in a lot of technology to the school including interactive whiteboards, two to three computers in every classroom and 30 laptops that move around the school.

"The next step is the tablet computer," she said. "But we are waiting because of Welsh Government developments with technology and investment coming to schools. There will be fundraising and parental involvement with that."

The school was praised for its Welsh teaching in its most recent Estyn inspection report and was told that standards at the end of year 6 are on a par with Welsh Medium education, said Mrs Ware.

"We are also praised for our use of literacy and numeracy across the curriculum and across all subjects. It is now a national requirement but we were already doing it."

Crucially by the end of year 6 there is virtually no difference between boys and girls' levels of achievement in the school.

"In the last three years, in two of those years, boys have outperformed girls," said Mrs Ware. There is also little difference in the achievement of those who receive free school meals, and those who don't, as the procedure to buy them is exactly the same.

One of the most striking aspects of the school is the sheer number of adults everywhere.

"We do a lot of small group work and we were praised by Estyn for the use of support staff," explained Mrs Ware. "There are 30 children per class but I spend a lot on adult support."

Teachers give a short address to the pupils then it is straight into groups of six to eight with an adult helping. There are 10 classes, 12 teachers and 14 teaching assistants at the school and the ratio of adults to children recommended is met and in some cases exceeded.

"We have a skills-based curriculum and this is why we have been praised for numeracy and literacy, we are equipping children with how to find things out, how to learn, they know where to go to find things out," said the head teacher.

"The children we have got in school today, the jobs they will get have not even been invented yet."

Literacy and numeracy skills are not the only things on offer to the children of Blaenycwm - their music tuition is extensive.

Year 2 pupils, aged six and seven, can be taught violin and cello through the year while year 4 pupils, aged eight and nine, can learn to play the Celtic drum and the penny whistle. There is also string tuition, woodwind, brass and guitar, as well as the school choir.

"We pride ourselves on singing because all our children are not necessarily academically gifted and we have to find their talent," said Mrs Ware.

In sports there is gymnastics, tennis, rugby, cricket, swimming in Abertillery, and the school was third last year in south east Wales in netball. The school is very good at cross country running, explained Mrs Ware, and counted the champion of Blaenau Gwent for the last four years as one of its pupils.

In the classroom children make use of "Read Write Inc", a system of phonics to encourage them to read, and lessons are activity-based and interactive.

"It is not just sitting down with a pencil and paper," said Mrs Ware.

"This term we are looking at revamping the curriculum to further enhance the skills-based curriculum and we are innovative in our approach. Teachers are being released to work together in teams to develop it."

In key stage 2 for example children will engage in sessions such as "Dungeons and Dragons", "The Rainbow" or "Pirates" in which they learn about history, literacy or numeracy without necessarily realising it.

In one class, maths coordinator Lisa Fenn describes how children have learned about Road Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by exploring the prices of different bars of chocolate. They then went on to do internet research about fair trade products, wrote a diary of what they ate, and went shopping at the supermarket.

School rules include keeping your hands, feet and unkind words to yourself; using sensible voices; moving appropriately around the school; following an adult's instruction the first time; and looking after everyone and everything around you. There have also been workshops on bullying.

There is an act of collective worship every day and an emphasis on the social and emotional aspects of learning. Earlier in the term the children's theme was "new beginnings" and the children also get awards for good behaviour such as lining up sensibly and being ready to start lessons on time. There is also an award for pupil of the week and the attendance award in which the child gets five minutes' extra play time.

"Attendance is an issue for parents and we need to encourage them to bring their children in," said Mrs Ware. "We are working hard on it and encouraging children all the time and constantly discussing it with parents. We hope parents will help us."

More able pupils are encouraged and streamed according to ability when they move to small groups. Every child has a target for language and maths and these are discussed weekly with each pupil, who then fill in smiley faces if they feel they have achieved their goal.

Every time a teacher marks a piece of work they give the child notes on improvement for next time and even at nursery level teachers will talk to pupils about what they should do next time. Each classroom has a key for the symbols which appear on pupils' work, getting more complex as the children move up through the school.

Outdoor space at Blaenycwm is extensive and the children have their own chickens to look after. In the summer a beach is created with sand and pebbles and the eco committee grow vegetables and are in charge of recycling.

In the new tests recently sat by all primary school pupils in Wales, 84 per cent of the pupils were at or above where they should be, and the school is on track to achieve a government target that 100 per cent of children should be literate and numerate by 2015.

FACTFILE

Blaenycwm County Primary School, Lake Road, Brynmawr, NP23 4BR

Head teacher: Susan Ware

Deputy head teacher: Susan Davies

Chairman of governors: John Hopkins Pupils on role: 250

Ages: 3 to 11

PANEL:

The school's last inspection in June this year said the current performance of the school is good because most pupils make good progress in the school, the standards that pupils achieve have improved over the last three years and compare favourably with those in similar schools, and by the end of key stage 2 there are no significant differences between the performance of boys and girls.

Nearly all pupils behave well around the school; the school provides a wide range of learning experiences; and the level of care, support and guidance is good.

The inspectorate found the school’s prospects for improvement are good because the headteacher provides strong and effective leadership; the school has a record of steady improvement; there are effective and inclusive arrangements for self-evaluation and development planning; the school has well-considered plans for further improvement; the governors provide good support and challenge; and staff share the headteacher’s vision and are committed to making more improvements.