GOVERNORS at Brynmawr High School say they are “very disappointed” after the foundation school was put in special measures following a damning Estyn report.

An inspection of Brynmawr Foundation School in Blaenau Gwent found it was "unsatisfactory and needs urgent improvement" in four areas - standards, wellbeing and attitudes to learning, teaching and learning experiences and leadership and management - and "adequate and needs improvement" in one - care, support and guidance.

Pupils have “made much less progress than expected”, inspectors found.

In a statement responding to the report the governors said they were "very disappointed" with the report, adding: “There is an unwavering stance from all staff to be the best school in the Blaenau Gwent and beyond."

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“After a period of instability, governors appointed an experienced head teacher, who has been very successful in leading other schools during periods of change," they said.

“Currently, he is implementing change at BFS to give pupils aspiration for achievement and success for when they leave school.

“Estyn confirmed that: ‘He has instigated a programme of change across the school that focuses appropriately on strengthening leadership at all levels and developing teaching. Staff are engaging enthusiastically in professional learning’.”

“Estyn also commented on our wonderful pupils: ‘Pupils have positive social skills and are confident and polite in their interactions with adults around the school’."

The statement continued: “We are on a journey of improvement and we have built strong foundations to flourish in the future.

“The head teacher is addressing the shortcomings identified in the Estyn report and you can be assured that our ambition is to provide an excellent educational provision for your child.

“The school has held two open meetings with parents regarding the improvements steps to be made in response to the report - these have proven to be very productive.”

The report found that almost one-in-four pupils who completed a questionnaire said they did not feel safe in school.

Though pupils said they were confident that staff dealt competently with any bullying that is reported.

The report added that “in a majority of lessons, learning is over-directed by the teacher”.

“This means that pupils do not explore ideas well enough or deepen their understanding.

“Teachers spend too much time talking, at the expense of engaging pupils in their learning.”

Moreover, the provision of learning support assistance is low and very few subjects have sufficient staffing levels to provide pupils with subject specialists.

In many subjects, resources are insufficient to meet the needs of pupils – in music lessons, there are too few instruments and the school does not have a library.

As a result of their findings, Estyn has placed the school in special measures, which means it will monitor the school’s progress on a termly basis and has outlined a number of recommendations.

The school gained foundation status in 1999, which means it is state-funded, but the governing body has greater say in how the school is run that in community schools.

The number of pupils eligible for free school meals – 22 per cent – is higher than the Wales average of 16.4 per cent.

Standards, wellbeing and attitudes to learning, teaching and learning experiences and leadership and management were judged as unsatisfactory and in need of urgent improvement; care, support and guidance were judged to be adequate and need of improvement.

These were Estyn’s recommendations:

• Improve pupils’ standards across the school, including their literacy and numeracy skills.

• Improve pupils’ behaviour and their attitudes to learning.

• Improve the effectiveness of teaching to motivate, engage and challenge pupils to make good progress in lessons.

• Strengthen leadership at all levels to improve leaders’ ability to identify areas for development and to plan effectively for improvement.