The Governing Body of Ysgol Y Faenol are pleased to share this annual report to parents relating to the academic year 2023-2024. We hope you find this report interesting and informative.
Governing Body of Ysgol Y Faenol
When fully constituted this governing body is made up as follows
The following people are current members of the governing body
Four full Governing Body meetings take place each year and we have continued to make decisions to move the school forwards, in partnership with the head teacher and the staff of the school. Sub-committee members and link governors have participated in meetings as required. Governors have visited school to participate in monitoring and to see the hard work of the staff and pupils in action.
Governor Expenses
During the year 2023/2024 no governors were paid expenses for their work for the school, nor travelling costs incurred as a result of their activities on behalf of the school.
Election of Parent Governors
There are currently no parent governor vacancies. The next parent governor election are due in December 2024. You will be notified nearer the time and arrangements will be made for any interested parents to put forward nominations.
Meeting with Parents
There is no longer a requirement for the Governing Body to hold an annual meeting with parents unless such a meeting is requested. Parents are entitled to request up to three meetings per year with the governing body via petition, as summarised here:
The governing body must hold a meeting within 25 days of receiving the petition, providing that:
1. The petition contains the signatures of the required minimum number of parents of registered pupils at the school, which is the lower of the following:
-the parents of 10% of registered pupils, or
-the parents of 30 registered pupils;
2. The meeting requested by parents must be to discuss a matter relating to the school;
3. There will be no more than three meetings held during the year in which the first petition is received;
4. There are sufficient school days left in the school year for the meeting to be held.
(School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013
School Inspection
The school was inspected by a team from Estyn in October 2017 with the report published in November 2017. The Report includes the following summary of their findings. The full report is available on the Estyn Website at www.estyn.gov.uk/english/provider/6632057/
Summary
“During their time in the school, most pupils make good progress from their starting points and a few pupils make very good progress. By the end of key stage 2, they are confident, thoughtful and articulate and enjoy learning. They have a deep understanding of mathematical concepts and apply their knowledge of these well to solve mathematical problems. They apply their literacy and information and communication technology (ICT) skills well across the curriculum and take pride in their school and their work.
In general, teachers provide interesting learning experiences that help pupils develop a love of learning. These are often linked to interesting and thought-provoking storybooks that help pupils explore a wide range of topics and emotions. However, in the foundation phase, pupils do not have enough opportunities to practise their skills independently.
The headteacher is passionate about meeting individual pupils’ needs and seeing pupils mature into fully rounded, capable learners. Staff work together to support this vision effectively. The school is outward looking and makes the most of research and professional development opportunities to improve standards of teaching and learning. The school uses its pupil development grant particularly well to support vulnerable pupils. The governing body is very supportive of the school’s work.”
School Performance Data
As a school we carefully analyse school based data and national assessment data gathered from the Welsh National Tests. This information is used to inform next steps in learning and put in place identified interventions for individual pupils or groups of learners. This ensures we:
- support individual learners effectively on an ongoing, day-to-day basis
- identify, capture and reflect on individual learner progress over time
- understand group progress in order to reflect on practice
The school is committed to improving standards across all aspects of school life, so that all our learners reach their full potential.
School Attendance
School Curriculum
Click below to find our more about our Curriculum Vision and Design
School Prospectus
The school prospectus is updated annually and this year’s changes are listed below:
- Class organisation and staffing sections have been updated
- Information about school curriculum updated
- School term dates for 2024/25 have been included
- Attendance and absence data for 2023/24 has been included
School Development Plan
At Ysgol Y Faenol, we pride ourselves on being reflective and evaluative. This is essential to help us improve and target the appropriate areas for development. Our vision 'Giving Our Best, Creating Our Future' alongside the 4 Purposes from the Curriculum for Wales are at the heart of our school improvement actions. Please click on the link below to scroll through a presentation giving an overview of Ysgol Y Faenol's self evaluation and improvement priorities. You will find reference to our current self-evaluation against three key areas of school improvement and our improvement priorities for the current academic year.
Use of Welsh Language
Ysgol Y Faenol is determined to be a category 1 school, which means it is a predominantly English medium primary school, where the pupils experience the curriculum mainly through the medium of English, but that Welsh is taught as a second language and some aspects of some subjects may be taught in Welsh for up to 15% of the time. English is the language of the day to day business of the school. The school mainly communicates to parents in English.
The school aims to help pupils achieve a proficiency in second language Welsh (oracy, reading and writing) through regular and frequent lessons and fun activities. Some of our pupils choose Welsh medium study for secondary school. All pupils are encouraged to develop their bilingual skills by using Welsh throughout the day. We aim to instil respect and tolerance towards the language and culture through giving a high priority to activities, such as language games, songs and role play. The Fflic a Fflac interactive scheme and books, St. David’s Day concert, our annual Eisteddfod, visits to Jambori and specific areas of study within the curriculum further enrich pupils understanding of Welsh culture and heritage.
Term Dates and Holidays 2024/2025
Staff Training Days are as follows:
Review of School Policies
All school strategies and policies are reviewed and amended where necessary. A rolling programme of review and development ensures that policies and strategies are in place and up to date. Policies reviewed by the governing body in 2023/2024 include:
- Safeguarding
- Admissions
- Educational Visits
- Pay
- Performance Management
- Whistleblowing
- Charging
- School Toilets
- Online Safety
- Food and Fitness
- Sustainable Development
- Complaint's
- Pupil Discipline
- Look After Children
- School Uniform
All policies are either available for viewing on the website or copies are available on request.
SAFEGUARDING
All schools have a duty to adhere to the All Wales Child Protection Procedures 2016 and the Social Services and Well-bring (Wales) Act 2016.
At Ysgol Y Faenol pastoral work plays an important role in the prevention of abuse and neglect through creating and maintaining a safe environment for children by teaching them about staying safe from harm, and how to share any worries or concerns.
We have a safeguarding policy and a designated safeguarding lead person who acts as a source of expertise and advice. The designated safeguarding lead is responsible for ensuring that all staff, including new and temporary staff know the procedures and where to obtain advice, and are encouraged to share their concerns. We have a designated safeguarding governor. The Authority has an officer with designated responsibility for safeguarding, who is able to give advice to schools and governing bodies, including advice when allegations are made against staff.
Safeguarding concerns about a child must be shared with the Designated Safeguarding Lead. It is important that parents and carers understand that all schools have a legal duty to safeguard and promote the well-being of children. The child’s safety must come first. Schools must not carry out their own investigations into safeguarding concerns, but must refer them to the appropriate services. When everyone works together and responds to concerns in the right way, it makes a big difference to children’s lives.
Ysgol Y Faenol:
- aims to be a safe place for children to talk about things that affect them. Staff encourage children to speak out about concerns.
- shares clear information about helplines and peer support schemes with learners where appropriate
- builds relationships with other services and works with the local authority, the police, health services and other services where appropriate
- has clear procedures for making referrals and sharing information
- makes referrals quickly so children and families get the support they need when they need it.
Additional Learning Needs
The aim of the Local Authority is to make suitable and relevant educational provision for all children with Additional Learning Needs, so that they are able to develop to their full potential. Pre-school children with Additional Learning Needs are often identified by an outside agencies. Children of school age with Additional Learning Needs will be identified in the first instance by school staff. Following a period of specific intervention and depending on the level of need, children with identified Additional Learning Needs may be referred to outside agencies for further assessments.
Provision of Toilet Facilities
Our toilet facilities include separate toilets for male and female pupils with handwashing facilities. We have an additional toilet area for the nursery pupils with smaller toilets and handwashing area. We also have disabled toilet facilities. The school provides sufficient toilets for the number of pupils on roll. These toilets are cleaned on a daily basis by Denbighshire Cleaning Services.
Disabled Access to the Building
The school is adapted to meeting the needs of those pupils, parents and staff with a disability.
All areas of the school are accessible using a wheelchair and we have a disabled toilet. The school takes account of the needs of pupils and visitors with physical difficulties and sensory impairments when planning and undertaking future improvements and refurbishments of the site and premises.
Sporting Achievements & Provision for Pupils to Participate in Sport
Over the past year, the school has continued to place emphasis on the development of sporting skills through Physical Development and Health & Wellbeing in the Curriculum for Wales. In addition, a number of additional sporting learning opportunities were offered. These included multi-sport sessions, after-school football. Pupils participated in a cross country event, a rugby tournament and football tournament. We also promoted physical activities by linking with our feeder secondary school
Healthy Eating and Drinking
At Ysgol Y Faenol we promote healthy eating by encouraging children to eat healthy snacks during morning break time, and we have a healthy tuck trolley selling fruit daily. Healthy meals are provided by Denbighshire Catering at lunchtime. All children are encouraged to drink water through-out the day. We teach children about the importance of a balanced diet in the classroom lessons, as well as through themed events throughout the year.
How the School is Funded
The Local Authority provides the school with a budget for each financial year based upon several factors, including the number of children on the Addition Learning Needs (ALN) register, floor space within school etc, but the main factor is the school’s pupil numbers. The funding received from the Local Authority is called the Delegated School Budget. On receiving the delegated school budget the governors then decide how this money should be allocated and agree a budget that is followed for the year. This account is monitored continually by the Headteacher, Local Authority and the Finance Committee of the Governing Body at their termly meetings, along with termly updates to the Governing Body.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR THE 2023-2024 FINANCIAL YEAR:
THANK YOU
The governors would like to thank you, the parents, for the continued support you provide to the school and the education of your children
Ken Naylor
Chair of Governors