Penarth school has room for improvement in ‘important areas’

A school awaiting a multi-million-pound makeover has been told there is room for improvement in the classroom.

Education watchdog Estyn said there are “important areas” to address at St Cyres Comprehensive School in Penarth, which was rated “adequate” overall.

In particular, inspectors said pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills are underdeveloped and attendance rates do not compare favourably with those of similar schools.

Their report was also critical of performance in Key Stage 4 (GCSE), with the indicators that include maths below expected levels.

But the school’s inclusive ethos, effective teaching and high level of care, support and guidance were ranked among its good features.

Estyn said prospects for improvement, although “adequate”, were boosted by headteacher Dr Jonathan Hicks’ clear vision and sense of direction.

It said the school had made significant changes over the last year that have resulted in a well-defined management structure and pastoral leaders now monitor pupils’ progress rigorously.

In their evaluations, inspectors rate on a four-point scale of excellent, good, adequate or unsatisfactory for three key questions. St Cyres, which has 1,189 pupils on roll, was rated adequate in all.

In its last inspection report, published under the previous framework in June 2007, Estyn said St Cyres was a “very good school with a number of outstanding features”.

It has a diverse intake and accepts pupils from Penarth, Dinas Powys, Llandough, Barry and Cardiff. While the majority speak English as their first language, 224 pupils are categorised as having English as an additional language.

Lead inspector Jackie Gapper said: “In a majority of lessons, pupils make good progress. They show resilience, remain focused on tasks and apply their knowledge and understanding to new situations.

“However, in a minority of lessons, pupils make limited progress because the pace of the lesson is too slow and teachers’ expectations are not challenging enough. A minority of pupils do not engage well in their learning.”

Ms Gapper said the extended writing of a minority of pupils – defined by Estyn as being below 40% – is poorly paragraphed and has many common spelling and grammatical errors.

She said the quality of presentation and handwriting in a minority of pupils’ writing is untidy and a majority – more than 60% – are often confused by too many different methods of calculation.

Jennifer Hill, the Vale’s chief learning and skills officer, said: “We will ensure the school receives support to build on its many strengths and address inspectors’ recommendations.”

Pupils at St Cyres will transfer into the £48m Penarth Learning Community, which will also accommodate nearby special schools, from October 2014.