Cosheston V.C.P. School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Cosheston V.C. Primary School is at the heart of its small rural community.

The headteacher has a strong moral vision for the school, and staff provide an extremely warm and nurturing environment where pupils feel safe, happy and cared for. Pupils are proud to belong to the school, and value opportunities to contribute to its life and work. Many pupils make at least suitable progress in a range of skills by the end of their time in school.

Most pupils with additional learning needs (ALN) make good progress from their starting points. The school provides a broad and engaging curriculum that is designed to provide its pupils with a balanced range of learning experiences. Teachers plan a range of authentic and purposeful oppo...rtunities that reflect the local community and environment.

The school has prioritised Welsh language development appropriately and, as a result, many pupils are developing their confidence in speaking the language. Staff have benefited from professional learning to improve their understanding of the emotional needs of their pupils. This means the staff respond to pupils' needs in a caring and proactive manner to help them become ready to learn.

The school provides a high level of support to its families, which is valued by parents and carers. The school supports pupils with ALN well. The school carries out a suitable range of activities to evaluate the impact of its work.

As a result, leaders have identified some important areas for improvement, such as strengthening opportunities for pupils to develop their literacy skills. The school has identified the need to develop its systems to ensure consistent progression in literacy, numeracy and digital skills across the wide range of abilities. However, this has not been a priority and, as a result, many older pupils have not made the progress they are capable of.

The governing body is knowledgeable, and supports the headteacher very well in evaluation and improvement work. It plays a valuable role in the life of the school. Recommendations R1 Ensure that leaders focus on the planning for the progression and challenge of skills in and across the curriculum, particularly for older children R2 Address the safeguarding issue identified during the inspection What happens next The school will draw up an action plan to address the recommendations from the inspection.