A Cardiff primary facing closure has received a damning report from inspectors that details safeguarding concerns.
St Alban’s Roman Catholic Primary School has been put under Estyn monitoring after inspectors found leadership and management unsatisfactory and said it needs urgent improvement.
All the four other areas inspected - teaching and learning experiences, standards, wellbeing and care support and guidance - were deemed adequate and in need of improvement.
The 174-pupil school in Tremorfa faces closure in 2021 under plans by Cardiff council to rebuild Willows High School and expand and rebuild Baden Powell Primary on what is now Tremorfa Park.
Some of the problems at St Alban’s highlighted by inspectors include:
- Pupils not reading books appropriate for their age
- Pupils not developing a love of reading
- Failure to secure stable leadership for years
- Temporary staff
- Variation in quality of teaching
- Pupils saying they use computer games and social media not inappropriate for their age
- Low attendance compared to similar schools
- Lower attendance of the 50% of pupils on free school meals compared to other pupils
- A minority of pupils not achieving standards of which they are capable
St Alban’s, which has pupils aged four to 11, came out of special measures, the highest level of monitoring by education watchdog Estyn in 2013 but it will now go back into a lower level of monitoring.
In their report published on Tuesday, July 16, inspectors say Cardiff City Council and the local Roman Catholic diocese “have not secured stable leadership for the school since the last inspection”.
There have been frequent changes to the school’s leadership team and nearly all appointments to senior positions have been temporary.
“This instability in leadership has led to a lack of a consistent strategic direction for the school” although the interim headteacher, appointed last year, has addressed important issues at the school promptly, Estyn adds.
On teaching the report says: “The quality of teaching varies too much and this impacts on the progress that pupils make and their levels of wellbeing”.
It warns: “A few safeguarding concerns were brought to the school’s attention during the inspection. These were discussed with the interim headteacher.”
Inspectors, who visited in May, say: “A very few pupils talk about using computer games and social media sites that are not suitable for children of their age” but added that most pupils understand how to keep healthy.
On the other hand the report says most pupils in school behave well both in class and around the school. Many teachers also “provide purposeful learning experiences that meet most pupils interests well”.
Inspectors found most pupils enter school with levels of skills, knowledge and understanding below those expected for their age. While a minority don’t achieve as they should most “make appropriate progress in the development of their literacy, numeracy and ICT skills”.
Half of all pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is well above the national average of 18%, and 35% have additional learning needs, also higher than the average 21%.
A majority of pupils are of white British ethnicity and come from homes where English is the main language, around 40% are from other ethnic backgrounds and 26% of pupils speak English as an additional language.
The school will now draw up an action plan showing how it is going to address recommendations to improve. Estyn will monitor the school’s progress in about 12 months time.
Last week Cardiff council's cabinet agreed to consult on plans to shut the school as part of plans to rebuild Willows High and enlarge and rebuild Baden Powell Primary.
