Estyn inspection lists ‘racist bullying’ and ‘safeguarding’ concerns at primary school

RACIST bullying and safeguarding in a Cardiff primary school are among issues for concern highlighted in a new report from inspectors.

Around 32% of the 516 pupils at Ton-yrYwen Primary School, in the suburb of Heath, come from an ethnic minority background and around 20% have English as an additional language.

Instances of bullying, including those of a racial nature, were highlighted by inspectors after a visit in July.

The school says it has developed a 38-page action plan for improvement since the inspection, and “a significant number of the improvements contained in the plan have already been implemented”.

While senior leaders at the school employ a wide range of systems to ensure the safety of pupils, national inspectorate body Estyn also warns: “The school’s arrangements to safeguard pupils give cause for concern. During the inspection, the inspection team identified a few issues regarding site security and safety, which they brought to the attention of senior leaders.”

Inspectors, who visited the school on Maes-y-Coed Road in July, judged the school is “adequate and needs improvement” in four of the five areas that were looked at.

Those areas were: well-being and attitudes to learning; teaching and learning experiences; care, support and guidance; and leadership and management. Standards were judged as “good”.

Racial and cultural issues are flagged up several times in the report, which says: “Most pupils treat each other with kindness and compassion, but, in the few instances where there are issues of bullying in key stage 2 (pupils aged seven to 11), including those of a racial nature, the school does not respond consistently with sufficient swiftness and robustness.”

It goes on to say: “Most pupils show respect for others and different cultures and beliefs, but a few pupils do not always treat other pupils as well as they should and staff do not always deal with this effectively enough”.

Inspectors add: “Pupils in year one enjoy using sign language as part of early morning routines to ensure that all pupils are included [...] Many pupils behave well in classes and around the school.

“However, on occasion, a few pupils do not demonstrate enough respect for staff and other pupils. In a very few cases, this includes a lack of regard for other pupils’ culture and ethnicity.”

Despite some multicultural events inspectors also say the school, which has pupils aged three to 11, does not celebrate its diversity enough.

Although the head teacher and deputy head teacher “share the school’s vision appropriately with pupils, staff, governors and parents”, that “vision does not embrace the school’s cultural diversity as much as it could”.

On learning, inspectors say many pupils make good progress and have positive attitudes to learning. They are eager to learn and engage well with new ideas and experiences. But “only minority of teaching is strong” and “the quality of teaching varies too much from class to class”.

In a joint statement, head teacher David Griffiths and chair of governors Dr Adrian Hull said: “We recognise the findings of the Estyn report, which are consistent with our own understanding of the areas for improvement at the school.

“Since the Estyn visit, we have developed a comprehensive, 38-page action plan for improvement. A significant number of the improvements contained in the plan have already been implemented.

“We are continuing to work with the local authority, consortium, third sector and independent advisors to carry the action plan through to its conclusion.

“This will ensure that standards are raised so our children receive the education and have the learning environment they deserve.

“With those improvements in place we look forward to Estyn seeing the school in a much more positive light on their next visit to Ton-yr-Ywen.”

The school will now draw up an action plan to show how it is going to address the recommendations while Estyn will review the school’s progress.