Contents
Page
2. Contents
3. Chairman’s Introduction
4. Pupils’ Activities
- School Performance Data 2014
15. Governors’ Activities
16. School Development Plans
19. Finance Statement
21. School Terms and Holidays 2014/2015 and Times
22. Special Educational Needs
23. The Governing Body
24. Contact Details
Chairman’s Introduction
Dear Parents and Guardians,
It is my pleasure to present, on behalf of the Board of Governors, our annual report for the academic year 2013-2014. As you will see from the report it has been another busy year at the school. We continue to grow both in numbers and stature.
We continue to have successes throughout the year groups both in and out of school. Anyone who has attended the school for even a short period cannot fail to notice the good atmosphere within the school and the happiness and wellbeing of the children. As Governors we often visit classes and observe lessons. It’s a great experience to see how the children learn and how they interact with their teachers and each other.
During this academic year, we implemented initiatives designed to improve attainment. This involved a lot of work for teaching staff, the senior management team and pupils. Our thanks to them all and to you as parents for making this another successful year in the life of the school.
It is with some sadness that one of our former Chairs' of Governors and long standing Community Governor, Lynda Paddock, decided to retire from her role. On behalf of all Governors I'd like to thank Lynda for all that she has done for the school and for promoting it's values. We wish her a long and happy retirement.
I hope you enjoy reading our report and celebrate with us our many achievements.
Colin Elsbury
(Chairman)
On parental request, a meeting was arranged in October 2013 to discuss the policy on Mixed Age Classes. After due regard to parents’ comments and requests, the Governing Body decided to maintain the current policy with no changes for another two years. This policy will be reviewed in line with the school’s cycle of policy review in 2015.
Two formal complaints were received during this academic year. These were all resolved at stage 1 of the Complaints Procedures.
Pupils’ Activities
At Ysgol Y Castell, we are proud of our curricular provision, learning experiences and the wealth of extra-curricular activities offered to pupils. All the experiences mentioned below ensure a wide and varied provision for all our pupils. All activities enrich their learning and inspire them to work to the best of their potential; with enjoyment, committment and towards a meaningful purpose.
The Autumn Term
The transition programme continued this year between the primary schools and Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni. A secondary school teacher taught Year 6 pupils every Wednesday morning. They commenced their learning journey through the Welsh Baccalaureate which will continue throughout their secondary career.
A new School Council was elected at the start of term. Targets were discussed and agreed for the year to include:
- Improving the Foundation Phase school yard – a story area that includes a story chair, benches and stage, games and re-painting the yard.
- Raise money for charity – Noah Ark Appeal, Operation Christmas Child and Eisteddfod Caerffili 2015.
A meeting was held with the Year 3 and 4 parents to explain how English is introduced into the classroom. They had fun joining in the Read, Write Inc activities, prior to receiving a copy of English phonics and RWI rhymes.
Mrs Rees also held a meeting with the Reception parents to introduce our home / school reading scheme. The parents were presented with the reading strategies and they were informed about the school’s expectations for weekly reading tasks.
A small group of pupils successfully competed at Eisteddfod Y Cymoedd. The highlight of the evening was the Chairing Ceremony. It gave us great pleasure to witness the chair being presented to a very talented young lady who is a past pupil of the school, Miss HeleddGwynant. We also celebrated the talents of three poets of our school, Beca Evans-Lugg, Elen James and Eleanor Leneord-Jones, who scooped all the primary aged prizes for their poems about Senghenydd.
KS2 pupils studied the Senghenydd Disaster. The children learnt about local history through a number of activities, a visit to Big Pit and hands on experiences. An emotional Memorial Service for Senghenydd and an art exhibition “Remember Senghenydd” were the highlight of the theme. A film crew from “Ffeil” recorded the performance and a snippet of the service was broadcast during national remembrance celebrations on S4C.
Harvest Festivals were held at school. This year the children collected food for the “Bridging the Gap” appeal that is organised by local Christian groups.
Our Year 1 and 2 pupils visited Saint Fagans to learn about lifestyles in the past. They also visited TheatrGartholwg to watch a performance of “CorinaPavlova”.
The Year 3 and 4 pupils were introduced to medieval music and dance by Mr Huw Williams as inspiration to their theme “The Age of the Princes”. They also visited Caerphilly Castle.
As an introduction to the theme “Bend and Flow”, Year 5 and 6 pupils visited Welsh Water’s Education Centre atCilfynydd. They undertook practical activities on the river and the water cycle.
Two of our talented sportsmen (Owen Thomas and Alice Corden) were nominated to be Bronze Ambassadors for sport. They established a Sports Committee at school.
A number of our talented pupils represented our school in the Urdd Swimming Gala for Gwent and competed in the Urdd Gymnastics for Gwent.
Year 6 pupils visited Llangrannog for a weekend to enjoy outdoor adventurous activities and experience the totally Welsh atmosphere of the camp. Thanks to the staff for spending their weekend with the children.
Mr Iwan Lloyd and Miss Sarah Griffiths visited schools in Rome during the first Comenius visit to organise the project for the next two years. The focus of the project is teaching numeracy as well as aspects of global citizenship.
We received an invitation to the official opening of the Gwyndy site (YsgolGyfun Cwm Rhymni). It was wonderful to join our past pupils in their fantastic new surroundings. The success of Welsh medium education was celebrated during the ceremony by the Director of Education, local councillors, ex-head teachers and many friends.
Class assemblies were prepared and performed by all pupils. Parents were invited to celebrate with us. Christmas concerts were a great success and a very positive response was received from our parents.
Welsh lessons for adults were held at school. NeuaddGlyndŵr was hired by local community groups – TNT (dance group), Caerphilly Ladies Choir and UrddGobaithCymru.
Weekly lessons are offered on the harp, violin and woodwind instruments. A small number of pupils attended a day of “Intense Play” at Cwm Rhymni which is held annually by Peripatetic Music teachers.
A numberof extra-curricular activities were held throughout the year, includingUrdd club, sports, choir, disco dancing, athletics / games, I-Pad club, French, reading club, legoclubandboard gamesandsewing. TheDreamTeamcontinued to provideweekly footballactivities. Urdd memberswenttoS4Cstudio to be part of the audienceontheprogramStwnshSadwrn.
Friends of the School meet monthly to support the school, its activities and raise additional funding for the pupils. Following their AGM, avariety of successful events were organised this year - Halloween Disco, two Curry and Quiz nights, Christmas Fair,Disco Dwynwen, Easter games, Afternoon Tea, Summer Fair and a cricket match. They purchaseda new sound system for the hall,bikepods,booksfor KS2 pupils and additional books for the Foundation Phase reading scheme, theatre tickets for KS2 pupils and they made a contribution towards acting workshops for Foundation Phase pupils. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to this small group of committed parents who work so hard on behalf of the school.
The Spring Term
Our Nursery and Reception children went to theNational Museumas a catalystfortheir themeaboutdinosaurs. They searched forfootprintsaround the schooland wereenthralled with the numerousopportunities provided todevelop their literacyand numeracy skills.
A WritingSquadwasintroduced in school to challenge the writing talents for our Able and Talentedchildren. Mrs Lowri Griffiths worksweeklywitha group of childrenwritingcreative stories andcreatingreferencebooks to challenge the children. The projectisfunded by PDG grant. Miss Nia McCarthy (LiteracyTeaching Consultant) came to school to workwithour Able and Talentedchildren in Year 1. A creativewriting session wasorganised for Years 5 & 6 with the authorGwennan Davies through the Dylawad Project to celebrate Dylan Thomas’ centenary.
Our childrenhad the opportunity to be part of the official openingceremony of the new library in Caerphilly. Year 4 took part in a reading workshop with an author as part of the celebrations. Megan Morris (Year 3) won a competition to design themedwallpaper ‘The Jungle’ and youcansee a picture of hertiger on the wall of the children’s section of library and on the cushions on the sofas. Sinceit’sopening, most of the children have visited the librarywith staff and becomemembers. We encourage all or parents to visit the library.
Science workshops with Dr Mark wereorganised for Years 5 & 6, a professionalpresenter of science thattravels the country and brings the mostdifficult aspects of the curriculum alive. The childrenlearnt new scientificskills and facts about forces while experimentingall day. Year 3,4 & 6visitedTechniquest to usetheir new scientificskills.
Year 2 childrenvisted Cardiff Airport and MorgansTravel Shop (Caerphilly) as part of theirTravel Agency project. They learnttheimportanceof good numeracy skillsto organise aholiday abroad – calculating foreign currency, weighing luggageand accurate timingwhen followingflightschedules.
The Fire Servicecametotalk toYear5about the dangers oflighting firesas part of theirannualeducationprogram. Year 1wenttoCaerphilly FireStationtolearnabout the work ofthefiremen.
Years 5 and6wentona triptothe MillenniumStadiumandRodneyParadetostimulatetheirtheme‘Champions’. They spent thedaytrainingwith the Dragonsand thenwenttowatch the matchbetweenthe DragonsandEdinburgh.
Year 6 wentto the safety workshop"Crucial Crew" -training for young peopleabout dangerandhow to stay safewhen taking their firststepsinto thebig wide world. Also, they receivedtrainingon the dangers ofsmokingfromthe MedicalDepartment atthe University ofCardiff.
Year 5pupils wenttoLlangrannogfora week ofoutdoor adventures and became totally engrossedinWelsh atmosphereof the camp. Thanksto thestafffor giving up theirpersonal timeonceagainfor the benefit ofthechildren.
Ten teachers fromoverseas cametothe schoolfor three daysas partofthe Comenius project. They spenttimeat schoollooking atnumeracylearning strategies(with particularfocuson2D and 3Dshape), comparing the education provided in thefour countries. Presentations were organizedbythefour countriesand discussions about the development of good practice were held. The teachers experienced school life and visited all the classes, a special welcomeassembly was takenbyNant CwmParcand a numeracy workshop was hosted byMr.Lloyd. They also hada taste ofthe historyandunique cultureof Waleswhen visitingnumerous venuessuch asSt Fagans, local castles, MillenniumStadium, Cardiff Bay and theNational Museum. The highlightof the week wasan evening ofWelsh entertainmentat Caerphilly Castlein collaboration withthe Friends ofthe School, the SchoolChoirandDawnswyrNantgarw.
At the end oftermthree teachers(MrLloyd, MrGriffithsandMrsEvans) went toBordeauxtovisit a foundation stageschool that provides sector leading practice inFrancethroughthe Comenius project.
The swimmingteamwenttotheUrddSwimmingGalaCompetition. There was a greatdeal of enjoymentwithalllearnersbeatingtheirpersonalbest times.
The childrenenthusiasticallycompetedin netball, football andrugbycompetitions. The netballteam wonthroughtothe county round ofDragon Sports competition.
Year 6 had a week of cycle trainingunder the careofSustransandthe Road Safety Department.
The SchoolChoirreceivedan invitationto perform atSt David's Day Galawith theNationalOrchestraandChorus of Wales. Professionalsingerscametoschool choirclubfor five weekstotrain ourchildren. On March1st, the children sangon stage atSt David's Hall, an unforgettable experiencefor them. Thanks to all thestaffwho tooktimein preparing andcaring forthechildren duringthelongdaysandweeksofrehearsalsand thegalaitself.Followingthisinvitationandoutstanding experience, we decidedit was not possibletocompete in theEisteddfod choir competition this year.
St David’s Day was celebrated by holding Eisteddfodau. We had a feast as we celebrated the various talents of our learners. This year, Hana Taylor (Year 6) was chaired for her story during a special ceremony under the direction of Year 5 Gorsedd.Thanks to Mrs Anwen Hill for adjudicating the literary, recitation and musical competitions. Photos can be found on the school website.
OurchildrenenthusiasticallycompetedintheLocalandDistrictEisteddfod in earlyMarch.Once again, wonthecup forthe school with thehighest numberof marksintheEisteddfod.HarrietWright-Nicholas wonthetrophyfor the childwho gave the most pleasureto the judges.Thefollowing childrencompetedinthe National Eisteddfodin Balain May:
- Hana TaylorandDelunThomas(duet)
- Harriet Wright-Nicholas (under 10 recitation)
- Yr Ymgom (Wiliam Lewis, Beca Evans-Lugg, Holly Pipe, Hannah Nicholls)
Congratulationstoall those whorepresented the school. During the week, the performances were superb although once again we were robbed! It was lovely to be able to celebrate our success as a school community; staff, pupils and proud parents. Many thanks go to all staff for their selfless hard work in preparing the children. What gave us the most pleasure was to see the children using their Welsh naturally whilst on the Eisteddfod field.
We had asuperbexhibitionofchildren'sart and craft work. The winners were selectedfrom each yeartogoforward to the EisteddfodArtin Blackwoodwhere wereceivedseveralfirst, second and third awards.
A day of"Colorful Socks" was organisedbythe School Counciltoraisemoneyfor the DownsSyndrome charity,in memory ofDarcy, MissNash’s daughter. We raised £500.Welldone!
Summer Term
The year 3&4 and 5&6 reading teams represented GwentCounty at the annual national book quiz in Aberystwyth. They received very positive feedback from the judges on the standard of their language and their ability to discuss and perform a short drama from the texts they had studied. Congratulations to them all and thanks to Mrs Jaci Evans, Mrs Lowri John and Mrs Catrin Rees for preparing the pupils.
Thank you to all families who attended the annual “Sul oFawl” service at Tonyfelin Chapel. It was a lovely service and a wonderful opportunity to join with our friends from other Welsh schools to spread a message of peace and goodwill at the end of Christian Aid Week.
All classes went on an excursion as part of our cross curricular themes:
Nursery - Van Park; St Fagans
Reception – Techniquest; Cwmcarn Forest
Year 1 – Acquarium in Weston-Super-Mare;
Year 2 – Roath Park
Year 3 and 4 – Newport Wetlands
Year 5 – Morgan Jones Park
Year 6 – Longleat
The year 4 cricket team competed, under the guidance of Mr A Hill, in the annual Urdd competition.
Our youngest pupils learnt about mini-beasts through a visit from “Chris, Nearly Wild Show”. They held all sorts of insects and reptiles – cockroaches, snakes, spiders, rats, a lizard - and learnt about how important every animal is to our world.
The School Nurse visited Cywion y Castell to talk about her role and how to keep healthy.
The school accepted an invite from Cardiff Metropolitan University to participate in a new programme about “Physical Literacy” – one of two schools in South Wales. Miss Lowri Morgan (a PhD student) will undertake her personal research project in school over the next year, studying the development of Year 5’s physical skills, committment, motivation and their attitude towards physical education. She will assist in school for two days a week, teaching PE lessons, assisting with healthy school projects and running aditional after school activities.
All pupils in Year 3 and 4 attended daily swimming lessons for three weeks. A big improvement was seen in the children’s swimming ability with every child succeeding to meet the government’s target of swimming 25m.
PC Thomas worked with all classes in Key Stage 2. She introduced and discussed a number of personal safety lessons with the children.
Tommo, a presenter on Radio Cymru, visited school to interview a group of pupils. They had lots of fun sharing jokes, silly stories and lively songs.
All pupils in KS2 went to Blackwood Miners’ Institute to see a performance of “Penblwydd Poenus Pete”. On the same day, Lili Lolipop came to school to entertain our younger pupils through a mixture of songs, games and fun activities. Thanks to the Friends of the School for funding these experiences.
As we all followed the developments of the Football World Cup, members of Elim Church provided the KS2 pupils with a day of team building activities based on a footballing theme. The Chrisitan messages of cooperation and respect for fellowman kind was shared throughout the day.
At the end of the term,Theatr Na’Nog performed an inter-generational project aimed at grandparents and Year 6 pupils. The main message of the drama was to recognise the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning.
A number of staff, governors and parents from the school are working diligently with Eisteddfod yrUrdd Caerphilly 2015 committees. The School Council organised a “Year to Go” fund raising day under the guidance of Mrs Bethan Rossiter. They sold official Eisteddfod merchandise and wore green, red and white clothes for the day. £1,200 was raised towards our target of £2,000.
Year 6 had Cycle Safety training. They spent a whole week learning new skills and road safety before sitting a Cycling Proficiency test. They also received lessons on “Growing Up” which taught them about the physical and emotional changes they face as they hit adolescence.
Our athletics team has had the opportunity to take part in various competitions during the term under the guidance of Mr T. Griffiths, Miss M. Reynolds, Mr A. Hill and Mr L. Egal. School sports day was held on 30.06.14 – a chance for all pupils to show their talent and enjoy keeping fit.