At the meeting on the 20 February 2019 Scrutiny Councillors visited Morriston Primary School and met with the Headteacher, Chair of Governors and the Challenge Adviser to discuss how they are embedding the improvements that had been initiated at the time councillors met with them in February last year.
From the discussion Councillors concluded that the improvements put in place last year are now embedding well.
The Panel felt that this is mainly due to:
- The school being in a much more secure staffing situation with the appointment of the Headteacher and more recently the Deputy Headteacher.
- The school having a supportive, engaged and knowledgeable governing body that has the necessary skills to help to drive improvement.
- The schools willingness to work and the support from the local authority and the Education Improvement Service.
- The school learning from and sharing their good practice with other schools.
- The much improved resource management leading to a better financial position for the school.
- The school having strong support from parents and the local community with the school working to raise the profile of the school.
- Improved communication mechanisms at the school, particularly for parents, including a new more accessible website, a regular newsletter and the ability to text message teachers directly.
Councillors were particularly impressed with the Headteachers initiative and energy at engaging with Natural Resources Wales (NRW) to bring the piece of scrub land at the rear of the school into use as a forest school and outside learning area. This is an excellent example of what can be achieved in a highly urban environment.
Scrutiny Councillors would like again to congratulate the Headteacher and school staff, the Challenge Adviser and the governing body at the school for their hard work and commitment to this improvement journey which is clearly starting to bear fruit.
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