Overall School Vision and Aspiration

Education, inspiration and opportunities for life

We aim to inspire students by providing education and opportunities which equip them for life.We have high aspirations and we are committed to excellence, equality and wellbeing for all. Our strategy is to further develop our curriculum, resources and teaching to achieve and sustain excellence.  We see our core purpose as providing engaging, exciting and challenging learning opportunities which result in ambitious, capable learners, committed to lifelong learning. We aim to develop our students’ knowledge, skills and qualities to enable them to be successful, happy, resilient and healthy citizens of Wales and the world.

We continually strive to develop and improve at all levels so that we are the first choice for families and their children, not just for academic success but because we care about every child and wish for all to feel valued members of society.Our young people demonstrate high quality relationships with us and our wider community. We are committed to sustaining and further developing high quality partnerships so that students develop into enterprising, creative and positive role models for others in our community and beyond.
We are committed to continuously developing a high-quality education profession, where the best teachers and support staff work effectively together, for the ultimate benefit of every individual student. We believe that we are more than just a school; we provide a venue where a broad range of enrichment activities, community activities and educational visits enable young people to gain experiences that may otherwise be inaccessible to them. 

Our Wellbeing Strategy:

We recognise that high performance, success and happiness requires healthy resilient young people with positive mindsets which are solution focused. The school has a dedicated group of staff who lead and drive the school’s vision for excellent health and wellbeing for all members of the school community. This is highlighted in our school improvement plan which recognises this importance.

Aspects of wellbeing

There is an ever-increasing evidence base from multiple areas of research suggesting that physical and mental well-being are inextricably linked. However, there are numerous factors affecting health, and one could argue that there are multiple types of health or wellness. These can broadly be categorised as: -

• Physical well-being
• Emotional well-being
• Economic well-being
• Environmental wellbeing
• Social and spiritual well-being
• Financial well-being
• Occupational (work/education) satisfaction and wellbeing

The Achievement Team

The Achievement Team is responsible for the wellbeing of students within Cowbridge. Each Year group has both a teaching and non-teaching member of staff assigned to them who act as the first port of call if students have either an academic or pastoral issue. Our Achievement Team will work with both individuals or groups of students to address any issues they have. They will also liaise with parents and external partners to provide targeted wellbeing support. 

The school has a record of excellence in its Achievement and wellbeing team. Standards of wellbeing are excellent as evidenced by the high standards of achievement across the school. Nearly all students demonstrate positive attitudes towards keeping healthy and state that they feel safe in school, and that the school deals well with bullying.

The pervading culture of the school is highly positive. Education, inspiration and opportunities for life, the motto of the school, sets our guiding principles. Every effort is made for students to feel supported and guided. Nearly all students are polite, well mannered and interact maturely with others. Positive relationships between students and staff contribute significantly to high levels of wellbeing. This is evidenced by the Schools Health Research Network  survey whereby the most students feel that they can count on their friends and feel good and confident about themselves.

One of the key goals of the Achievement team is to ensure that students’ participation in regular physical activity and healthy eating contributes positively to their wellbeing; furthermore that nearly all students have a strong voice and are ethically informed and demonstrate commitment and resilience. Students show exemplary leadership skills when participating in the above activities.

The Achievement Team use whole school Data Capture points (Review Weeks) to identify students who are in need of extra support. Teaching staff enter a ‘working at’ grade and an ‘attitude to learning’ grade. The ‘working at’ grade is then measured against the predicted grades on a regular basis. The data is examined at both a departmental and Achievement Team level, who have an overview across all subjects for each student. The Achievement Team interview underperforming students and interventions and support are put in place accordingly. All students are given guidance and support on the level and type of subjects that they would be better suited to study as part of our provision. This is further supplemented by Parents’ evenings, Options evenings and information giving sessions.

Barnardo's Vale Schools and Community Based Counselling Service, Newsletter December 2020
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