Financial statement 2023 - 2024

The financial statement for 2023 - 2024 can be found here. 

Organisation, plans and policies

All policies can be found on the school website here. 

 

Curriculum and organisation of education and teaching methods

Additional Learning Needs

Additional Learning Needs (“ALN”) is 3.65% in school. There are 48 pupils in the school with Individual Development Plans (“IDPs”). The school ensures ALN is met through a variety of Additional Learning Provisions (“ALP”) and through person centred practice.

Firstly, through responsive teaching strategies; high quality teaching is the cornerstone of all support that pupils have access to. This is developed through both internal and external professional development. Teaching staff access ongoing training around responsive teaching strategies within the context of the school setting, curriculum change and subject specific approaches. All staff have had trauma-informed training through the School In Reach service, as well as accessing internal ALN continuing professional development (“CPD”) opportunities e.g. Effective Use of Learning Support Assistants in the Classroom. All relevant staff have had training from the Educational Psychologist within the school environment surrounding a range of emotional and behavioural difficulties such as Emotionally Based School Avoidance (“EBSA”) and bereavement. Key members of staff have also had further training from the Engagement Services for supporting learners with emotional needs. The ALN team, in collaboration with the Achievement Team works closely with all our families and liaises, where necessary, with a range of relevant professionals and incorporates relevant advice to support our pupils. There are monthly ‘Triage’ meetings, where relevant members of the ALN and Achievement Team meet to discuss key pupils identified by either parents or staff. 

The school uses Google Classroom and Go4Schools for enhanced sharing of information regarding pupils with ALN. There is a ‘The Learning Support’ Google Classroom, where any training materials, resources and information about specific conditions or diagnosis are available to all staff. Staff can also access ‘toolkits’ from this area to support provision within the classroom environment, for example, differentiating materials. Any training attended by the ALNCo or other members of the ALN department is shared through the Google Classroom and within fortnightly ALN meetings, through an ALN bulletin. Teachers have access to live Pupil Provision documents that are updated on a needs led basis. These documents have links to the pupil’s most recent IDP, One Page Profile and other information regarding their difficulties and how to support them in class. Reports and information from specialist professionals, such as Specialist Teachers, Educational Psychologists or relevant medical professionals are shared with staff through the Pupil Provision document and are accessible via SIMs. 

Staff implement strategies outlined through IDPs, reports from professionals and those working closely with pupils. ALP in line with Communication and Interaction, Cognition and Learning, Social Emotional and Mental Health and Sensory and/or Physical Needs is available for pupils on a needs-led basis and is delivered by a number of appropriately trained members of staff across the school. This provision can take place within the classroom through the close relationship between the teaching staff and learning support assistants or within the ALN department in the Tyfu provision. There is also enhanced pastoral support available through the Achievement Teams and two trauma informed trained members of staff, who work with pupils on a needs-led basis. The ALN department also has two qualified Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (“ELSA’s”) who deliver intervention support through the Tyfu provision.

Tyfu is where the ALN department is based. This is a school funded provision. It is supervised by staff at all times and is where interventions take place. The number of pupils and staff utilising the Tyfu areas varies throughout the day. Within the Tyfu area of school, there is a Visual Impairment Support room, two intervention classrooms, the Repair Room (regulation area) and a number of small offices. There is also a breakout area, where pupils are able to work independently using the electronic devices and any 3 other resources we have available. A number of pupils regularly access the breakout area in Tyfu during break and/or lunch periods as an alternative environment, which is supported by staff during these times. Targeted interventions for a wide range of needs take place in Tyfu, these include but are not exclusive to ELSA, Talkabout, 1:1 reading, Giglets, Lexia, small group spelling interventions, touch typing courses. The targeted interventions can be on a short or long term basis, dependent on need and are reviewed frequently in line with quality assurance processes within the ALN department and the school. There are a small number of pupils who follow a bespoke and targeted timetable through Tyfu provision. These pupils have access to bespoke packages targeting specific skills and likes/interests of the pupil, this is also ‘needs led’. Tyfu is currently based in the part of the new Lower School that is currently vacant until Years 4, 5 and 6 open. The space has lift access and appropriate toilet facilities for any medical needs. There are a number of communal and discreet toilet facilities located in different buildings across the school site.  

Welsh language

At Cowbridge School, we continue to actively promote the Welsh language as a key part of our school’s identity and culture. Welsh is used regularly across the curriculum and in extracurricular activities, with staff encouraging pupils to engage with the language in everyday situations. During 2024, there was an increase in the number of events held through the medium of Welsh, such as eisteddfod competitions, themed weeks, and creative workshops. We have also continued to support pupils’ language development through staff training and stronger links with our Lower School pupils. We remain committed to nurturing a love of the language and ensuring that Welsh is a living, active part of school life.

Provision of school toilet facilities

The pictures below illustrate the newly refurbished toilets in Cowbridge school. The  cleaning and maintenance and where possible the refurbishment of toilet facilities across the school ensures that we are  compliant with Welsh Government’s statutory guidance entitled School toilets Good practice guidance for schools in Wales (2012). 

Our toilets comply with the recent Supreme Court ruling on toilets in school where we must provide separate single-sex toilets for boys and girls over the age of 8 and single-sex changing facilities for boys and girls over the age of 11.

Our stated aim is to make school toilets accessible, clean and safe by encouraging the adoption of the highest possible standards. We have a duty to educate learners about how to best look after their own health and to respect the facilities provided to them. We recognise that we must provide learners with the appropriate facilities to encourage them to use their school toilets and to enable them to wash their hands with hot water thoroughly afterwards.

The school contracts via an external agency, a  cleaner whose responsibility is to maintain the cleanliness of all school toilets across the school day. Our cleaning contract with industry specialists Mrs Bucket allows for cleaning to take place before, during and after school to provide the highest quality of cleanliness for all areas of the school, in particular the toilet areas. This cleaning regime means ensuring that the toilets are kept clean, stocked with soap, toilet paper and hand hand towels. Our cleaning contract requires the use of Virucidal cleaning equipment to ensure a clean, germ free environment and female sanitary products are provided free of charge in the toilets and via the school’s achievement teams (courtesy of the Vale of Glamorgan’s period dignity scheme). Several toilets offer disabled access. 

https://www.gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2018-03/school-toilets-good-practice-guidance-for-schools-in-wales.pdf

Good practice across the school includes the following guidelines in relation to toilet facilities 

 • Toilets are open and accessible to all learners throughout the hours of school opening.

 • Learners are always allowed to use the toilet, whenever they need to – with this message openly communicated to learners, teachers and parents/carers in the school toilet policy and on an ongoing basis. Teachers are issued with toilet passes to issue to children who need to use the toilets, although all pupils are required too use their breaks and/or lunch where possible to avoid missing important educational time.

• Toilet cubicles are private and have a door with a working lock that is easy for learners to operate from the inside but not easily opened from the outside by other learners.

 • Washroom doors have a door hinge safety system or finger guards to prevent entrapment of fingers.

• Cubicles have walls and doors that cannot be peered over or under wherever possible. There shouldn’t be gaps around hinges. 

• There are enough toilet cubicles for girls and boys to prevent significant queues during periods of peak use.

 • Toilets are of sound construction so as to cope with a high volume of users.

 • Sanitary fittings and fixtures are of good quality and of robust design. Maintenance and replacement costs need to be considered.

 • Toilets and fittings are the right size and height for the learners expected to use them (size and height of toilets, basins, toilet tissue dispensers, etc.). All toilets have lids. (It is good practice for the lid to be closed when the learner flushes the toilet in order to minimise the spread of water droplets when flushing.) 

 • Toilet paper is provided in all toilet cubicles, at the start of a school day, and a process of re-supply is in place at a reasonable mid-point of the school day, unless re-supply is required through loss informed by a learner or member of staff. 

• Soft toilet paper is provided.

• Washbasins are adjacent to all toilets and urinals.

 • All wash basins are in working order.

 • Every wash basin has hot and cold running water. 

• If push taps are used, they stay on long enough for learners to wash their hands properly.

• Soap dispensers are replenished on a day-to-day basis and cleaned between refills (not simply topped up). Cartridge, liquid, disposable dispensers are most appropriate. Dispensers should be non-drip

• Toilets are supervised at break and lunchtimes to ensure the well being of users.