When looking for a school for your child, particularly their first school, you want to find one that is inclusive and nurtures growth and provides pupils with a whole range of learning experiences to develop their confidence and self-esteem. This is how Ty Isaf Infants School was described by Estyn in their April 2018 inspection. ELIZABETH BIRT returned to the school almost two decades after leaving to see just how the school provides these learning experiences and ensures wellbeing.

LOCATED in Mill Street, on the border between Pontymister, Risca and Ty-Sign, Ty Isaf Infants and Nursery School hosts 155 pupils, including 56 part-time nursery pupils and a specialist resource base for pupils with complex needs.

In the Estyn inspection, the school received a ‘good’ rating in all five areas of the inspection and is currently in the yellow band of schools as of the 2019 report.

The school currently have six awards: Eco Platinum, National Award Healthy Schools, ASD Friendly Status Award, E Safety Award, Investors in Families and ELKLAN Award.

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Head teacher Liz Bain joined the school in September 2013. She said the school is “a welcoming and inclusive school where wellbeing is high priority.

South Wales Argus:

Year 2 musicians learning the violin at Ty Isaf Infants school in Pontymister. Picture: www.christinsleyphotography.co.uk

“We provide ourselves on caring for our pupils, parents and staff. As a school, we are embracing the Nurture Award principles and last week, we received the ASD Friendly Status Award.”

Part of the wellbeing programme in the school is the teaching of ‘Thrive’ sessions. These sessions focus on developing healthy and curious minds and happy, confident children. The sessions encourage the children to be resilient, feel good about themselves and know that they matter.

Ty Isaf Infants is also a pioneer for Rights of the Child and will be visiting the Senedd in Cardiff Bay in November.

The children are also involved in improving the school, with six pupil groups: pupil voice, criw Cymraeg, pupil council, eco council, healthy schools committee and school ambassadors. These allow the pupils to have their say in some of the improvements in the school.

Criw Cymraeg lead the way for learning Welsh and helping the school on their way to achieving the Cymraeg Campus Bronze Award.

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Year 1 and 2 learning how to brush teeth at Ty Isaf Infants school in Pontymister. Picture: www.christinsleyphotography.co.uk

On the 2018 Estyn report, it said that none of the pupils speak Welsh at home, but the school is committed to ensuring the language is learnt and spoken regularly by having incidental phrases and phrase of the week in all areas of learning. This was witnessed while with Machen class. The reception pupils were in the outdoor learning area and Welsh was used as an instruction to close their eyes and listen to what is around them.

The Criw Cymraeg pupils give out certificates during the weekly Welsh assemblies to the children who have spoken the most Welsh that week.

The criw Cymraeg pupils give out certificates during the weekly Welsh assemblies to the children who have spoken the most Welsh that week.

The school motto is “learning together to be our best” and the school life is built around this ethos.

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Mud painting for reception Machen class in the forest school wildlife area at Ty Isaf Infants school. Picture: www.christinsleyphotography.co.uk

There are currently five classes in the school: a nursery, two singleage classes and two mixed-age classes.

Ty-Isaf Infants has an extensive ‘forest school’ area where pupils are able to enhance their literacy and numeracy skills while learning about wildlife.

While we were at the school, some of the pupils were learning about the environment and creating mud paintings.

This also forms part of the changes for the new curriculum.

The school is also developing an authentic learning programme where children get a wide range of experiences including cooking, educational visits to various locations around the local area, St Fagans and the wetlands to introduce the children to the new topics.

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Family involvement and the community have been at the centre of the school since it opened in 1964. There is an active PTA called Friends of Ty Isaf who raise money for the school.

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Working in the IT bays at Ty Isaf Infants school in Pontymister. Picture: www.christinsleyphotography.co.uk

Parents and family members are encouraged to be involved in the school, attending events and workshops on literacy, numeracy and Welsh and fun events including decorating cakes for Mother’s Day. The children attend the local churches Ty Isaf Baptist Church and Moriah Church and the vice chair of governors leads a ‘wraparound’ provision for the nursery pupils in the afternoons.

It’s not just the pupils who are learning either. The school provides professional developmental opportunities for the staff too, with some taking part in a British Council overseas trip to further improve their knowledge.

The children have positive attitudes to learning and understand healthy lifestyle choices, they are provided with fun and engaging ways to learn and the school has a supportive and caring team of staff and governors who develop the vision, mission and aims of the school.

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FACT FILE:

  • Pupils: 155
  • Headteacher: Mrs Liz Bain (above)
  • Ages: 3-6
  • Chairman of governors: Mr D. Gower
  • Motto: Learning together to be our best