This Welsh medium primary school puts pupil wellbeing and happiness at the forefront of all it does. BROOKE BOUCHER went along to find out more.

PUPIL wellbeing, happiness and the Welsh language encompasses everything at Ysgol Gymraeg Ifor Hael in Newport.

The school opened its doors in 2009 with just 28 children - now there are 201 pupils and 21 staff.

Pupil wellbeing is at the heart of this school’s vision, an aspect recognised in its ‘excellent’ inspection in 2016, and it still stands today.

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“People often comment on the family, inclusive, happy atmosphere here and we pride ourselves on the fact that we are a happy family with respect pervading through everything that we do,” said head teacher Mrs Bethan Parry-Jones.

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DDMIX dance winners at Ysgol Gymraeg Ifor Hael. All pictures: www.christinsleyphotography.co.uk

The school has a system to allow pupils to make sure their voices are heard.

These so-called pupil voice teams are split into different groups such as Yard Buddies, Eco Warriors, Digi Leaders, Criw Cymraeg and a School Council.

This means pupils with different interests can have a strong voice when it comes to development in the school.

The pupils are currently raising money for a bike park for the school so they can cycle in.

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Nursery making cakes at Ysgol Gymraeg Ifor Hael.

Pupils are also part of the planning process for their learning and decide what they’d like to learn.

During a Year 6 lesson, for example the pupils were having a discussion on refugees in the current political climate.

The Criw Cymraeg team is working on a Welsh Assembly project, Siarter iath, to promote the Welsh language, develop a Welsh ethos and to encourage pupils to improve their Welsh language skills.

“Our Criw Cymraeg have worked diligently and are leading the work in order to achieve the ‘Siarter iath’s’ silver award, and they, and the whole school community is now working towards gold,” said Mrs Bethan Parry-Jones.

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Bethan Parry-Jones

The charter provides a framework for schools to follow in order to achieve the awards.

Ysgol Gymraeg Ifor Hael was also the first first Welsh-medium school to join ‘Heddlu Bach’ (Mini Police), who promote good citizenship throughout the community.

“Our 20 pupils proudly wear their mini police uniforms and help to make our community a safer place in partnership with Gwent Police,” said Mrs Parry-Jones.

“They raise awareness of a variety of issues, for example, they have run safe parking campaigns, promoted safety messages around events such as Bonfire Night and Hallowe'en."

Recently the school took part in the School DDMIX Dance Festival where their dance team came first in a competition partly judged by former ballerina and Strictly Come Dancing judge Darcey Bussell.

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Heddlu Bach at Ysgol Gymraeg Ifor Hael.

The school was a Pioneer School, chosen to assist in the development of training for the implementation of the new curriculum in Wales, from when the reform began in 2015. It now acts as a Quality Improvement School, where groups contribute to refine the curriculum and respond to consultation feedback.

“The new curriculum will prepare our children for their futures,” Mrs Parry-Jones said. “We develop their skills for life here and provide them with rich, real-life, authentic learning experiences in order to realise the four purposes of ‘ambitious, capable learners; healthy, confident individuals; enterprising, creative contributors; ethical, informed citizens.

“It is a privilege to be able to tailor the curriculum to our children’s needs and to the local context.

“Our mission statement is ‘Llwybr Llwyddiant’ (Path to Success), and the children are at the heart of all that we plan and do here at Ifor Hael, starting with the ‘happy child’”.

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Year 2 using BeeBot at Ysgol Gymraeg Ifor Hael.

The school has been used by Estyn as a caste study for best practice in Foundation Phase, a testament to the culture of planning for rich experiences and achieving high expectations to their pupils.

“We celebrate our language, identity and heritage as a Welsh-medium primary school, one of three in the local area, with another opening in 2021.

“Our pupils leave us as bilingual citizens who are fluent Welsh language speakers which will stand them in good stead for the future workforce, community and society with the Welsh Government’s vision of achieving a million Welsh speakers by 2050.

“Only 6.5 per cent of our pupils come from Welsh speaking backgrounds with parents committing to the Welsh language from the birth of their child.

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Splat. Year 1 learning key worlds at Ysgol Gymraeg Ifor Hael.

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“Parents are proud of their children’s achievements and acquisition of the language, especially our reception parents, where their children understand the language after a term here and begin to speak it within a term and a half – children are amazing!

“We are currently working with Save the Children on their ‘Early Learning Community’ programme which aims to improve early learning outcomes for children growing up in poverty in five communities across the UK, including Bettws.

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Reception class playing outside at Ysgol Gymraeg Ifor Hael.

“It hopes to bring together people living and working in Bettws by looking at research bases and developing a shared strategy for change, to deliver key interventions, improve local services, and transform how the community works together over the next two years.

“This is an exciting programme for the whole community as Bettws is ranked in the top ten per cent of the most deprived areas in Wales and will secure a better start for the children and people in our community.”