INSPECTORS have praised staff and pupils at a Torfaen primary school, where children “thoroughly enjoy” attending lessons.

A team from Welsh inspection agency Estyn visited New Inn Primary School in November and has now published a report on its findings.

It found pupils there felt “happy and safe, and learn from an early age how to take responsibility for their actions”.

Pupils have “many opportunities to make decisions about improving their school”, and “know who to turn to when they need help in any situation”.

They make “good progress” with their writing skills and also develop “useful” maths skills at the school.

“Many” pupils are “inspired” to develop sporting interests outside school, at local clubs and academies, and “nearly all pupils” take part in swimming.

Children at New Inn Primary also “engage enthusiastically in creative activities” such as art.

The inspectors said learners were “proud to belong” to the school and “develop positive relationships with staff” from a young age.

“These positive relationships ensure that pupils are enthusiastic about their learning and remain engaged throughout lessons,” Estyn said.

Teachers at New Inn Primary prepare lessons that are “often lively and stimulating”, and “create valuable opportunities for pupils to work together”.

But Estyn did say teachers “do not provide opportunities for pupils to deepen their learning independently often enough”.

The inspectors were impressed with the “authentic opportunities for pupils to develop their understanding of the history and culture of Wales”, such as imitating the work of Welsh artists and learning about influential people.

Lessons about Welsh palaeontologist Dorothea Bate particularly pleased the inspectors, who saw pupils “exploring her work on prehistoric fossils and replicating her finds using similar excavation techniques”.

The inspection team said leaders, teachers, and teaching assistants at the school create a “caring and inclusive environment that encourages pupils to be respectful”.

This “supportive and friendly” relationship between pupils and staff was “a strength of the school”, they found, as was the school’s support for pupils with additional learning needs.

Estyn judged the school leadership to be “highly organised, visible and well-respected”, with “high expectations” and a “clear” vision focused on wellbeing.

The inspectors have now recommended the school improve its self-evaluation processes, the quality of feedback teachers provide to pupils, its support pupils to apply their numeracy and writing skills creatively across the curriculum, and its opportunities for pupils to make independent choices.