All-age – Adroddiad Blynyddol | Annual Report
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All-age

Early Insights 2025-2026

Teaching and learning

Most schools foster positive relationships and a majority provide broad, engaging learning experiences that support pupils’ confidence, belonging and wider development. In the stronger schools, pupils also benefit from effective literacy provision and consistently strong teaching, where high expectations, subject knowledge and skilful questioning help them make good progress. However, teaching remains too variable in around half of schools, with insufficient challenge, over-scaffolding and weak feedback limiting pupils’ independence and resilience. Curriculum implementation is also inconsistent, particularly in the progressive development of literacy, numeracy and digital skills and in securing coherent progression in line with Curriculum for Wales expectations.

What’s going well

  • Nearly all schools place a strong emphasis on nurturing positive working relationships between staff and pupils. In many schools, provision for social and personal development contributes positively to pupils’ confidence and sense of belonging.
  • In the majority of schools, pupils benefit from broad and engaging learning experiences, often rooted firmly within a relevant local and national context. Enrichment opportunities, particularly in the arts, sport, well-being and cultural experiences, is a notable strength.
  • Literacy is a strength across a minority of schools, with a few fostering particularly strong reading cultures. These schools provide effective opportunities for pupils to develop their oracy skills.
  • In around half of schools, teachers have high expectations, strong subject knowledge and use skilful questioning to deepen pupils’ understanding. This generally ensures that learning builds well over time so that many pupils make at least the expected progress.
  • In general, sixth form pupils have positive attitudes to learning, enjoy their courses and develop as confident, independent learners. Many make valuable contributions to wider school life, including through leadership roles and supporting young pupils.
  • Teaching in sixth forms is often strong and suitably challenging. Many schools provide a broad range of general and vocational courses, although the breadth of provision varies between schools.

What needs to improve

  • In around half of schools, the quality of teaching varies too much. Expectations are not consistently high enough. Often, more able pupils are not challenged suitably. At times, tasks are too scaffolded or overly supported, limiting pupils’ opportunities to think independently, apply prior learning and develop resilience as learners. Feedback does not support pupils well enough to improve their work.
  • In the majority of schools, the progressive development of pupils’ literacy, numeracy and digital skills is not planned or coordinated strategically enough across the curriculum.
  • While curriculum vision is generally strong, implementation is less secure in around half of schools. Age-appropriate pedagogy and curriculum progression and alignment with Curriculum for Wales expectations up to Year 9 are variable.

Well-being, care, support and guidance

There is a strong culture of care, inclusion and mutual respect in most schools. Welcoming environments and positive relationships between staff and pupils are a notable strength. In many cases, this inclusive ethos contributes strongly to pupils’ sense of belonging, confidence and emotional well-being. Leaders do not use attendance data strategically enough to identify trends and plan support.

What’s going well

  • Schools generally know their pupils well and use pastoral systems effectively to identify and respond to emotional, social and behavioural needs. Targeted interventions, nurturing provision and bespoke pastoral support help create a positive environment where most pupils feel safe, supported and well cared for.
  • Provision for pupils with ALN is a consistent strength across all-age schools.
  • Many schools provide pupils with worthwhile opportunities to contribute to school life through the school council, ambassador roles and peer mentoring. Where these opportunities are most effective, pupils influence meaningful changes to provision and develop confidence, leadership skills and a strong sense of responsibility within their school communities.

What needs to improve

  • In many schools, overall attendance, particularly that of secondary-aged pupils, pupils eligible for free school meals and those who are persistently absent, remains too low. Although schools gather useful information about pupils’ well-being, attendance and progress, leaders do not always analyse this information precisely enough to identify trends or measure the long-term impact of interventions and support.

Leading and improving

Committed leadership, well-considered professional learning and an improving culture of reflection are features in many schools. However, strengthening aspects of self-evaluation and improvement planning remains an area for improvement in nearly all schools. Notably, evaluation does not focus sharply enough on the impact of provision and leadership on pupils’ standards and well-being.

What’s going well

  • In most cases, senior leaders provide purposeful and increasingly strategic direction for their schools. Headteachers communicate clear values and ambitions that are understood by staff and pupils. This helps foster positive working relationships, a shared sense of purpose and a strong team ethos.
  • Generally, schools are making suitable use of monitoring activities such as learning walks, scrutiny of pupils’ work, listening to learners and review meetings to identify strengths and priorities for improvement. In a minority of cases, these processes are becoming more systematic and are beginning to inform improvement planning more effectively.
  • Leaders across all schools continue to respond to the impact of poverty through targeted support and enrichment opportunities.
  • The majority of schools have established supportive professional learning cultures. Staff benefit from worthwhile training opportunities that are suitably aligned to whole-school priorities.

What needs to improve

  • In the majority of schools, leaders do not evaluate provision precisely enough in relation to its impact on pupils’ progress, learning and well-being. Too often, evaluation focuses on what is in place rather than how well it improves outcomes for learners.
  • Although schools identify suitable improvement priorities, the impact of initiatives is not always secure. In a few cases, developments remain at an early stage and have not brought consistent improvements in attendance, teaching and in pupils’ standards and progress over time.
  • Processes to evaluate the impact of professional learning on the quality of provision and pupil progress are generally underdeveloped in a minority of schools.

Overview of recommendations from inspections

In the 2025-26 academic year, we inspected 6 providers in the all-age sector. Each provider was given at least 2 recommendations, and in total we provided 20 recommendations to providers.

4 providers (66%) were given a recommendation relating to teaching and learning. Of those, one provider was placed in a follow up category.

  • 3 providers (50%) had at least one recommendation around the quality of teaching or ensuring that pedagogy and learning experiences are appropriate to pupils’ stage of development
  • 2 providers (33%) had a recommendation around ensuring that pupils have access to the full range of learning experiences until the end of Year 9 and that it builds on pupils’ knowledge and skills
  • 4 providers (66%) had a recommendation relating to the progressive development of pupils’ skills

5 providers (83%) were given a recommendation related to well-being, care, support and guidance, of which one was placed in a follow-up category.

  • 5 providers (83%) received a recommendation to improve attendance

All providers (100%) were given a recommendation related to leading and improving, of which one was placed in a follow up category:

  • 4 providers (66%) were given a recommendation relating to developing or strengthening self-evaluation and improvement
  • 2 providers 33%) were given a recommendation about strengthening leadership or aspects of leadership
  • 2 providers (33%) were given a recommendation around improving aspects of their work as an all-age school

Effective practice identified during inspection

Ysgol Bro Preseli

Read how Ysgol Bro Preseli provides meaningful provision to develop pupils’ literacy skills and has developed a strong ethos of an all-age school

Ysgol Llanhari

Read how Ysgol Llanhari promotes the status of international languages in the curriculum

Cowbridge School

Read how Cowbridge School embraces a collaborative culture of professional learning

Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Morgannwg

Read how Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Morgannwg uses its anti-racism strategy to enrich the curriculum