A VILLAGE school in Wrexham has been widely praised in a report by the Welsh education regulator.

Ysgol Bryn Tabor in Coedpoeth was rated either good or excellent in the five inspection areas carried out by Estyn in June, with the school's experienced headteacher commended for providing strong and effective leadership.

The report, which was published on August 5, said of the head: "He has high expectations and a determined vision for developing the school, which is shared robustly with all pupils, staff and governors in a very happy, supportive and homely environment.

"Nearly all pupils enjoy the school’s life and work, and feel safe within the caring, inclusive and supportive ethos. They show a very high level of care and respect towards each other and others.

"The child’s voice is at the heart of the school’s vision. This is an excellent feature."

The school was judged to be excellent in three inspection areas; Wellbeing and attitudes to learning, Care support and guidance and Leadership and management - and was judged to be good in the other two; Standards and Teaching and learning experiences.

The report went on to say: "There is a very effective working relationship between adults and pupils, which fosters a successful learning environment.

"The school’s planning principles are thorough and focus on developing pupils’ awareness of their heritage."

The number of pupils at the school, which is made up of 274 children between the ages of 3-11 years old, that come from Welsh-speaking homes is around 5%, with one of the recommendations in the report ensuring "all pupils use the Welsh language consistently as a means of

communicating within the classrooms and around the school."

Kevin Williams, who has been headteacher at the school since 2007 said he was delighted with the report and how it was great to receive such positive feedback after the school had recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.

He said: "We’ve worked purposefully to develop the pupil voice at Ysgol Bryn Tabor and to prepare for the new curriculum, and this has had a very positive impact both on pupil standards and on wellbeing.

"I’m proud of the hardworking staff and governors we have at the school. We’ve got a great group of pupils and supportive parents."

"The section on Wellbeing and attitudes to learning was one of three rated as excellent. The report noted that, 'Nearly all pupils are happy and safe at the school. They feel that the headteacher and staff take exceptionally good care of them and that they are given valuable opportunities to undertake a wide range of rich and interesting activities. They take pride in the strong voice that they are given in what they learn.'

"Care, support and guidance was rated excellent with the report noting, ‘The school is an extremely familial, friendly and caring community that promotes the importance of excellent behaviour, courtesy and commitment very successfully.’"

Nia Roberts, Chair of Governors, said: "As the Chair of Governors, I am very proud of the staff and pupils of Ysgol Bryn Tabor and would like to congratulate them all on their dedication and hard work, which is evident in this excellent Estyn Inspection report.

"We as a governing body, feel very privileged to be part of such a successful team and look forward to continuing to support the school as it continues it’s successful journey."