School praised as Estyn upgrades status

Ysgol Llanfyllin is celebrating a major milestone after being officially removed from Estyn ‘Review’ following a positive evaluation of progress across all areas of recommendation from its 2024 core inspection.

In a letter from Emma Palmer, Chief Executive of Powys County Council, the school, which banned mobile phones last year, was congratulated on its “hard work, dedication, and collective commitment” across staff, learners, governors, and the wider community.

Ms. Palmer wrote: “The positive changes you have implemented will impact on learners' experiences and outcomes, and I look forward to seeing the impact of these changes. Your school will continue to move forward positively.”

This follows a rigorous period of improvement in which the school has demonstrated clear and sustained progress in teaching quality, curriculum planning, self-evaluation, and behaviour management.

Headteacher Dewi Owen expressed his pride in the school’s achievement, stating: “I’m overjoyed at the recognition from Estyn for all the hard work and dedication from all staff, students, and members of Teulu Ysgol Llanfyllin. This is a shared success that reflects our commitment to excellence and improvement.”

Since the 2024 inspection, Ysgol Llanfyllin has implemented a wide-ranging School Development Plan, streamlining lesson structures and embedding a culture of professional reflection. Improvements include more consistent use of collaborative talk strategies, active listening, and purposeful feedback, leading to stronger pupil engagement and progress across key stages.

Notable developments in the evaluation include:

• Teaching & Learning: High-quality professional learning has supported staff in planning purposeful, engaging lessons, with improved questioning techniques and reduced passive learning.
• Skills Progression: Whole-school frameworks now guide the development of literacy, numeracy, and oracy skills, supported by successful cross-phase collaboration and digital skills integration.
• Self-Evaluation: A refined Quality Assurance model now includes joint observations, learner voice, and work scrutiny - leading to sharper judgements and better teaching impact.
• Behaviour & Culture: The ‘Ready to Learn’ strategy and mobile phone ban have created a calmer, safer environment. Learner voice reports a noticeable improvement in behaviour and classroom climate.

Ysgol Llanfyllin has also benefited from close partnership with Powys County Council, with tailored support from local authority advisers and strategic leadership changes that have built capacity and raised expectations across the school.

Mr Owen added: “This is not the end of the journey - just the start of a new phase. We will continue to hold ourselves to high standards, support one another as a team, and do everything we can to give our young people the best education possible.”

PICTURE (by Phil BLagg): Headteacher Dewi Owen (seated front centre) with members of the senior leadership team and pupils from all phases at Ysgol Llanfyllin.