Mary Immaculate Catholic Primary School praised by Estyn

Mary Immaculate Catholic Primary School, on Merlin's Hill, was visited by Estyn in March.

Inspectors praised the school for its “distinct focus on equity of opportunity for all” and its nurturing ethos “underpinned by strong values and virtues”.

The report highlighted that a broad range of engaging and interesting activities are planned by teachers across the curriculum with a good pace of learning, development of understanding and promotion of thinking skills on the whole.

Y Senedd Bach at Mary Immaculate Catholic Primary School. (Image: Pembrokeshire County Council)

Headteacher Sarah Mansfield was appointed in November 2021, and inspectors described her as a “dynamic and committed headteacher” who “works tirelessly with other leaders to improve pupil outcomes and wellbeing”.

Recommendations made by Estyn were to ensure that outdoor learning develops pupils’ skills effectively and provides a suitable level of challenge for all pupils, and improve feedback from teachers to pupils, giving them more opportunities to improve their own work.

Ms Mansfield said: “It’s pleasing to see everyone’s hard work recognised.

“I am very proud of everyone in our school community and would like to thank our wonderful pupils and staff for their desire to make Mary Immaculate the best it can be.”

Pembrokeshire council’s cabinet member for education and the Welsh language, Cllr Guy Woodham, said: “This is a fantastic report from Estyn and staff and pupils at Mary Immaculate Catholic School should be extremely proud of their hard work.”

The report also praised the prominent role pupils play in everyday life at the school, such as through their roles as members of Y Senedd and its sub committees.

Two of the school’s pupil leadership team, Kayla Kplomedo and Leah Thomas, said: “We are really pleased to see our Senedd work highlighted in the report as it is such a massive part of our school.  Rydyn ni’n y llais, we are the voice. 

“Even though we will take our voices to the high school, we are confident that the new pupil leadership team will ensure that all pupils are heard and taken seriously. We know this as we will train the next first ministers and faith ambassadors before we leave.

“They have looked up to so many before them and understand the importance of their roles including their responsibility to support the continued improvement of our school. 

“The future is bright for the pupils at Mary Immaculate.”