Click on the links below to see the exciting activities that are happening in our school.

YSTRUTH PRIMARY IS A CURRICULUM PIONEER SCHOOL.

The Pioneer Schools have been drawn from across Wales and represent a range of different schools including rural and urban settings; English-medium and Welsh-medium; primary, secondary and special schools, schools with a religious character, and a range of school sizes.

Ystruth Primary are one of the Pioneer Schools who have been selected from around Wales to design and develop our new curriculum for Wales; with further plans to support schools in preparing for its implementation and provide practitioners with professional learning opportunities and support. Our practitioner Mr Pugh, is our Pioneer Representative and is currently working on curriculum design and will continue to support schools to implement the vision set out in Professor Donaldson’s report.

We have been involved in shaping the Cross Curricular Responsibilities as part of the Strand 1 phase of the curriculum design. We are currently working on; and helping to form the Area of Learning Experience for Health and Well Being.  

Links to Pioneer Schools:

Successful Futures Report

Announcement of Pioneer Schools

EAS Blog link for Pioneer Schools

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What is Healthy Schools?

Ystruth Primary has joined participants within the Welsh Network of Healthy Schools' Scheme. Blaenau Gwent Schools are focusing on a wide range of activities to help encourage a healthier lifestyle for pupils, teachers and parents. Eating fruit at breaktime and drinking water throughout the school day are just an example of some of the actions that are helping to equip children with the skills and knowledge to make informed choices about their health now and in the future.

Who is involved?

The schools 'Healthy Schools Co ordinator' Mr Pugh works closely with Mrs Hulbert, the School Council and Eco Committee who, along with all staff and pupils in the school help make decisions to achieve our aim to be a healthy school. The whole school approach involves working with children and young people, parents, school staff and the whole school community to provide a solid foundation from which developments and improvement are embedded in a systematic way. These processes contribute to the physical and emotional development of all members of the school community.

Links

http://www.healthyschools.gov.uk

What do we want to achieve?

As a school we are now ready to apply for accreditation for the National Quality Award. The impact of this programme is based on a whole-school approach to physical and emotional well-being focused on these core themes:

• Physical Education, Food and Fitness
• Mental and Emotional Health and Wellbeing
• Personal Development and Relationships
• Substance Use and Misuse
• Safety
• Environment
• Hygiene

We hope to improve our life inside and outside of school looking at this elements with the help and support of all members of the community.

Current Work

Ystruth Primary is currently the only school in Blaenau Gwent to be accredited with the prestigious National Quality Award following scrutiny against the Welsh Network of Healthy Schools standards. We are a Pioneer school; helping to shape and design the Area of Learning Experience for Health and Well Being along with a variety of support work, sharing our best practice.

If you would like any further details on our Health and Well Being work, please contact us.

T.E.A.M 'Together Everyone Achieves More'. 

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Rights Respecting Schools                                                               

The Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA) recognises achievement in putting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) at the heart of a school’s planning, policies, practice and ethos. A rights-respecting school not only teaches about children’s rights but also models rights and respect in all its relationships: between teachers / adults and pupils, between adults and between pupils.

Who is the Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA) for?

The RRSA is a UK-wide initiative for all children and all those working with or for children in formal education. It is being successfully implemented in all settings – Primary, Secondary, Special Needs and Pupil Referral Units – across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

How does the RRSA link with other school initiatives?

The initiative unifies a range of educational priorities in all UK jurisdictions; the global dimension, SEAL (social and emotional aspects of learning), community cohesion and sustainable development.

What impact does the RRSA have?

A three year qualitative study by researchers at the Universities of Sussex and Brighton found that "The RRSA has had a profound effect on the majority of the schools involved in the programme."

How is the RRSA funded?

As a registered charity we rely entirely on voluntary donations to fund our vital work for children and their rights. Therefore we charge for regional courses, school visits, local authority support, assessments and other activities. Our RRSA programme does not make a profit – it simply aims to cover our running costs.

RRSA and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

The universality of the CRC provides a clear link for pupils between building up their rights-respecting school, understanding their rights and the need for children’s rights to be realised everywhere. Children and young people in rights-respecting schools develop a stronger sense of the need to act for global justice.

Children's Commissioner

Here are some of the things that the Commissioner and his staff do for Wales’ children and young people:

• Telling everyone, including children and young people, about the Commissioner and about children’s rights
• Meeting with children and young people and listening to what they have to say about issues that affect them.
• Talking to children and young people about the Commissioner’s work, what else they think he should do and how he should do it.
• Looking at the work of organisations like councils and health trusts to see if they are thinking about children’s rights.
• Telling people who can make a difference what children and young people think is important and how to improve things.
• Giving advice and information to children and adults who contact the Commissioner's team.

To find out more about the work of the children’s Commissioner you can go to this website: www.childcom.org.uk

You can get in touch with them at either of their offices:

Children & young people's freephone number:

0808 801 1000                         Or text 80 800 start your message with COM

The School Council

How it works?

"School councils are democratically elected groups of students who represent their peers and enable pupils to become partners in their own education, making a positive contribution to the school environment and ethos."
www.schoolcouncils.org

Our History

The School Council was set up after taking part in the Healthy Schools Initiative in 2005. Council members are selected on a two year cycle at the beginning of a school year. All pupils have the opportunity to volunteer to be part of the School Council. The elected members are those voted for and selected by their peers by means of a formal ballot. Being a member of the School Council is a lot of hard work. Members are responsible for listening to their peers problems and ideas then feeding back suggestions at school council meetings. School Council members are also regularly called upon to attend other meetings, meet different professionals and help make other important decisions about the school.

The Meetings

The meetings are held at least once per term. They are supervised by Mrs Mackay but the children have their own responsibilities and arrange meetings in between the main meetings in their spare time. Senior Members of the School Council are also asked to attend meetings at the Grand School Council. Here pupils get the opportunity to discuss issues with children from other schools in the area.

The Family of Man

We realise the decisions we make in School Council meetings not only help our school but can help people in other areas and from other cultures.

We are a Rights Respecting School and understand children have rights as part of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and we regularly discuss the articles in all parts of our school life.

The School Council works with the Eco Committee and encourages matters such as recycling, saving energy and Healthy Eating which is our little step joined with other little steps to make our world a better place.

T.E.A.M.

Together Everyone Achieves More

On Friday 23rd January, a very special visitor entered our school, Chris Coleman; the Welsh Football Manager. Our incredible Head Teacher, Mrs Harris, had arranged for him to come and see us and it really was a pleasure.  Chris Coleman was due to visit us the previous week and unfortuntely his train was delayed and he couldn't make it.  We were all overjoyed when he actually arrived at our school on Friday.

Mrs Harris decided to contact Chris Coleman after one of our Year 6 pupils, Lewis went a shirt signing at a football game. 

Chris Coleman was very polite and talked to us about what life was like as a manager.  He even spent time answering lots of our questions in an assembly with the whole school. It was very interesting listening to his thoughtful answers and he didn't even mind when one of the younger pupils asked him if he was rich! Everyone, including Chris, found this very funny!

It was amazing to have Chris visit our very special school.  We are just a school in a small town called Blaina, but we are capable of a lot and it was inspirational to have someone like Chris take the time out to visit our school. 

We would like to say a big thank you to Chris for visiting, we are very grateful and we would love to see you again some time. 

Written by Year 6 Pupils