A SCHOOL in Rhyl put in special measures last year has appointed a new member to its governing body specifically to address its safeguarding concerns.

Christ the Word Catholic School, on Cefndy Road, was placed in special measures following an Estyn report published last July, after an inspection in May.

Numerous parents of pupils at the school have since told the Journal that safeguarding is among its most pressing concerns.

The school’s headteacher and deputy have also been absent since November, with Bernadette Thomas since appointed as acting head.

Minutes published yesterday (March 6) regarding a Performance Scrutiny Committee meeting of Denbighshire County Council on January 26 state that a new governor has also been appointed.

Christ the Word’s website also states that Rhian Austin and Lucy Feliciello have been appointed as interim deputy head and interim assistant head respectively.

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At the January 26 meeting, Geraint Davies, the council’s head of education, introduced the confidential report which outlined the response to the aforementioned Estyn report.

Estyn’s five recommendations in its report were as follows:

  • Strengthen safeguarding arrangements and address the concerns identified during the inspection.
  • Improve leadership at all levels, including leaders’ ability to evaluate the quality of teaching and learning.
  • Improve the quality of teaching so that pupils of all ages and abilities make strong progress.
  • Ensure that the curriculum provides pupils of all ages with broad, balanced and relevant learning experiences.
  • Strengthen the provision for the progressive development of pupils’ skills.

Mr Davies highlighted during the meeting the steps taken to address these recommendations, including appointing additional governors and the interim school leadership team, and providing additional support to help move the school forward.

All of these actions and the measures were outlined in a Post Inspection Action Plan (PIAP) and accepted by Estyn before being put into practice.

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The meeting’s minutes also stated that these measures now in place are being continually challenged and monitored to ensure their robustness.

Various training events have also been held for school leaders, staff and governors, to ensure that they had the relevant skills to address the recommendations and deliver the action plans.

Assurances were given that all partners involved with the school are now working effectively together, with a common aim of supporting the school and securing the best outcomes for all of its pupils.

It was agreed that a further report be presented to the committee in September, detailing the progress made in delivering the PIAP.

A total of four Christ the Word representatives, including Ms Thomas, are listed as having attended the meeting, as are two members of GwE, the North Wales regional school improvement service.

Neither Denbighshire County Council nor Christ the Word have confirmed why the school’s head and deputy are absent, or for how long they will not be present for.

The £23million school opened in September 2019 and caters for children between three and 16 years old.

It replaced secondary school, Blessed Edward Jones Catholic School, and primary school, Ysgol Mair.

An attendee of the Performance Scrutiny Committee meeting, who asked to be left anonymous, said they were encouraged by the plans put in place to rectify the issues at Christ the Word.

The attendee said: “I was very impressed with the measures put in place by Geraint Davies, and the team he has put together in reaction to a very critical Estyn report, and previous to it, to be fair.

“I believe it will turn around the school after some dark times through COVID and beyond.

“The ‘GwE’ agency for school improvement are also working with the school to lift it out of a bit of a hole.

“There has been some criticism of the time it took to bring the school into special measures, but I felt that this was answered very well by the teaching professionals involved, and am optimistic for the future.”