IN MARCH 2021, The Ever Given, a 224,000-ton container ship measuring the length of four football pitches, caused somewhat of a traffic jam in Egypt’s Suez Canal.
Ferocious winds left the boat wedged across the waterway - one of the world’s busiest trade routes - which sent international oil prices soaring. It took six days and 14 tug boats at high tide to dislodge it.
It is that predicament which Bernadette Thomas likens to her task of changing the fortunes of Christ the Word Catholic School in Rhyl, which has been in special measures since mid-2022, and which she has been active head of for 13 months.
After its first and currently only core inspection of the £23million school in May 2022, Estyn’s damning report on the school raised a multitude of concerns; chiefly, concerning safeguarding arrangements, leadership and quality of teaching.
More than a year-and-half on from that visit, Christ the Word’s then-headteacher, Amanda Preston, has resigned following a lengthy absence, Mrs Thomas has picked up the baton, and a new chair of governors, John Droog, is also in place.
And while being led on a site visit by Mrs Thomas, it becomes increasingly evident that personnel isn’t the only aspect of Christ the Word that’s changed.
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“I think we’ve made lots of changes that have benefitted the pupils,” she says.
“As someone coming in as head, you don’t want to say anything that happened before was wrong, but you want to make the school as much your own as possible for as long as you’re here.
“I’ve introduced changes that, possibly, make it feel that way.”
She does, by her own admission, love showing off the school, be it the newly introduced “retreat” facility for struggling pupils, the walls which one laid bare now adorned by vibrant, colourful displays, or its new chapel pinpointed as the “heart of the school”.
Greater onus, it seems, is also being placed now on embracing the school’s “Welshness”, an area singled out for criticism in Estyn’s report – today, corridors and classrooms are almost soundtracked by “bore da” and “Diolch”.
Not only that, but the school’s deputy head, Lucy Feliciello, adds how every pupil in the upper school now has double the amount of Welsh lessons as they had last year, while a new staff member has also been appointed specifically to lead on its “Welsh culture”.
“Our focus is to make sure our pupils are well-round pupils, and have the very best education that they can have,” Mrs Thomas says.
“By doing that, we will come out of special measures. We’re not jumping through hoops for anyone’s sake, apart from for our pupils.
“We’re a big ship to turn around, so it will take some time. It’s not an easy or quick fix, especially as we want things to be embedded and become everyday practice.”
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Mr Droog, who “practically lives here” as chair of governors, adds how concerted efforts are being made to improve communication with parents, such as through the re-establishment of its PTA.
School newsletters are also planned to become more frequent and personal, as part of his bid to make the governing body more of a “point of contact”, as well as a “sounding board”.
“More of a team approach is much more evident in the last year. Everybody’s starting to work together,” he says.
“I really want to make sure the governing body has an active role in school life on a daily basis, and ensuring governors come in daily, so proper links are being formed. I think that’s progressing well.”
Certainly, it is fair to say that some of these parents have aired their fair share of grievances.
In the last year, the Journal has been told of a variety of issues at Christ the Word from some of those with children attend the school, such as bullying, lack of communication and safeguarding concerns.
Indeed, safeguarding was one of the most pressing matters highlighted by Estyn, and has been re-assessed in the inspectorate’s follow-up visits, which, for a school in special measures, are termly.
How, then, does the school go about rectifying this?
“We have one system that’s been put in place that’s well understood by all staff,” Mrs Thomas says.
“Anything they consider significant they would verbally report, as well, so we can escalate that quicker, if need be.”
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Staff, she adds, are advised to report any concerns, no matter how trivial some may seem – in that regard, whether the number of incidents increases or decreases is not seemingly of great concern.
Estyn, meanwhile, are said to have been encouraged by the school’s improvements in this department during its latest follow-up visits.
“Every issue that requires reporting will be reported,” Geraint Davies, head of education at Denbighshire County Council, adds.
“It doesn’t matter if the number (of issues reported) goes up or down; just that they are reported.
“On every level, all of us have a responsibility for safeguarding. You can’t put it on someone else’s desk; it’s a joint responsibility.
“But it’s not the school’s responsibility to investigate all child protection concerns. Children’s services in the local authority will do that, and social workers will also take responsibility for that.
“It’s making sure that the information is passed on to the appropriate body.”
Pupils at Christ the Word, who the school gives permission to be interviewed, also talk enthusiastically about the support readily available to them.
Whether it’s the students from the upper or lower school, the senior prefects, or the members of its blossoming “eco committee”, the word “support” is almost a constant from each of them.
“They (staff) get on top of things faster now, and are more quick to respond - when you’re sad, they will find a way,” one says.
“For Year 10 and 11 students, it’s a difficult time with exams,” another adds. “It’s tricky for a lot of students with a lot of different things, but they have given me so much support.”
Another speaks of how, with the help of regular visits from careers advisers, “I’ve had my future planned out for a couple of years”.
Elsewhere, the school’s “worry box” enables students to post problems anonymously – “sometimes, it’s ‘my cat went missing’, sometimes it’s much bigger, but each worry needs to be addressed, by whoever we think would be the best person to talk to the pupil,” Mrs Thoms says.
There’s a “rainforest room” offering wellbeing support for the lower school pupils, meanwhile, and regular masses and class worship at the glowing new chapel help reaffirm its Catholic principles.
Outside, there are students planting flowers in the shape of the dove on the school’s crest, which will complement the 500 crocuses already planted, spelling “Christ the Word” in Welsh.
Teachers have been “upskilled” both in-house and by external providers, and now largely stick to one individual classroom, which Mrs Thomas feels helps to “immerse the pupils” further.
Rhyl High School’s head, Claire Armitstead, is also lending a hand, particularly to Mrs Thomas on the “secondary side of things, which isn’t my forte”, and typically visits at least once a week.
And while there is an “internal time frame” for what the school hopes will be its eventual departure from special measures, Mrs Thomas certainly won’t be taking all of the credit if and when that transpires.
“Some of the catchment area we serve is the first and second-most deprived areas in Wales,” she says.
“Our goal here is to make sure we’re the best facility, so that they can come out of deprivation and have the opportunities that their parents maybe weren’t afforded.
“The job I do as a head through school currently in special measures unfortunately means I can’t be out as much as I would have loved to have been, but all of the pupils know how to access me. My door is never shut.
“We’re doing absolutely everything we can to support the pupils, and to create an environment where pupils feel safe.
“We’re in no way in isolation - so many other people really want the best for our pupils, and are all working together to that one goal.”
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