Greenhill Special School, Cardiff

Greenhill Special School is a school in Wales. Welsh schools are inspected by Estyn rather than Ofsted, and its latest report is published on Estyn's website.

Estyn's report on its April 2023 inspection summarises Greenhill Special School like this:

"Greenhill School is a caring and nurturing school, which provides sensitive support for pupils’ emotional well-being. As a result, most pupils and their families build positive and trusting relationships with the staff team. The school offers a range of beneficial and supportive interventions that support pupils’ additional learning needs well. In addition, it works well with a wide range of specialist services, including educational psychologists and speech and language therapists. This supportive atmosphere contributes well to pupils’ positive levels of well-being, their personal development and the standards that they achieve from their individual starting points. In lessons and over time, many pupils make appropriate progress from their initial starting points and against targets in their personal plans. In relation to their needs, they make sound progress in a range of areas that support their learning and personal development at school and in preparation for their future lives."

"The school provides a broad range of learning activities with a strong emphasis on outdoor learning. The curriculum is well linked to the interests and aptitudes of the pupils. However, attendance issues impact on the rate of progress of a minority of pupils across the school. Leaders have a clear vision for the school and work well with staff to foster an inclusive ethos where pupils feel safe and valued. The headteacher and staff establish positive working relationships with families and ensure that communication is consistent and effective. As a result, the school supports pupils effectively beyond the school day and at times of critical need. In addition, leaders take appropriate account of national priorities such as the school’s work to mitigate the impact of poverty on pupil achievement."

"For example, leaders make certain that finance does not become a barrier to learning through initiatives such as school funded trips. This has enabled pupils to experience things outside of their normal everyday life such as going on a flight to Edinburgh. As a result, pupils are engaged and motivated to learn. The school uses an appropriate range of monitoring activities such as learning walks and book scrutiny. However, systems to evaluate the school’s provision and plan for improvement are not robust or precise enough."

Estyn made 3 recommendations: (1) Respond to the issues raised in the well-being letter; (2) Strengthen self-evaluation and improvement planning, ensuring that they focus specifically on identifying the most important areas of whole-school improvement; (3) Improve attendance.

The nearest other special schools to Greenhill Special School are The Court Special School (1.6 miles), Meadowbank Special School (1.9 miles), The Hollies Special School (3.3 miles) and Riverbank Special School (3.4 miles).

The nearest railway station is Whitchurch Rail Station, about 750 metres away (roughly a 9-minute walk).

7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is The Deri (after), 210 metres away.