Ysgol Derwen, Flintshire

Ysgol Derwen is an English-medium school in Wales. Welsh schools are inspected by Estyn rather than Ofsted, and its latest report is published on Estyn's website.

It had 178 pupils in the 2025/26 school census.

6% of pupils are eligible for free school meals (three-year average).

Of its pupils, 6% have additional learning needs (12% in 2020/21); and 9% are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Year groups range from 16 pupils (Year 6) to 25 (Year 3).

Its delegated budget for 2026-27 works out at £4,918 per pupil, against £3,677 in 2021-22. It ended 2024-25 with a deficit of £108k.

Estyn's report on its February 2026 inspection summarises Ysgol Derwen like this:

"Ysgol Derwen is a welcoming and vibrant school, where leaders implement a clear vision for the learning and well-being of all pupils. They have established an inclusive community ethos, where staff, pupils and their families feel valued and respected. Leaders focus well on securing effective teaching and learning, which results in nearly all pupils making strong progress. Staff nurture caring relationships with pupils and encourage them to be responsible and kind. Leaders implement robust systems to identify pupils with additional learning needs (ALN) and work well with other agencies and parents, to ensure they receive any specialist provision they require. Throughout the school pupils’ behaviour is exemplary. Across the school, teaching is effective. From an early age, staff encourage all pupils to develop their independence successfully."

"They organise environments thoughtfully to enable pupils to access helpful resources without support and share useful strategies for them to use if they find something difficult. Consequently, most pupils show high levels of independence in their learning. Leaders and staff have developed a highly engaging curriculum. They plan purposeful opportunities for pupils to influence what and how they learn which motivates them successfully and makes learning meaningful. This work is particularly effective in numeracy, where pupils regularly plan and explore their own investigations. The school places a firm focus on enhancing the development of pupils’ literacy skills. Staff model language well and support pupils’ speaking and listening skills successfully. This ensures pupils build particularly strong oracy skills."

"Staff teach reading effectively and give pupils access to a wide range of stimulating reading material to inspire them to read regularly. This contributes significantly to many pupils becoming keen book lovers who read with confidence and understanding. Teachers plan regular Welsh language sessions across the school. However, in general, they do not place a strong enough emphasis on promoting the Welsh language or teaching pupils about the history and culture of Wales. Senior leaders work successfully with staff and governors to evaluate the school’s work. This contributes to their secure understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. A few teachers are starting to improve their leadership skills although, overall, distributed leadership is at an early stage of development."

Estyn made 2 recommendations: (1) Establish effective distributed leadership across the school; (2) Ensure staff promote the Welsh language and teach pupils about the history and culture of Wales effectively.

From the headteacher's welcome: "Choosing the right school for your child is one of the most important things you will do. Most parents want a good education for their children but also want them to be happy and feel safe and secure."

The nearest other state primary schools to Ysgol Derwen are Broughton Primary School (1.5 miles); Ysgol Penyffordd (1.8 miles); Dodleston CofE Primary School (1.8 miles, 80% reading, 70% maths); and St Johns the Baptist V.A. Primary School (1.9 miles).

The nearest railway station is Penyffordd Rail Station, about 2.3 miles away in a straight line.

3 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Royal Oak (after), 30 metres away.