Ysgol Gynradd Tycroes, Carmarthenshire

Ysgol Gynradd Tycroes 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 186 pupils in the 2025/26 school census.

20% of pupils are eligible for free school meals (three-year average).

Of its pupils, 4% have additional learning needs (33% in 2020/21); and 8% are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Year groups range from 19 pupils (Reception) to 29 (Year 1).

Its delegated budget for 2026-27 works out at £5,405 per pupil, against £3,697 in 2021-22. It ended 2024-25 with a deficit of £182k.

Estyn's report on its March 2024 inspection summarises Ysgol Gynradd Tycroes like this:

"Leaders, staff and governors at Tycroes Primary School provide a safe and stimulating environment for pupils. The headteacher is a compassionate leader who places pupils’ and staff’s well-being, happiness and learning at the heart of the school’s work. Leaders and governors manage change well. They pay careful attention to the development of staff to ensure that all embrace the school’s values and contribute to the strong team ethos. Subsequently, staff and pupils are happy and feel valued and safe. Pupils feel a firm sense of pride and belonging to their school and their locality. Their behaviour is exemplary."

"Parents are highly appreciative for the quality of education and the strong, supportive care their children receive. Leaders and staff nurture pupils’ personal, social and communication skills well. Pupils’ interactions with adults are courteous and respectful. The school’s curriculum is engaging, relevant and planned well to ensure that pupils develop their knowledge and skills progressively. Pupils focus on their learning well and attend school regularly. However, too often teachers over-direct pupils’ learning and do not provide sufficient challenge or opportunities for pupils to develop their independent learning skills and make decisions about their learning. Leaders have developed an effective system for the assessment of all pupils as they move through the school; they use this to track the progress of every pupil."

"However, teachers’ use of daily assessments of pupils is not effective enough to plan subsequent learning. Pupils’ evaluation of their own successes and next steps in learning is underdeveloped. Leaders at Tycroes Primary are reflective and strive for success. They have a comprehensive process of self-evaluation in search of school improvement. Leaders and staff at all levels work hard to improve the school. However, while leaders have established a rigorous cycle of evaluation activities, reviewing the impact these actions has upon the quality of teaching and learning is not robust enough. As a result of effective leadership and provision, most pupils, including those with additional learning needs (ALN) and those whose circumstances make them vulnerable to underachievement, make good progress."

Estyn made 3 recommendations: (1) Strengthen review processes within self-evaluation activity to have a clear focus on the impact of improvements on teaching and learning; (2) Ensure that teachers use assessment information to refine their teaching to support and challenge pupils appropriately; (3) Embed systematic opportunities for pupils to develop their independence and their skills in evaluating and improving their own learning.

The nearest other state primary schools to Ysgol Gynradd Tycroes are Ysgol Gynradd Saron (1 mile), Ysgol Gynradd Parcyrhun (1.4 miles), Betws C.P. School (1.7 miles) and Ysgol Bro Banw Community Primary School (1.9 miles).

The nearest railway station is Pantyffynnon Rail Station, about 1.1 miles away in a straight line.

12 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Tycroes Bus Depot (outside), 70 metres away.