Ysgol Rhiw Bechan, Powys

Ysgol Rhiw Bechan is a bilingual (Welsh and English) school in Wales. Welsh schools are inspected by Estyn rather than Ofsted, and its latest report is published on Estyn's website.

It had 133 pupils in the 2025/26 school census.

Of its pupils, 8% have additional learning needs (33% in 2020/21).

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

Its delegated budget for 2026-27 works out at £5,968 per pupil, against £4,722 in 2021-22. It ended 2024-25 with a deficit of £25k.

Estyn's report on its January 2024 inspection summarises Ysgol Rhiw Bechan like this:

"Ysgol Rhiw Bechan is a happy and caring school. The headteacher leads with enthusiasm and compassion and knows the pupils, staff, and families well. There is a strong team ethos within the school ensuring that pupils across both language streams have similar learning experiences. Staff, pupils and parents cooperate successfully to create an ethos of one inclusive school. Staff have effective working relationship with pupils which nurtures their well-being successfully. This fosters a supportive environment which contributes well to pupils’ enjoyment of learning."

"Pupils are friendly, polite, and happy in school and contribute fully to school life. Teachers work diligently to ensure that topics are engaging and relevant to the pupils. However, at times, teachers across the school over-direct the learning, which inhibits the pupils’ ability to develop their skills independently. Throughout the school, staff create a welcoming learning environment. Leaders have high aspirations and collaborate and communicate effectively with partners to enhance pupils’ learning experiences. As a result, many pupils make good progress in developing their literacy, numeracy, and digital skills."

"However, opportunities to develop and apply pupils’ skills in the outdoor area are limited. The headteacher provides strong leadership. The school’s current priorities for improvement are appropriate and leaders work purposefully, alongside the governing body, to secure improvements for the school. Together, they understand most of the school’s strengths and areas for development. However, leaders do not distribute all roles and whole school responsibilities robustly enough across the senior leadership team. As a result, not all areas for development are identified or actioned upon effectively enough following monitoring processes."

Estyn made 3 recommendations: (1) Sharpen self-evaluation processes and planning for improvement; (2) Refine provision to enable pupils to become more independent in their learning; (3) Improve opportunities for pupils to develop and apply their skills in the outdoor area.

Next scheduled Estyn inspection or visit: 6 October 2026 (Interim).

The nearest other state primary schools to Ysgol Rhiw Bechan are Penygloddfa C.P. School (4.2 miles), St Mary's R.C. (A) School (4.4 miles), Ysgol Dafydd Llwyd (4.6 miles) and Ysgol Calon y Dderwen (4.6 miles).

There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Ysgol Rhiw Bechan.

4 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Ysgol Rhiw-Bechan (outside), 40 metres away.