East Vale School Excitement for New ‘Hive’ Building The book of Ephesians tells us ‘There is a time and season for everything’, and as they settle into a brand new school premises, pupils and staff at St Nicholas Church in Wales Primary School are daily being reminded of how change can bring with it a sense of excitement and anticipation. The former St Nicholas Primary School in Cardiff was in a poor state of repair, with a backlog of maintenance needs. Now, thanks to funding from 21st Century Schools, the school has a purposebuilt building fit for 21st century education. The school has also welcomed nursery aged children for the first time this September. Headteacher Rachel Evans, said, “We are in a very privileged position to create the future of our school. It’s so important to us that we have a close relationship with the church, and the support they give us is invaluable. Initially it was suggested that the school could be moved, but it was so important to us that we remained within walking distance of what lots of our children view as ‘their church.’
in the school as acorns and leaving as mighty oaks. The central space will be called The Hive, where pupils will be encouraged to mix across age groups, helping each other and sharing ideas. Father Martyn Davies, East Vale Ministry Area Leader, who is also a governor at the school said, “This is such an exciting time for St Nicholas Church in Wales Primary School Family.
“The children have loved watching their school being built, despite the temporary inconvenience of going to school on a building site! It’s been such an exciting process.”
“The school has wonderful links with the local church within the East Vale Ministry Area and we are always seeking to build on these excellent connections. We are especially pleased that the new school now includes a nursery which will help as a feeder into the reception/foundation phase classes.
The new school places a heavy focus on the theme of family, with the idea of the school and the church being part of the same family tree. All the classes are tree themed with children arriving
W e are so fortunate to have such fantastic pupils and superb staff at St Nicholas School, led by the inspirational Rachel Evans our Headteacher.
New Accessibility Policy for Schools Over the last few years, the way in which schools across Wales support learners with Additional Learning Needs has been reviewed and a new code is now in place. St Paul’s Church in Wales Primary School is an inclusive, caring church school in Grangetown, Cardiff. Katie Toozer is the Additional Learning Needs Coordinator (ALNCo) at St Paul’s Church in Wales Primary School. Here Katie explains how they support children and families in their school: We are constantly focusing on what we do in our classrooms and making sure we are thinking carefully about each child’s individual needs. We work very hard at developing positive relationships with our parents and carers so we can work together
to support our children. Following Covid it has been even more important than ever for us to be there for our families. For some of our learners we need to provide additional learning support and we work with partners such as speech therapists, the Emotional Health and Wellbeing Team and educational psychologists to ensure we are getting the best advice and are doing the best we can for each and every child. For our pupils with medical needs or disabilities we have developed our own St Paul’s plans to ensure that they are able to fully access all areas of school life. Wellbeing for all our children is a priority, we offer a range of support to our families as well as pupils. Most children, at some point in their school life may need some additional support with emotional and social development and we make sure they have access to appropriate support. We are looking forward to offering even more support by training two members of staff in the Flourish programme provided by the Diocese.
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