HOLTON Primary School is a large community primary school in the centre of Barry on the corner of Holton Road and Court Road.

It is housed in a building originally built in 1892 and it still retains many of the classic features and charms.

Head teacher, Angela Satterly said nurturing the children and having high expectations was at the heart of everything the school does.

She said: "This is in order to grow the children’s self-confidence, to inspire them and enable them to achieve the very best that they can for themselves and their local community.

"Holton is a caring, inclusive and happy school where every child is supported in a variety of ways.

"This includes excellent nurture provision, highly successful interventions and exciting challenges for children of all abilities.

"At Holton we work very closely with our families, welcoming them into our school to share the exciting and innovative learning experiences that take place and to have enjoyable, much needed fundraising activities."

The school and its families also jointly undertake valuable charity work and all the staff very much value the support of its families, jointly wanting the best for all of the pupils.

Mrs Satterly said: "The school has developed a new vision statement - Nurture, Inspire and Flourish Together – in order to achieve the very best for ourselves and our community.

"This communicates our values to the school community.

In the last 18 months the school has undergone significant improvements to the playground, classrooms, and resources and to the building as a whole.

"This has created a colourful, refreshed environment with significantly more resources, enabling our children to become confident learners of the 21st century.

"A sizeable improvement project has recently taken place to improve provision for and access to outdoor learning for the younger children where they learn through exploration and rapidly grow independence and skills whilst having great fun!"

The school has successfully gained grants in order to completely refurbish the toilet facilities for the older children creating facilities of a very high standard that are attractive and fit for purpose.

A current priority is to develop the children as Holton’s Young Leaders, strengthening their leadership and organisational skills and empowering them by increasing their decision making in the school.

The eco committee is leading the Holton Going Green priority and the peer mentors are having a positive impact in the playground.

These leadership groups will also be raising the profiles of Welsh within the school and increasing how it is used more informally in the playground.

Developing IT is also a key priority.

New equipment, high quality training and the development of digital leaders have resulted in rapidly improving skills across the school and IT being used a range of exciting ways.

"This year we have introduced a new style uniform for the Year 6 children," Mrs Satterly said. "This includes a shirt and clip-on tie.

"The children look so smart and they absolutely love their new, more formal style of dress, one boy proudly saying: ‘I feel like I am going to an interview Miss!’"

Mrs Satterly added: "Holton has a very talented and caring staff that ensure that every child thrives and grows in their self-belief, knowing that they are valued and recognised as individuals in our school.

"As a result, relationships with our children are excellent.

"The school’s governing body is passionate and wholly committed to ensuring that Holton delivers its mission of Nurture, Inspire and Flourish Together and makes it a daily reality."

PANEL

Fact File

School motto: Nurture, Inspire and Flourish Together

Chairwoman of governors: Mrs Tina Champ

Head teacher: Mrs Angela Satterly

Number of pupils: 426

Age of pupils: 3 to 11

Last inspection: September 2013