‘Greenhill … a great place to be!’

Following a successful Estyn report in April 2023, Greenhill Special School in Rhiwbina has been visited again by inspectors to follow up on the progress made in addressing recommendations from the core inspection. 

Greenhill is a special school currently providing day education for 80 pupils aged 11-18 years. All pupils have statements of special educational needs in relation to their social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Many have specific learning difficulties which may include dyslexia, dyspraxia ASD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The 2023 report recognised Greenhill as a caring and nurturing school, providing sensitive support for pupils’ emotional well-being. As a result, most pupils and their families build positive and trusting relationships with the staff team.

Many pupils make sound progress in a range of areas which support their learning and personal development and in preparation for their futures.  A broad range of learning activities is available, with a strong emphasis on outdoor learning.

However, the inspection found attendance issues impacted on the rate of progress of a minority of pupils and that systems to evaluate the school’s provision and plan for

improvement were not sufficiently robust or precise.  These resulted in recommendations to the school to strengthen self-evaluation and improvement planning and improve attendance

The follow-up visit in May 2025 reiterated there is a strong and supportive ethos within the school which places high value on wellbeing and pupil inclusion.  As a result, Greenhill school is a very calm, inclusive and supportive environment for pupils and staff alike.

The Inspectors found the school had strengthened its self-evaluation processes, embedding first hand evidence gathering. The school had developed and invested in a strong culture of professional learning and leadership at all levels was well developed. There had been a notable positive cultural shift towards a more reflective, resilient, and collaborative professional environment.

Since the core inspection, leaders had continued to focus on improving pupils’ attendance. The school had implemented a range of strategies to meet the varying cohort of pupils and their needs and created bespoke learning opportunities to help with pupil engagement. Pupils at the school speak positively about the support they receive and how ‘it is a great place to be’.

During the current academic year, attendance figures were negatively impacted due to the delayed completion of building works. The school ensured all pupils received part-time education at the school and had appropriate safeguarding arrangements in place to monitor pupils when they were not at school. A strength of the school is the continuing and growing demand for sixth form places, where the curriculum helps develop essential skills to prepare pupils well for their next stage in life and learning.

Headteacher, Shane Mock, said “We were pleased to welcome Estyn back to Greenhill for our recent interim visit. Inspectors praised the strong relationships between staff and pupils, the calm and purposeful learning environment, and our commitment to pupil well-being. It was heartening to see our team’s hard work recognised, and we remain focused on building on these strengths to ensure every learner thrives.”

For more information on Greenhill go to:  Welcome to Greenhill Special School