CHEPSTOW School has become the first school in Wales to be awarded a national accolade for quality for its work in improving the well-being, resilience and self-esteem of its pupils who are vulnerable to underachievement.

The Quality Mark Award recognises the impressive work being done by the school to improve progress in reading, writing and maths for all pupils, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities.

The award has been developed by leading education charity Achievement for All (AfA), which offers support programmes to schools and settings to help them improve outcomes in the lowest achieving 20 per cent.

Chepstow School has been working in partnership with Achievement for All since 2012 and has exceeded annual targets each year for GCSE results and is closing the gap every year.

Claire Price, headteacher at Chepstow School, said: "We are delighted to be the first school in Wales to achieve the Achievement for All quality mark. AfA has been the single most important driver for school improvement for us.

“Working with our coach, Cath Beeks, has enabled us to maintain our relentless focus on highly personalised learning. This is the key to every student succeeding."

The award was presented to the school at a special event for education leads on Monday (7th December) at the Pierhead in Cardiff, in which Achievement for All discussed its new innovative approach to the delivery of Y Cwricwlwm Cymreig (The Welsh Curriculum).

The charity has developed two modules specifically for Wales, as part of its offering. The modules, Y Cwricwlwm Cymreig and Community Engagement and Partnership Working are delivered to partner schools via highly trained coaches, to support school improvement.

The new approach complements the new curriculum being rolled out in Wales, and was presented to delegates by Achievement for All and the Wales Centre for Equity in Education, University of Wales Trinity St Davids.

Jane Woodley, Achievement for All’s country leader in Wales, said: “We are thrilled to present Chepstow School with this much deserved award, which is the first Quality Mark we have issued in Wales.

“The school has made every effort to develop the use of data analysis and teaching and learning across the school leading to great improvements in progress for all children and as a result of this the school is closing the gap every year.

“Structured conversations have also enabled the school to build far more effective relationships with many parents and the school has many examples of how they engage with parents in a variety of ways and how in some cases families receive extensive support from the school, not just the child attending.

“They have embraced Achievement for All in every way.

“Chepstow is just one of many schools who are signing up to our programme in Wales. Achievement for All Cymru welcomes the aims of the new curriculum in Wales and the focus on individual pupil progression. The four purposes that sit at the heart of the new curriculum align fully with the AfA vision to support pupil ambition, provide access to wider opportunities and to improve the life-chances of all children and young people irrespective of where they live and go to school in Wales.

“A huge congratulation to teachers, parents, carers and children at Chepstow for all their hard work.”

Achievement for All’s programme was rolled-out in Wales, following funding from the Welsh Government to support the programme in March 2014.