Troedyrhiw Community Primary School celebrates NACE Challenge Award second time running!

The National Association for Able Children in Education (NACE) has named Troedyrhiw Community Primary School the 24th school in Wales, 156th overall, to be accredited for the second time with the NACE Challenge Award.

The award is given in recognition of school-wide commitment to high-quality provision for more able and talented learners, within the context of challenge for all.

NACE CEO Rob Lightfoot said, “Troedyrhiw Community Primary School has worked hard to attain reaccreditation through the NACE Challenge Award. It has displayed a continued commitment to develop an environment in which all learners are challenged and supported to be the best they can be.”

The award is based on the NACE Challenge Framework, which sets out criteria for high-quality provision for more able and talented learners within a wider ethos of challenge for all. The framework is available as part of the NACE Challenge Development Programme – a suite of resources developed by NACE to help schools evaluate and improve their provision for the more able.

To attain the Challenge Award, schools must complete a detailed self-evaluation using the NACE Challenge Framework, submit a portfolio of supporting evidence, and undertake assessment by a NACE associate. The assessment process includes examination of school data and key documents; lesson observations; and interviews with school leaders, learners, parents and governors.

CEO Rob Lightfoot said, “The Challenge Award is presented in recognition of whole-school commitment to and achievement in providing effective challenge and support for all – spanning school leadership, curriculum, teaching and learning, processes for identification and tracking, extracurricular opportunities, strong communication and partnerships, and ongoing evaluation.”

Troedyrhiw Community Primary School will now remain part of the international community of Challenge Award-accredited schools which have demonstrated a sustained and effective commitment to meeting the needs of more able and talented learners, and an interest in sharing expertise for the wider benefit of the education community.

Headteacher, Jacqui Roome said, “We are thrilled and proud to become re-accredited for the prestigious NACE Challenge Award. This provides external validation of the high quality and effective whole school strategies we have in place to provide challenge to all our learners. We live and breathe our school motto 'Believe, Achieve and Shine Bright'. As a collective, we all believe that every child and adult in our school has a strength. It is our role to identify and nurture these. Our curriculum fully supports challenge in academic subjects and also creates learning experiences and opportunities for pupils and adults to discover and develop talents in other areas."