Latest News
Latest information and news!
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Places where kids eat free (or discounted) this Easter break 🐣
Sat 23 Mar 2024Visit: https://moneysavingcentral.co.uk/kids-eat-free?utm_content=cmp-true
lots of offers and always updated!
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Easter Fayre Thursday 21st March 1.15pm Egg-citing times 🐣
Mon 18 Mar 2024Thanks to all who joined us for bingo, coffee and Easter treats! A lovely way to end the term.
🐣
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St David’s Day celebrations 🏴
Fri 01 Mar 2024Always a great day in Ty Gwyn!
A lot of certificates for contributions to the competitions (friendly of course!) were given out in Eisteddfod Assembly which added to the rivalry around our new house points system.We enjoyed Welsh cakes, singing, making and decorating, KS3 were very creative!
Yellow house was the winner this week, da iawn.
Check out our gallery page for some fabulous pictures 🏴 #ymaohyd
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Former pupil shares his success story with Wales Online - Ty Gwyn made the difference!
Tue 20 Feb 2024'I was kicked out of school aged 11 and told I'd go to prison, but now I've lost four stone and turned my life around'
Branded a 'naughty boy', Ryan Davies eventually got involved in rugby and decided to 'wise up' - now he helps England rugby legend Lawrence Dallaglio to help others just like him.
Excluded from primary aged 10 and then high school aged 11, Ryan Davies was told he would go to prison and admitted he was “oblivious and scared”. His weight ballooned and he became angry and isolated, especially when his mother had to give up work to look after him.
Now 18, Ryan, from Wattstown, has said that being sent to a pupil referral unit aged 12 and learning touch rugby saved him. He lost five stone, decided to “wise up” and passed nine GCSEs with two As, six Bs and a C.
The teenager now goes back into his old PRU and others as a coach with the charity set up by England legend Lawrence Dallaglio - Dallaglio RugbyWorks (DRW). Ryan said he saw first hand the growing problems among some groups of children and that the school system wasn’t working for them. More than 60 children were excluded from schools in Wales last term and you can read about the reasons why here.
He said he understood “why people thought badly of me” and blamed it on ADHD, the loss of his grandmother, and being labelled naughty very young. The teenager admitted he was verbally abusive to teachers, bunked off lessons and acted “the class clown” and could see why he was kicked out of Ysgol Cwm Rhondda where his older sister was head girl.
But he thought teachers should do more to help children misbehaving and warned that when they branded pupils “naughty” they set them up to be just that. Excluding children when they hated school was no solution if they went home to do nothing and there needed to be more PE and sport in schools, felt Ryan.
“I was labelled as a bad person, but I wasn’t a bad person. I had issues at school and was excluded permanently in year six. I got kicked out for being a problem but I was just trying to be the class clown and thought I was better than other people. I was sent to another Welsh medium primary, got all my grades and went to high school in good sets.”
But trouble hit again in the first year of secondary when Ryan’s paternal grandmother passed away. He was close to her and admitted he went “a bit off the rails”. “I was bunking off lessons and being verbally abusive to teachers. That led to me being put in bottom sets, when I had been in top sets.
“They were 50 minute lessons and I did the work in 25 minutes and got bored. Without tasks to focus on I was fisting and fighting and I got kicked out of high school in year seven after one term.”
Aged 11 Ryan was out of school with no teaching or work for 18 weeks. His mother had to give up her job to look after him which caused further family tension. Ryan said it hurt when one of his teachers told him he’d end up in prison. But he said he “liked” being excluded because he didn’t want to be at school. You can get more story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
Eventually he was sent to the Ty Gwyn Education Centre PRU in Aberdare for the last few weeks of the summer term of year seven. Here, he said the staff had time to ask him what was wrong and find strategies to help and, crucially, he was put on the DRW programme there.
“I was struggling with my ADHD. Being able to run around in a RugbyWorks session as part of a team and burn off some steam helped me release some of my pent-up emotions.” He said the programme helped him develop his personal skills. The sessions taught him the importance of building relationships, respect, being part of a team and trusting others.
His confidence grew more when he took part in a DRW tournament at Pontypridd’s Sardis Road ground, playing against six other teams: “It was nice to be in a team and represent the PRU with my friends, many of whom had not played sport for a school before.” In 2021, Ryan won the Dallaglio RugbyWorks Champion Award. This made him realise “that we all have more qualities in life than we think, you’ve just got to believe in yourself”.
One continuing problem, he believed, was his ADHD, diagnosed in primary. “My brain was going at 100mph sometimes and I couldn’t sleep and if I didn’t want to sit down and do something I couldn’t make myself.” Ryan said he could relate to the children and teenagers he helped as a coach himself now. He hoped they could look at him and see there was an option to change.
“Schools need better strategies than kicking people out with no real plan in place Some kids like being excluded because they don’t want to be there. I don’ think sending young people home works. I didn’t want to be in school so I didn’t mind being excluded. I didn’t like sitting around but people have different learning needs. I wasn’t stupid.
“I realised at Ty Gwyn that I needed to wise up. I have never been an aggressive person but I was branded a “naughty boy” and I didn’t want to be that person anymore. It did work for me being kicked out of school in the end because I went to Ty Gwyn where they helped me.”
During his time with RugbyWorks, Ryan also carried on his love of golf, but his weight was holding him back. One of the DRW coaches worked with him and he lost more than four stone and went on to win the South Wales Boys U16’s Championship in 2021.
After leaving Ty Gwyn, Ryan studied for a year at Hartpury College in Gloucestershire, known for its development of rugby players, and joined DRW as a part-time coach. The teenager said he now wanted to show young people that with the right kind of help and work they could change direction, even if they had been excluded from school.
“When I go back to Ty Gwyn now as a coach with Rugby Works I see people struggling. When I look back I can see why people thought badly of me and I think a lot of bad behaviour in schools is undiagnosed ADHD and other problems. You feel like you have so much adrenalin and energy. I couldn’t sleep when my brain was going at 100mph sometimes.
“I think 100% I would be in prison if it wasn’t for RugbyWorks. But that teacher was wrong and I’m not in prison. Rugby is a great tool to engage young people with. We use it to burn off energy and make connections. I feel I am relatable as a Rugby Works coach. I have a soft spot for these young people in PRUs.”
Since launching in 2015, the charity now goes into 19 schools as well as to Parc Prison to help young people turn their lives around through rugby. In April, Ryan is joining Andrew Ridgeley from Wham!, Lawrence Dallaglio, other rugby legends, Martin Johnson and Austin Healey, taking part in the Dallaglio Cycle Slam, a bi-annual event that sees cyclists from all over the UK pedal from Rome to Nice to raise money for the charity.
Biddy Guthrie, Ryan’s maternal grandmother, couldn’t be prouder. She said that when things went wrong for Ryan as a child it all ran out of control.
“We were so worried about Ryan. I was distraught for them. He got branded as naughty but now he has proved them all wrong. I am immensely proud of him now.”
The cost of exclusion
The lifetime cost to the state of permanently excluding one young person is estimated to be £370,000, let alone the personal cost to a young person’s future prospects. Statistics show that only 54% of pupils leaving alternative provision at 16 go on into sustained education, employment or training, compared to 94% from mainstream schools.
DRW said it aimed to help some of these young people using rugby’s values of teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship to help equip them with life skills for education, training and jobs.
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/education/i-kicked-out-school-aged-28625364
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Safer Internet Day 2024
Mon 05 Feb 2024Safer Internet Day 2024 will take place on the 6th of February 2024, with celebrations and learning based around the theme ‘Inspiring change? Making a difference, managing influence and navigating change online’.
Safer Internet Day is the UK’s biggest celebration of online safety.
Each year we cover an online issue or theme that speaks to the things young people are seeing and experiencing online. Created in consultation with young people across the UK, this year Safer Internet Day will be focusing on change online, this includes covering:
- Young people’s perspective on new and emerging technology
- Using the internet to make change for the better
- The changes young people want to see online
- The things that can influence and change the way young people think, feel and act online and offline
If you need help in school, speak to any member of staff or use the I wish my teacher knew boxes in the Hwb or EP room (or on the website).
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Half term sport activities ⚽️
Sat 03 Feb 2024Please see below for the following exciting opportunity.
Sport brings many benefits to young people:
- physical fitness
- mental wellbeing
- friendships
- positive engagement
- cooperation skills
- managing winning and loosing
- team work skills
Hopefully some better weather coming also helps with outdoor activities!
insportseries.co.uk -
Holocaust Memorial Day 2024 🕯️
Fri 26 Jan 2024We marked this important day with a special assembly. Our previous Chair of the Management Committee, Martyn Silezin returned to school to tell us more about his family’s story.
Pupils were extremely respectful and listened to how he had found out that his Father had come to Wales and had a card but not the the accompanying medal from being in a military band in a camp.
The story ended with Mr Silezin reminding us after the darkest days comes the light, his Father always believed this.To all those victims of genocide and holocaust 🕯️
#HMD2024 #BethelightFor more information see: www.hmd.org.uk
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RCT Multiply initiative free workshops for parents and carers @ Cambrian Village Trust
Thu 25 Jan 2024RCT MULTIPLY AND CAMBRIAN VILLAGE TRUST HAVE TEAMED UP FOR FEBRUARY HALF TERM IN SUPPORT OF NATIONAL NEST BOX WEEK TO PROVIDE free bird box making workshops for families!
Venue - Cambrian Village Trust, Clydach Vale, Tonypandy, CF40 2XX
Please note you must be a parent/carer to attend and there is a maximum ratio of 1 adult 1 child (suitable for all ages of children). the session is also aimed at parents with little or no qualifications
in Maths/numeracy (below GCSE Grade C). When booking your slot, priority will be given to those meeting this criteria.
To book one of the sessions please contact Lyndsey Williams 07384 910461 or email lyndsey.r.williams@rctcbc.gov.ukFree hot meal included!
Dates:
Tuesday 13th February 10am to 12noon OR 1pm to 3pm
Thursday 15th February 10am to 12 noon OR 1pm to 3pm
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Extended consultation on home to school transport
Sat 20 Jan 2024We have previously sent a text link to this very important consultation, if you haven’t responded as yet, please read the information below and follow the link to share your views. Many thanks.
As you are aware the Council agreed to carry out a consultation to review its current Home to School Transport provision for children and young people in Rhondda Cynon Taf. The proposal sets out a new Home to School Transport Policy, which maintains certain discretionary transport provision and provide mainstream English, Welsh and Faith primary school, secondary school and college transport in line with relevant statutory distance criteria. Any new policy would be implemented from the start of the 2025/2026 academic year.
The consultation originally ran from 27thNovember 2023 until 5pm 8thJanuary 2024.
The Council recognises the significance of the proposal for pupils who use and will use home to school transport now or in the future, and the extended consultation provides a further opportunity for those potentially impacted to take part in the consultation. The Council has therefore taken the decision to extend the consultation for a further three week period running from Thursday 18thJanuary 2024 until 5pm Thursday 8thFebruary 2024.
The details of the proposal and the opportunity to respond to the consultation can be found at: Consultation on the Council's Home to School Transport Policy | Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council (rctcbc.gov.uk)
There is no need for anyone who has previously taken part in this consultation to submit a further response unless they wish to do so.Kind Regards
Stephen Williams
Director for Highways, Streetcare and Transportation Services
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Self-care at Christmas
Fri 22 Dec 2023Self care at Christmas
from the Wellbeing Team at Ty Gwyn
Christmas can affect our mental health in lots of different ways. It’s a time of year that often puts extra pressure on us and expectations are very high.
Christmas could affect you if you:
- find it stressful
- are missing loved ones
- feeling pressure to be perfect
- feeling overlooked
- have difficult memories
Please see attached the leaflet for further information and tips for self-care. Our links page in the parent tab also has helpful information too and we each pupil has brought a leaflet home.
Take care!