ST JOSEPH'S Primary School is a Roman Catholic school located on Sully Road in Penarth

It places Gospel values at the heart of its teaching and learning and aims to develop the whole child.

It aims to provide a high-quality Catholic education but pupils do not have to be Catholic to benefit from it.

The school prides itself on being a diverse community with pupils from Brunei, New Zealand, Australia and India.

Gareth Rein, the headteacher, said inclusivity is a key theme at the school which has a "welcoming community and excellent behaviour."

The school also boast an impressive physical environment known as the "great outdoors" with more than seven acres of land to utilise.

Mr Rein said: "It is the best I have ever seen in any primary school.

"We offer the children Forest Schools with wooded areas, orchards, a pond and a large field as well as trim trails and a willow dome."

There is also an area of reflection and the pupils will soon have the chance to grow their own vegetables when the new 'poly tunnel' is installed.

A retired grower will be helping them out with the project which is set to continue throughout the year.

The school is also proud of its internal environment with its agile learning space classrooms, which have adaptable furniture to fit the particular type of learning, being recognised as sector leading practice by Estyn.

Mr Rein said: "The furniture and classroom layout is adapted to fit the learning. We want to remove all barriers to learning.

"We have schools coming from all over Wales to look at what we do."

Speaking about the academic side of the school, Mr Rein said: "Our children achieve very well and our results are amongst the highest in Wales.

"We are still looking for improvements through the redesign of the curriculum so that we are offering the best possible learning opportunities."

The school was invited by Welsh Government to be a pioneer school to help design a new curriculum.

The school is working with other schools in the area as well as the Welsh Government and local consortium on the project and they meet regularly to discuss ideas.

In their recent Section 50 report for Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Cardiff, the school achieved a good rating for current performance and excellent rating for prospects for improvement.

"We provide our pupils with a huge amount of support and knowledge and want them to be capable in what they do.

"We focus on a 'know, do, be' approach to create fully rounded people by the time they reach 11."

"We concentrate on well being and traditional standards including grammar, spelling and number work so they are able to do well in school and outside in the real world."

The school's curriculum which has been designed with the help of parents, governors and staff is founded on Gospel values and is based on the best academic research.

Mr Rein has been at the school for seven years now and said the investment in staff members and considered training programmes based on academic research about the right things to do with children have had positive results.

The school is always seeking to find the best practice wherever they see it and is undertaking work looking at how Mathematics is taught in Singapore.

They have looked at the USA, England and other places in South Wales for examples of good practice so they can learn as well as sharing ideas with other schools.

Currently the new school parliament is about to be set up.

The school parliament scheme is in its fourth year and currently the governments groups are being put together with the school’s prime minister and deputy prime minister to be chosen next week.

Mr Rein said: "More than 15 schools have followed St Joseph’s in taking on this work, with another two schools planning to start a parliament this term and it all started here.

"We have had lots of feedback from schools in Aberdare, Barry, Cardiff and Bridgend."

“Despite working with schools from all over Wales, I often meet people from the local area who don’t know we’re here. It sometimes feels like we are Penarth’s best kept secret, but perhaps we’re more of a hidden treasure.”

"We have wonderful pupils and really supportive families and we are grateful for their help with in achieving high standards with uniform, behaviour and homework.

"I also have to thank the school’s friends and family association who have helped install the trim trails, an observatory and pay for a school minibus which have helped us with extra curricular activities."

Some of the extra curricular clubs run at the school include astronomy club, dodgeball, football, dance, netball and rugby.

The school has very successful sports teams with their rugby team recently having won a sevens tournament and represented the Vale in a national tournament.

One of the many mission statement objectives the school has is to aim high and work hard and this is an expectation of everyone at the school.

Mr Rein said: "The staff really work hard and are a close knit team. They ensure that our pupils achieve the best possible results."

The school sees pupils go on to both St Cyres and Stanwell in Penarth as well as the Catholic St Richard Gwyn High School in Barry.