In a significant and transformative move in 2015, Templeton Community Primary School, nestled near the charming market town of Narberth, and Tavernspite Community Primary School, surrounded by beautiful countryside near Whitland, joined forces and became federated, marking the beginning of a collaborative educational journey that would prove to be highly successful. Both schools have an excellent reputation for being two of the best schools in Pembrokeshire, West Wales and beyond.
Under the leadership of a unified leadership team, the two schools have flourished while maintaining their distinct identities. The federation has allowed them to pool resources, share best practices, and streamline administrative processes, resulting in a more efficient and effective educational system.
The success of this federation has not gone unnoticed. Estyn, the education inspectorate for Wales, has recognised the Templeton and Tavernspite federation as a best practice case study for a successful federated setup. Estyn’s acknowledgment highlights the positive impact of the collaboration on educational outcomes, leadership practices, and overall school improvement.
One of the key strengths of the federation is the shared commitment to providing an excellent learning environment. The leadership team has implemented consistent and effective teaching strategies across both schools, promoting a high standard of education for all pupils. All members of staff have gone above and beyond to create a stimulating and supportive atmosphere. This has resulted in improved academic achievements and made a positive impact on the overall learning experience.
The collaborative approach extends beyond the academic field. The federated schools have also focused on creating a sense of community and shared values. Joint extracurricular activities, collaborative events, and shared resources have strengthened the bonds between pupils, staff, and parents in both Templeton and Tavernspite.
Simple design and categorisation of information into different key areas and sub-categories. Use of familiar terms for parents and friends of the school to find relevant information quickly.
Use of the school’s official colours consistently throughout the web design to maintain brand identity. School logo placement in a prominent position for brand recognition. Clear fonts and consistent text size to enhance readability.
The design layout is optimised for various screen sizes, ensuring a seamless experience on both desktop and mobile devices. A mobile-friendly navigation (hamburger) menu has been created to save screen space.
Real-images, graphics and clear information has been added to the website to make the content more engaging and to enhance the user experience.
Teachers have contributed with information specific to their class and parents have suggested ideas to include on the website which would be beneficial from their perspective.
As well as providing links to the local council website for general information about Pembrokeshire schools (terms dates, etc.), a dedicated online noticeboard has been created for additional key dates – specific to each school.
The website is built in WordPress. WordPress is user-friendly and widely used content management system (CMS). Thanks to it’s intuitive design, staff members have been trained on how to update the relevant sections on each website.
The font sizes are easy to ready, especially for users with visual impairments.
Each website has a fully integrated and transactional ecommerce shop. All school uniform items are display in the shop and link directly to the supplier. The school will also showcase personalised products crafted and designed by the pupils, with all proceeds going towards fundraising for the school charity.
The design takes into consideration the evolving needs of the school and community. The architecture is scalable, allowing for the addition of new features and functionalities in the future. Regular updates and maintenance ensure that the website remains a dynamic and relevant resource for years to come.
I worked closely with Kania Digital to ensure the new design met the requirements of both schools. The new websites are not only visually outstanding but are also highly functional.
Website visitors can easily find all of the information they require through simple navigation. The websites perform really well on mobile devices and the online shop has brought both primary school websites into the digital age. Staff received step-by-step website training and thanks to the easy-to-use content management system; all content updates are managed in-house.
I would highly recommend Kania Digital for their professionalism, creativity and attention to detail throughout the entire process.
With its dedicated staff, outstanding facilities, and commitment to community and pupil development, the schools have earned their brilliant reputation and continue to be a source of pride for the local communities.
It has been a wonderful experience to build two new websites for these schools and we look forward to expanding the website and ecommerce functionalities in the near future to help raise funds for the schools.
For giving us the opportunity to design and build their new Pembrokeshire school websites. It has been a privilege to collaborate on these projects to showcase the school and their core values.
