School Information

St Helen’s Primary School serves the Sandfields community which is within the Castle Ward of Swansea and is a designated a ‘Communities First’ area by the Welsh Assembly Government as it is an area of social and economic disadvantage. In recent years the community itself has become more and more culturally diverse as increasing members of ethnic minorities settle in the community. This change in population is reflected in the ‘mix’ of nationalities represented in the school. At the last count there were children from 17 different countries, with even more languages and dialects being spoken.

This multicultural mix presents its own set of challenges for the education of our pupils, especially with regard to the development of English, however this same mix also brings a wealth of cultural diversity, experiences and heritage to enrich the children’s learning experiences. We believe that all children who come to our school add to our learning and understanding.

We encourage all children from indigenous and ethnic backgrounds to be proud of who they are, where they come from and to share their own valuable experiences. We acknowledge and value each child’s ‘home’ language, celebrating their linguistic diversity and fostering positive attitudes. We encourage children to develop an understanding of other cultures as well as their own, respect the rights and beliefs of others and to live and learn together within our school community.

St Helen’s prides itself on being a ‘family’ in the sense that we are supportive and encouraging of all our members and all have a voice in decisions that need to be made. We celebrate our achievements and aim to ensure that ‘family member’ has the same chances and opportunities irrespective of race, sex, class or disability. We believe that by working together as life long learners that we will continuously improve, and after consultation with the different members of our community we chose for our mission statement:

“All different – All equal”

The catchment area of the school can be described as ‘urban.’ Housing is predominantly terraced with little ‘green spaces.’ There is a large amount of rented accommodation and this is reflected in the transient nature of our population. The catchment area is considered to be economically disadvantaged.

St Helen's caters for pupils aged 3 to 11 years, with the added benefit of a full time nursery catering for up to 26 children under the age of four. The school currently has 202 pupils on roll. The majority of our pupils are well behaved and well motivated to achieve their full potential. Most parents/carers engage in a strong partnership with the school.

The school building has been here since the early 1870s and still retains many original and unique features. The school has served its community for over 130 years and is very proud of its heritage and the community it serves.  The building’s design is in a horseshoe shape and as well as the school itself, also has provision for the County’s Welsh Language Centre and is home to the Primary Support Officers.   We have a large nursery, seven classrooms, a dedicated computer room, a staff PPA room, a staffroom, a physiotherapy/first aid room, a library, two school halls and a kitchen. The school is fully committed to preparing for life in the modern world, especially with regard to technological advances and so we every classroom has an interactive whiteboard; all computers are linked to each other and via a secure connection to the World Wide Web. Whilst we have no playing fields, we do have two yards that we fully utilise and when children are old enough, we make use of a variety of sporting facilities available throughout the county.