Cadoxton Primary School

Cadoxton Primary, a state school in Barry, Wales, UK, has transformed the lives of its children and become a beacon for its disadvantaged community through a trailblazing ‘pay as you feel’ shop to tackle food poverty amid the cost-of-living crisis, and programmes to engage families in students’ learning. Thirty-five percent of pupils are entitled to free school meals – well above the national average – and 40% have additional learning needs. But while nearly all the children enrolling at Cadoxton Primary begin below the expected level, almost every one has reached the expected level by the time they leave school with half exceeding it.
Under Executive Headteacher Janet Hayward OBE, Cadoxton Primary connects families and the community for the good of all. The children, parents and volunteers run a ‘pay as you feel’ food shop in an old shipping container outside the school community centre, offering nutritious food that would otherwise be thrown away by supermarkets. The project’s success in tackling food poverty while teaching students to tackle waste has led Cadoxton Primary, with funding from the Welsh government, to assist over 60 other schools across South Wales in setting up their own Big Bocs Bwyd (Big Food Box) shops to help families in the cost-of-living crisis.

Cadoxton Primary’s food literacy programme, which helps families understand the importance of food in physical and mental wellbeing, sees it run Soup and Song sessions where children and parents sing songs and learn to cook nutritious meals that they then serve to older members of the community.

Key to Cadoxton Primary’s success is its programmes to engage family members in children’s learning journeys. Projects targeted at the bespoke needs of families include getting DUGs (Dad, Uncles and Grandads) involved in activities; FRED - Fathers Reading Every Day to their children; and True Tuesdays – wellbeing sessions involving physical activity, healthy eating advice and mental health support. Programmes see parents spending 1:1 supported time with their children, while three times a year parents experience learning alongside their child in the classroom, enabling them to better support their children at home. This parental engagement has seen significant improvements in attainment and wellbeing.

If Cadoxton Primary wins the World’s Best School Prize for Overcoming Adversity it will use the funds to develop and diversify its buildings, including its sports hall, to create multifunctional spaces to serve the community.