A Newport nursery and primary school are expected to formalise their ties at the start of the next school year, in a deal it is hoped will drive up standards.

The city council is expected to approve a federation deal between Maindee Primary School and Newport Nursery School to cement the good relationship built up over the past three years.

Since 2023, the school and nursery have been working collaboratively and already share the same headteacher and chair of governors.

Council officers believe a more formal arrangement will “support in maintaining long-term successful outcomes for both schools”.

Under the plan, the governing bodies of the school and nursery will disband and a new, single governing body will take their place.

A recent consultation period gave members of the schools’ communities a chance to have their say on the plans.

At Maindee Primary, pupils said the plans for closer links with the nursery could make their school “more welcoming” and help them make new friends.

Pupils also said they could help the nursery children feel welcome by “being kind, respectful, and sharing their values”, according to a consultation report.

No staff offered any formal opinions on the federation plan, but teaching trade union NASUWT said it “welcomes the unequivocal reassurance [within the original proposal] that ‘staff would keep their jobs’, as this will provide our members with the valuable job security they need to support themselves and their families”.

Estyn, the Welsh schools’ inspectorate, judged the federation between the primary school and nursery “is likely to at least maintain the standard of education provision in the area”.

The deal could create some “short-term challenges”, however, such as “increased governor workload, the potential loss of experienced governors, and a negative perception of ‘one school being taken over by another’”.

Estyn said it was important “for both schools to keep their individual identity appropriately”.

In a report, the council said the current approach to management was “robust and [caters] for the needs of both individual schools”.

“This will continue post-federation, with the schools being encouraged to operate as distinct establishments with their own delegated budget, name, character, school uniform and ethos”, the council added.

As part of the proposed deal, Newport Nursery School will move into the Lliswerry cluster alongside Maindee Primary.

The council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for education, Cllr Deb Davies, is expected to sign off on the federation deal later this month.