Wales ‘going round in circles’ on school improvement

Cefin Campbell described a Welsh Government update on school improvement as 'yet another statement of the obvious' and an admission of serious shortcomings.

Plaid Cymru’s shadow education secretary said 'Labour in Wales have failed pupils, parents and teachers for far too long' with GCSE results lagging England.

Mr Campbell said Welsh ministers sought the OECD’s advice three times following 'worst-ever' PISA results in 2009, only to end up with even worse results in 2023.

He raised a review of the four regional consortia, the middle tier between councils and the Welsh Government, which found they were ineffective, with a new model needed.

Mr Campbell said: “A government going round and round in circles does not lead to pupil progress. We need to support teachers to do what they do best.”

The former lecturer explained that school reserves stood at £301m three years ago but, at the current rate of decline, could fall to a deficit of -£71m by 2026.

He said: “Schools are facing unprecedented and precipitous budgetary challenges and it's time Labour makes good on its promise on more money for schools in Wales immediately.”

In a statement to the Senedd Wales’ education secretary Lynne Neagle, MS for Torfaen, did not shy away from the challenges as she set out key improvement priorities.

She welcomed a slight increase in attendance this academic year from 91.4 per cent to 92 per cent but accepted rates remain 'nowhere near good enough'.

“I want to see a much bigger improvement” she said, with too much variation between councils, year groups and pupils from different backgrounds.

Ms Neagle, who was appointed in March, announced a new ministerial advisory group and an extra £1.1m this year aimed at driving up attainment.

The education secretary told the Senedd she is considering more international benchmarking by participating in the TIMSS and PILRS studies.

She said the 5.5 per cent pay rise will be backdated to the start of the school year urgently.