5. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the work of regional consortia in improving educational attainment in the Cynon Valley? OAQ(5)0052(EDU)

Thank you, Vikki. Educational attainment in the Cynon Valley broadly presents a gradually improving picture. Having reflected on the recent Estyn inspections of consortia, I am confident that, whilst there is definitely room for improvement, they continue to play an important role in delivering improved outcomes for learners.

I recently met with representatives of the Central South Consortium at Mountain Ash Comprehensive School in my constituency and was impressed to hear about the year-on-year improvement the consortium has seen across every performance indicator, from key stage 2 to key stage 5. Success in areas like Cardiff is often based on work with pupils drawn from a range of diverse backgrounds where English is often not the first language. What lessons does the Cabinet Secretary think could be drawn from work with these groups to improve the performance of children from more disadvantaged backgrounds, particularly in constituencies such as mine? How can the Welsh Government best support consortia in delivering such work?

Thank you for that. You’re quite right, within the Central South Consortium, we have a wide range of schools that the local education authority is operating. I recently visited Fitzalan High School here in Cardiff where there are 40 different languages spoken amongst the children in that school. I am very keen that each consortium develops a comprehensive plan for the effective use of the pupil deprivation grant, which is our primary tool aimed at ensuring that children from a poorer background attain their full potential. I am concerned, in some areas, that the use of PDG is not as effective as it could be. For instance, some schools do not follow the advice of the Sutton Trust toolkit, which has best practice and evidence-based interventions. I have asked, in my challenge-and-review meeting with Central South, that they ensure that there is best use of that significant resource that is going into our schools and that it is used to best effect.

Cabinet Secretary, the National Association of Head Teachers recently pointed the work of the consortia, praising some aspects of support, but made the point that there’s considerable challenge—and I’m the first one who would want challenge within a system, because, obviously, that progresses the system, hopefully, but they were pointing out a serious lack of support from the regional consortia when developing senior management teams and, in particular, pathways for headteachers to come through. Now, across the UK, there’s an issue about attracting people into the profession, in particular to become headteachers. Do you recognise the point that the National Association of Head Teachers makes about there not being enough support coming from the regional consortia to assist the development of the headteachers of the future?

Thank you, Andrew. I recently had the opportunity to address and meet with the National Association of Head Teachers at their conference in Newport. I think leadership is one area where we have not made as much progress as I would like to have seen across the country, and the consortia have a crucial role in identifying and supporting the continuous professional development needs of our future deputy heads, assistant heads and headteachers. You will be aware that I recently announced my intention to establish a national leadership academy. The shadow group, chaired by Ann Keane, is beginning their work in this particular area, and I would expect the consortia to be a crucial component in working alongside that body to look at opportunities to proactively seek out the next generation of leaders and provide them with the necessary support.