7. Debate: The Estyn Annual Report 2017-18

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:28 pm on 19 February 2019.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Caroline Jones Caroline Jones UKIP 5:28, 19 February 2019

I'd like to thank Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales for his annual report. It's a report card on the performance of Wales's education system, and it appears that we are not doing well enough. While eight in 10 primary schools are deemed good or better, only 8 per cent of Wales's primary schools are classed as excellent schools. Every child in Wales deserves to go to an excellent school, and the standard of your education shouldn't be dependent upon where your parents choose to live, if they even have a choice, which many families do not.

And the outlook for our secondary schools is much bleaker—only around half of Wales's secondary schools are judged to be good or better, and half of the secondary schools inspected in the past year needed follow-up action, and two were placed in special measures. The problem, according to Professor David Reynolds, former education adviser to both the Welsh and the UK Governments, is because we are introducing a new curriculum at the same time as trying to drive up standards in a system that is not all that wonderful by international standards. Standards have improved slightly, and of course that's very welcome, but we still have one of the worst-performing education systems in the world. We are letting down future generations and condemning us to languish at the bottom of the economic league tables. We are preventing half of Wales's young people from achieving their true potential. We have known for years that we weren't helping our brightest, but, as highlighted by the chief inspector's report, we are letting down pupils across all abilities and all age ranges.

I had the pleasure of attending the official opening of Ysgol Carreg Hir in my region, a new primary school resulting from the merger of three primary schools: Bryn Hyfryd and Ynysmaerdy, and one which was in special measures, Llansawel. I have to say that I was very impressed with the new school buildings, the staff and the pupils. The pupils seem to thrive in the new environment, which was conducive to learning, and I have no doubt that the new school will be much better than the sum of its parts, and it will, thanks to the staff, pupils and parents, be judged as excellent when Estyn inspectors visit the school.

However, not all our children and young people are lucky enough to have state-of-the-art learning environments. Many, many pupils are crammed into crumbling classrooms, filled with broken and out-of-date equipment. Teachers and pupils alike do their best, but massive underinvestment and budget cuts have taken their toll. I recently met with the headteacher of Ysgol Gyfun Cymraeg Llangynwyd to discuss the future of Welsh-medium education in the Bridgend county borough. His school had a good rating from Estyn and scored five stars in the 'Real Schools Guide', but he has explained that it is getting harder and harder with the budget to make it stretch as far as it needs to to maintain these standards. The crumbling buildings and chronic underinvestment are taking their toll, and his experience is far from unique. Spending per pupil is much lower than in England or Scotland and has fallen by over £300 in the last decade. No wonder ASCL Cymru were forced to write about the severe funding crisis and its effect on Welsh schools.

Unfortunately, unless we address the funding crisis, more and more schools will be doomed to failure. Every young person in Wales deserves to attend an excellent school like Ysgol Carreg Hir, deserves to receive a world-class education and deserves to be nurtured and challenged to find their true potential. So, this Estyn report should serve as a wake-up call, because we are failing Wales's young people in many areas, and the report card reads 'must do better.'