5. Statement by the Minister for Education: The Estyn Annual Report 2019-2020

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:15 pm on 19 January 2021.

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Photo of Jenny Rathbone Jenny Rathbone Labour 5:15, 19 January 2021

I too would like to pay tribute to Meilyr Rowlands who I have known for over a decade since I was a humble lay inspector, and Meilyr was always there for all of us, and he's particularly always been there for the children of Wales to focus on the quality of the pedagogy required to ensure that all our learners achieve to the best of their ability. But also that commitment to the well-being of all our children. So, I think he's been fantastic, and I think some of the things that he says in his foreword are particularly pertinent to the challenges we face at the moment. He mentions the importance of Hwb, which is the envy of colleagues across the border, and also the importance of the framework of the new curriculum, where I think he talks about the importance of thinking from first principles about what learners really need, and how we have to think afresh about how pupils learn and how these can be best provided, taking into account their home contexts.

The early years chapter is a very poignant report because it reminds us of what wonderful experiences children have had in early years and which is very, very difficult to replicate at home. However committed you are as a parent, it just isn't the same as enabling children to learn through play with each other, ably supported by their pedagogues. But I really do think that, as Meilyr says, this has forced teachers to have a much closer relationship with parents because they have to. So, hopefully, that will strengthen the way we take forward the curriculum to ensure that it really does work for everybody.

I just want to ask, Minister, how you think the inspection regime is keeping pace with the challenges, which are so much greater in schools that have high levels of disadvantage as opposed to some schools, which are in leafy suburbs and can easily achieve high grades of GSCEs and A-levels, because they've always got the extra resources that many families are able to give their children, but some simply aren't able to. So, how do you think we can move towards a much greater focus on the value added by individual schools, bearing in mind the baseline from which children arrived at that school, so that we can really see the—