THE PEMBROKESHIRE HERALD FRIDAY JANUARY 30 2015
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55 Education Report highlights fall in primary standards
Numeracy Problems: Estyn flag primary concerns. THE EDUCATION watchdog,
Estyn, this week published a report stating that standards in Welsh primary education had declined in 2014. They further stated that 2 out of every 3 schools required some level of follow up by the Inspectorate. They did however confirm that attendance rates had improved. Estyn reported that the proportion of primary schools with good or
excellent standards fell
from 7 in 10 to just over 6 in 10. In many cases, this was, they said, due to weaknesses in pupils' numeracy skills and pupils' lack of confidence in
using these skills in other
subjects across the curriculum. Alarmingly, they identified maths as a problem subject across primary and secondary schools and that assessment by teachers was another problem area, in that there was a mismatch in the levels awarded by staff and the evidence of the
work that they had seen. There was also concern that younger pupils were being prepared for testing in a more structured and ‘formal teaching style’ at some schools, which went against the ethos of the Foundation scheme. Dr. Philip Dixon, Director of the teachers union, ATL Cymru, said: "Again and again the report points out that numeracy remains the weak point in many of our schools and colleges. We now need to bring the same focus to numeracy as we did to literacy, which has shown much greater improvement. Leadership, too, is identified in the report as something that needs attention. The Welsh Government will need to be careful that its new accountability mechanisms, such as categorisation, do not increase the tendency for leaders to think only of their own institution.” Shadow Education Minister, Conservative AM Angela Burns told the Herald: "I was pleased to see that the annual report from Estyn shows that in some areas there has been some small improvements in
school performance and students’ attainment. However whilst the improvement in secondary schools is welcome I am very concerned to see that standards in primary have dropped. This drop in performance must be addressed robustly otherwise we will see secondary schools struggling to maintain their improvements as cohorts move through. Other areas that continue to show weaknesses are numeracy performance, pupil referral units and attainment levels by our most disadvantaged students. There is also a growing problem, reflected by students I speak to, with applied science. If we want to keep abreast of global trends we need to ensure that our students are able to hold their own in a competitive world and sciences, maths and literacy are absolutely key." Plaid Cymru
AM, Simon
Thomas commented: “Standards in primary schools have declined this year and, in many cases, this was due to weaknesses in pupils’ numeracy skills. It is a concern that Estyn has found too many teachers
lack the appropriate mathematical knowledge to exploit opportunities to develop pupils’ numeracy skills. Independent evaluations of the Welsh Government’s flagship education policies show that children in Wales are no better off because of a Labour Government. Significant changes will not happen on the slashed budgets that Labour is passing on to our local authorities and schools." A
Welsh Government
spokesperson said: “We welcome the current Chief Inspector’s final comprehensive report and thank Estyn for their hard work. We particularly welcome Estyn’s recognition of the new momentum for improvement that exists within the Welsh education system. We must now work together to build on that momentum and focus on key issues, such as leadership, which will ensure the improvements we want to see. Building an excellent education system is an ambition shared by everyone in the sector.”
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