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performance of schools in Wales, which shows a fall in the number of schools in need of the most support, has been welcomed by Education Secretary Kirsty Williams this week. And primary schools in


Pembrokeshire have performed well. The National Categorisation System


was introduced in 2014 to help identify schools in need of support to improve. Schools are placed into one of four


colour-coded support categories to demonstrate the level of support they need. Each school’s category is determined


by a range of factors including its performance data and capacity to improve in areas such as leadership, teaching and learning. Local authorities and their regional consortia play a central role in the process which triggers a bespoke package of challenge and support in each school. Under the system there are four


categories - green, yellow, amber and red. Schools in the green category are deemed to be in need of the least support while schools in the red category are those identified as needing the most support. This year’s results show that there


are fewer schools in Wales in need of the highest levels of support when compared to last year. Similarly, there are more schools categorised as needing lower levels of support. Cabinet Secretary for Education


Kirsty Williams said: “This system is not about grading, labelling or creating crude league tables but about providing support and encouraging improvement in our schools. It is about putting schools into a position that helps them to identify areas they can strengthen and what they need


dan.muller@herald.email


to do achieve further improvements. “The figures we have published


today show that 84.4% of primary and 64.6% of secondary schools are now in the green and yellow categories. This increase is to be welcomed, as these schools will have a key role to play in supporting other schools, sharing their skills, expertise, and good practice. In this way they will be making a vital contribution to our national mission of driving forward improvements in Welsh schools and moving us towards a self- improving system.”


THE NATIONAL PICTURE: The proportion of green schools


– those needing less support – has increased by five percentage points in the primary sector and seven percentage points in the secondary sector. The proportion of red schools – those


identified as needing most support – has reduced by one percentage point in the primary sector and two percentage points in the secondary sector. 41% of special schools have been


categorised as green, and needing less support, with only 8% being categorised as red and in need of most support. The Welsh Conservative Shadow


Secretary for Education claims the improvements seen in the ratings stand in contrast with Wales’ ‘disastrous‘ PISA results and Estyn’s ‘critical‘ annual report. Darren Millar AM said: “The


disastrous PISA results, compounded by a critical Estyn annual report just over a week ago, stand at odds with the impression given by today’s ratings,


‘Polishing’ their work: One of the strategies in place to support independent learning at the school


which clearly demonstrate that the colour-coded evaluation system does not give an accurate picture of school performance in Wales.” Mr Millar omitted to mention that


the Estyn report to which he referred stated that progress in Welsh schools was continuing and improvement was evident, although it pointed out variations in the quality of teaching and outcomes between different schools. Moreover, the OECD, which produces the PISA report, has told the Welsh Government that reforms to the curriculum are likely to improve performance levels against the narrow PISA criteria. NUT Wales Secretary David Evans


said: “With more schools in both the primary and secondary sector placed in the top green category, and all other categories seeing a decrease we can say this year’s figures are positive news. However, we should not misrepresent the fact that categorisation is but one model for evaluation and simply a snapshot of performance. “School performance will vary for a


number of reasons, including the different cohorts of pupils, funding available and other factors. What is crucial when dealing with these results is that they are used sensibly as a way to support schools in all aspects of the work they do.” Betsan O’Connor, ERW Managing


Director, said: “It’s pleasing to see schools are becoming more resilient and now need less support. It is also good to see a change in culture, as increasingly the support is coming from other schools. “There will be some schools which


are disappointed about elements of the outcomes published, but we will be providing support for those schools in the areas identified for improvement.” “Although we cannot be happy


with a system that places one school against another, UCAC believes that today’s announcement appears to be very positive. It shows that standards have improved in both the primary and secondary sector,” said Ywain Myfyr, Policy Officer for UCAC He continued: “This reflects the


hard work carried out in our schools by devoted teachers in teaching and supporting children of all ages.


Sageston Community Primary


School; Fenton Community Primary School; Lamphey Primary School;


Estyn praises Pembroke Dock School PEMBROKE


DOCK


COMMUNITY SCHOOL has been praised in an Estyn case study on independent learning. Estyn - the Education and Training


Inspectorate for Wales - published a good practice case study on the school on Friday (Jan 27), following an inspection in November. The case study looks at the strategies


which the school has introduced to encourage independent learning, and its impact on provision and education standards. Michele Thomas is the headteacher


at Pembroke Dock Community School, which has almost 600 pupils aged between three and 11. She said: “Estyn recognised that


the work of the school has enabled our pupils to take responsibility for their own learning and enabled them to become ambitious capable learners. “Their ability to self assess and to be


aware of the next step in their learning is impressive.”


“It shows the considerable efforts of


our schools while facing the enormous challenges of heavy workload, lack of financial resources and staff cutbacks. All things considered, it is quite a remarkable achievement that the situation has improved. We must praise our teachers, our teaching assistants, indeed, all our education workforce, for their efforts in ensuring the best for the children of Wales.” Schools in Pembrokeshire continue


to demonstrate improvement in their performance and the capacity to improve. The system of National


Categorisation is focused on providing an agreed level of appropriate, bespoke support for each individual school in its current context. This support is engineered to improve standards and provision for all learners. The County Council’s Cabinet


Member for Education, Cllr David Lloyd, said he welcomed the national process in support of schools in Pembrokeshire. He added: “This year has once again seen increase in the number of primary


Pembrokeshire Category Green


Wolfscastle CP; Templeton & Tavernspite CP; Pembroke Dock Community School; Monkton Priory CP


Some of the strategies include


supporting pupils to find ways to progress with their learning, encouraging them to seek feedback from their teachers and, more importantly, encouraging them to give feedback to staff about their teaching. Other strategies include encouraging


pupils to see learning as hard work coupled with a desire to succeed, and the importance of being challenged by the success criteria. The report says that the result is


that pupils can articulate what they are learning and why. “Pupils can also set their own goals


and aspire to challenge,” says the study. “They also see errors as opportunities to learn. “Teachers use pupils’ feedback to


adapt their planning and teaching to take pupils’ learning further. Pupils want to succeed in their learning and recognise effective ways to move this forward.” The school has hosted a number of


open days to share their good practice with other schools across Wales.


schools in the Green and Yellow Support Categories.” An increasing and valuable emphasis


is placed on schools working together to improve their provision and therefore standards. Cllr Lloyd went on: “We now


have 84% of our primary schools in Pembrokeshire in categories requiring the lowest level of support - yellow and green. “Our secondary schools are spread


across the range of support categories, as appropriate to their current individual needs, with one green, two yellow, three amber and two red. “I am pleased to confirm that they


are already gaining benefits from this valuable support system, in particular from its additional resources which are linked directly to their improvement needs.’’ “It’s important to note that all schools


receive and participate within the wide range of support activities available, even if they are categorised as a green school.”


School; Ysgol y Frenni; Prendergast CP; Cleddau Reach VC School; Manorbier VCP School; Mary Immaculate Catholic Primary School; St. Oswalds VA School; and Ysgol y Preseli.


THE HERALD FRIDAY FEBRUARY 3 2017


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Positive results for Pembrokeshire schools


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