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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 schools in Ceredigion have


performed well, with none placed in the category requiring intensive support to deliver an effective education. 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 and 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 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 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, 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


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Positive results for Ceredigion schools Ceredigion Category Green


Ysgol Gymunedol Ciliau Parc; Yr Ysgol Gymunedol Gymraeg; Ysgol Gymunedol Comins Coch; Ysgol Gymunedol Llanfihangel-Y- Creuddyn;


ERW Managing Director Betsan O’Connor: Schools are becoming more resilient


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


Te national picture:  Te 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


 Te 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


MADE TO MEASURE - FITTEDWITH PRIDE


Cabinet member Cllr Hag Harris: ‘It is not a system to grade the performance of schools’


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.


Ysgol Gymunedol Llanilar; Ysgol Gymunedol Mynach; Ysgol Gymunedol Llechryd; Ysgol Gymunedol Cwrtnewydd; Ysgol Gymunedol Llanwnnen; Ysgol Gymunedol Plascrug; Ysgol Gymunedol Y Dderi; Ysgol Gynradd Aberteifi; Ysgol Gynradd T Llew Jones; Ysgol Gymorthedig Llanwenog; and Ysgol Uwchradd Aberteifi.


“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.” Councillor Hag Harris, Cabinet


Member with responsibility for Learning Services, Children and Young People’s Partnership, said: “Many reasons are considered when agreeing a support category for a school such as a headteacher who is new to the role, which means that the agreement between ERW and a school on the days of categorisation support can be accurately targeted. This is a simple system of determining support days for the school, and it is not a system to grade the performance of schools.”


AM welcomes move to secure Welsh universities


FOLLOWING uncertainty for


Welsh universities after the EU referendum, Ceredigion’s Assembly Member, Elin Jones, has welcomed an agreement in the National Assembly for Wales of the need to secure the sector. A motion was recently brought


forward by Plaid Cymru that called on the Welsh Government to work with the UK Government to secure the strength of Welsh universities and to ensure that their vital components are not lost if the UK leaves the EU. The motion passed, gaining


the support of the governing party and the opposition, and the Welsh Government will now have to note that the Assembly wants it to work with the UK Government in order to protect or replace existing EU funding and programmes for research in higher education, for it to work to secure the continued participation of Welsh universities in the Erasmus Plus scheme of staff and student exchange, and to support further international collaborations and movement of


students, researchers, and staff. The Assembly has also noted its


will for the Welsh Government to work to secure the visa and citizenship status of EU nationals working in Welsh universities, to enable Welsh universities to participate in a post- study work visa scheme and to remove international students from UK net migration targets. Elin Jones AM said: “I’m


incredibly pleased that this motion has been passed in the National Assembly. This means that Ceredigion’s universities now have the backing of the Assembly in order to continue their European links, in terms of their staff, students and world leading research, in the event of us leaving the European Union.


“Staff who work in Ceredigion


need the guarantee that they have the right to stay and work here, and the removal of international students from UK Net Migration targets are vital so that our universities can continue to attract international students from the EU and beyond.”


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