Pupils are happy to be back to face to face learning and schools are returning to normal after two years of pandemic disruption, according to the head of Estyn. But Owen Evans, the Chief Inspector for Education and Training in Wales, warned that there remain significant problems in schools in Wales caused by the pandemic.
In his interim annual report 2021-22, published on Wednesday, September 28, Mr Evans said:
- Academic and social skills have suffered.
- Use of spoken Welsh has generally declined
- Attendance is lower than pre-pandemic
- Progress towards the new curriculum, rolled out from this term, is "too variable"
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The proportion of young people with a disability, including those from special schools, not in education, training or employment has worsened over the past three years
“Overall, learners’ skills have been negatively impacted by the pandemic”, especially numeracy, literacy and speaking skills, the chief inspector adds. In "some" primary schools "pupils of all abilities often make basic mistakes with grammar, spelling and punctuation and struggle to write at length". On secondary schools the document says: "In general, pupils’ oracy, writing and numeracy skills have regressed during periods of lockdown."
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Low school attendance, bad behaviour and wellbeing are also continuing concerns but schools are better able to address problems now because they are more engaged with families since the pandemic. Wellbeing is also being prioritised.
Covid restrictions also had a negative effect on work placements, practical assessments for vocational qualifications and subjects such as music, design and technology and physical education, but this is starting to recover and extra curricular activities have started again.
In his interim report Mr Evans takes care to highlights the work schools are doing to tackle problems thrown up by Covid and how they are beginning to move towards the new curriculum. But Estyn said: "Early indications from the Chief Inspector’s Annual Report 2021-22 show that the education and training sector in Wales is continuing to deal with the effects of the pandemic. "
This is what schools are doing well:
On the plus side Mr Evans said:
- Most learners have welcomed the return to face to face learning and generally engage better than they did online, though many providers are retaining elements of remote learning.
- The decline in skills during the pandemic has “gradually improved” since the return to more normal education.
- There is a “strong emphasis” on supporting well-being.
- Extra-curricular activities are starting again.
- Communication during the pandemic means education providers have a better understanding of the families and communities they serve.
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The Chief Inspector's verdict on secondary schools:
"Schools have prioritised the care, support and guidance they offer to address any issues with pupils’ well-being that have arisen from lockdowns."
What's going well:
- In most schools, teachers foster positive working relationships with pupils and manage their classrooms effectively. In the best examples, teachers know their pupils well and plan carefully to meet their needs.
- Most offer strong support for pupils with specific emotional, health and social needs and make good use of external agencies.
- Provision for pupils with additional learning needs is a strength in a majority of schools.
What needs to improve
- In general, pupils’ oracy, writing and numeracy skills have regressed during periods of lockdown.
- During the lockdown periods, pupils did not have enough opportunities to develop their Welsh language skills. This has had a significant impact on pupils’ fluency and inclination to speak Welsh in all types of schools
- A degree of sexual harassment is experienced by some pupils in all schools.
- Unverified data suggests that attendance is far below where it was before the pandemic, especially that of pupils who experience socio-economic disadvantage.
- A few pupils have struggled to readjust to life following the pandemic and have been unable to manage their behaviour well enough.
The Chief Inspector's verdict on primary schools
"Schools have worked effectively to make sure that care, support and guidance are good and to address any issues with pupils’ well-being that have arisen from the pandemic."
What’s going well
- Schools have introduced "useful strategies" to support pupils’ physical and emotional well-being and to address issues arising from the pandemic.
- Pupils "frequently" have good understanding of their rights as a child, the rights of others and important issues of fairness and equality and "increasingly" demonstrate positive attitudes to learning
- . Most schools are preparing well for additional learning needs (ALN) reform.
- Staff are working well with parents, pupils and the community to establish a shared vision for the curriculum.
- Overall, pupils’ digital skills are strong in many schools.
What needs to improve
- Following the pandemic, in some schools, pupils of all abilities often make basic mistakes with grammar, spelling and punctuation and struggle to write at length
- A few schools have prioritised designing the curriculum without enough emphasis on improving quality of teaching.
The Chief Inspector's verdict on all age schools
"Pastoral care and support for pupil well-being are a strength in most all-age schools. Pupils’ well-beingis generally strong, but has been affected negatively by the pandemic.
"The quality of teaching varies in all-age schools. Most pupils ’learning was affected in some way by the pandemic, but they are now making suitable progress towards recovery."
What's going well
- In general, pupils are happy to be at school and show positive attitudes to learning.
- In many schools, provision and interventions are often effective in bringing about improvements in pupils’ well-being
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Many teachers work together well to plan and implement a curriculum that considers progression across all phases
What needs to improve
- In a few schools, there has not been enough emphasis on improving the quality of teaching when designing the curriculum
- A minority of pupils lack basic literacy skills, make frequent spelling and grammar errors and are not able to articulate their opinions fluently.
- A few pupils’ engagement with their learning and their behaviour have been adversely affected by the pandemic.
The Chief inspector's verdict on special schools
"Schools are working to re-establish effective teaching to support pupils’ learning and address any gaps arising from their experiences of the pandemic."
What's working
- Pupil well-being at the heart of work.
- Many pupils happy to be in school and have positive attitudes to learning
- Very well placed implementing additional learning needs reform and the new curriculum
- Re-assessing and meeting needs of pupils, particularly where their communication and independence skills were negatively affected by the pandemic.
What needs to improve
- On occasions, staff absence and a lack of suitably experienced replacement staff limit the pupils’ progress and impact on their well-being.
- The proportion of young people with a disability, including those from special schools, not in education, training or employment has worsened over the past three years and there are no formal arrangements to track their outcomes or destinations over time
- Leaders continue to find it challenging to arrange suitably qualified staff to cover short and long-term absences.
- In a very few cases, wholesale and significant changes to leadership have had a very marked negative impact on learning experiences, well-being and outcomes, particularly for older pupils.
Publishing his interim report Mr Evans said: "‘These early insights help to make sense of the strengths and challenges for education and training as we begin a new academic year. "
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