Less well-off children in Wales are not getting all the support they need in schools, education minister Jeremy Miles will warn in a speech. Schools and local education authorities have not done enough to narrow the attainment gap between well-off and less-advantaged pupils, the minister will say as he sets out plans to narrow the stubborn divide.
His comments come as Estyn announced that from next term school inspections will include looking at progress of children disadvantaged by poverty. The Association of School and College Leaders Cymru said schools could not address this alone and funding was “totally inadequate” and said it is “the job of government at all levels” to improve the prospects of families in poverty.
In a hard-hitting speech to the Bevan Foundation Mr Miles will warn that progress shrinking the attainment gap in Wales has been too slow and “leaves us well behind where we want to be”. He will say there has been too little progress over the last decade and now the pandemic has made things worse for children living in poverty.
Read more: The 10 areas of Wales where the most children grow up in poverty
Successive reports and data post-pandemic show children eligible for free school meals have been worst affected by Covid for both wellbeing and learning and are more likely to miss lessons. In 2019, the last year traditional exams were sat, the attainment gap at the top A* GCSE grade stood at 5.3% points between those getting free school meals and those not not eligible . That gap had more than doubled by 2021.
Laying out his government’s plans to make education more equal Mr Miles will say there is too much variation in learner attainment between schools and local authorities with similar socio-economic profiles. “Overall the education system has not made sufficient progress, nor sufficiently consistent progress, to ensuring that socio-economic disadvantage does not strongly influence what learners will achieve in the education and their lives.”
Ideas his department is looking at to address this include how to attract teachers to work in disadvantaged areas and replacing academic sets with mixed ability classes. The minister will add that Wales’ most disadvantaged communities often struggle to retain and recruit the “teachers of quality they would want”.
He is commissioning reviews and research to find out what actions work best to narrow the gap. Hefin David, MS for Caerphilly, will look at how practical work experience is offered by schools and colleges and the best careers and work-related education while other researchers will look at the incentives for teachers and the effect of mixed ability rather than academically-set classes. Mr Miles will also reiterate work already done to address the impact of poverty on education including free school meals for all primary school children from September and reform of the school day and year.
Visiting Lansdowne Primary school in Cardiff yon Wednesday the minister said financial incentives would be one of the things looked at to attract teachers to work and stay in schools in less well-off areas. He warned that not addressing the attainment and wellbeing gap between those less advantaged and their peers meant a whole group of young people not fulfilling their potential.
Separately Estyn announced it will help the “national push” for a more equitable education system in Wales. From September inspectors will examine and report on the impact that schools have on the progress and attainment of pupils disadvantaged by poverty.
Inspectors will consider how head teachers and other leaders ensure pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds have equal access to all aspects of school life including after-school activities. There will also be fresh scrutiny of how schools use the pupil development grant to help ease the impact of poverty.
Estyn chief inspector Owen Evans said: “We want to see what schools are doing to make the biggest difference – and what more could they be doing. From the autumn term we’ll consider how well schools establish positive relationships with families and the wider school community to improve the life chances of all pupils. We also expect to see pupils from all backgrounds playing a full part in the life and work of their school, being listened to and stimulated and engaged in the classroom.”
Eithne Hughes, director of ASCL Cymru, said schools were already working “incredibly hard” to provide opportunities and support to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. “They play a pivotal role in improving equity and social justice and are on the frontline every day turning the drive for a fairer society into reality. However they cannot do this on their own and it is also the job of government at all levels, and other agencies, to tackle poverty and improve the prospects of disadvantaged families.
“Furthermore school funding in Wales is completely inadequate and budgets are extremely tight. This limits the capacity for support that schools are able to provide. It is important that Estyn’s new focus on equity takes into account these wider factors and does not make unrealistic expectations of schools. This needs to be a collaborative exercise based on professional dialogue rather than a stick with which to beat schools."
