Does the Welsh Government actually care about improving standards of education in Wales?
As much as we want to believe that it does, looking at the evidence of the last couple of weeks it’s becoming increasingly hard to argue the case.
As we’ve set out several times previously, Wales’ education system is facing multiple crises, and has been for some time.
Yet two recent developments suggest the Welsh Government still lacks the urgency and focus needed to get to grips with the issues and make any meaningful improvements.
The first relates to reading, and the government’s plans to raise standards in Wales, which are lower than the other UK nations.
Last year, an ITV investigation exposed serious flaws in the way reading is taught in schools in Wales, with discredited methods being used.
To its credit, the government set up an expert literacy panel with the intention of raising standards.
However, last week Elizabeth Nonweiler, a key expert on the panel, resigned raising serious concerns about the direction of travel.
In her resignation letter to Cabinet Secretary for Education Lynne Neagle, Mrs Nonweiler, who is Chair of the Reading Reform Foundation, wrote that the panel had “failed to agree on clear principles”.
“The documents we have been asked to review have been unclear, ambiguous, and needlessly wordy,” she wrote.
She claimed these failings are being built into the new £8.2 million national literacy programme, which will be led by several people on the literacy panel, including those who have been critical of synthetic phonics.
Crucially, she revealed: “None of those leading it has ever taught young children to read.”
That’s an astonishing revelation – not one of the people trusted with the crucial mission of improving literacy among young children in Wales (and trusted with millions of pounds of Welsh taxpayers’ money as well) has ever taught young children to read, surely a basic requirement?
We absolutely agree with the final line of Mrs Nonweiler’s letter, in which she states: “Wales has the opportunity to follow the lead of countries like New Zealand, which has recently adopted synthetic phonics as the foundation for teaching reading, and has already seen remarkable success. But this will only succeed if decisions are guided by evidence, clarity, and a commitment to what works.”
The second story that caught our attention came from a debate in the Senedd before half term, in which the Conservatives sought to hold the government to account on education outcomes.
Now of course the Conservatives, being the opposition, are going to try to score political points, and you would expect a bit of back and forth in these kinds of debates.
But Lynne Neagle’s reaction perfectly demonstrates the government’s indifference to the scale of the crisis it faces.
First, she accused the Tories of “harking back to something from 2022” when they raised Wales’ woeful performance in the last set of international PISA tests, then she told them: “It’s time to move on.”
To make things worse, she later said: “I am disappointed by the relentless focus on challenges within the system, rather than ever taking the opportunity to celebrate achievements.”
Putting aside the fact that it is literally the opposition’s job to raise these issues and highlight challenges in the system, this is a terrible position for a minister to take.
Schools are in deficit, teachers are at breaking point, outcomes are dire and getting worse, and yet the person responsible thinks it’s time to “move on” and would prefer we all talk about the good things instead.
Ms Neagle’s dismissive attitude is deeply disappointing, and coupled with the revelations around the literacy panel, makes us wonder whether the Welsh Government is serious about raising standards.
The Cabinet Secretary and Government must understand the scale of the challenge in education and face it with honesty, humility and, most importantly, urgency.
Only determined leadership coupled with evidence-led reform will make the difference needed to ensure the education system delivers for the young people of Wales.
For our part, we absolutely won’t “move on” and we will continue to highlight the challenges in the system as well as celebrating the hard work of teachers.
Finola Wilson is a Director of Impact Wales