“At the current rate of improvement, it would take over 10 years for secondary attendance to recover to pre-pandemic levels.” That was the stark message in today’s annual report from Estyn, the Welsh schools inspectorate.
The report finds that the attendance rate in secondary has remained “stubbornly low” in the wake of the Covid pandemic. This is an experience reflected across the UK, with Scotland having the highest rate of persistent non-attendance (defined as pupils missing at least 10 per cent of classes).
At secondary schools in Scotland in 2023-24, 40.6 per cent of students were persistently absent. In Wales it was 37.1 per cent; in Northern Ireland, 32.1 per cent; and in England, 23.9 per cent.
One school day ‘lost’ per fortnight
In a foreword, Estyn chief inspector Owen Evans says that, on average, Welsh pupils “lost more than one day per fortnight of school” in 2023-24.
In Welsh secondaries, between 2022-23 and 2023-24, the attendance rate increased by only 0.5 percentage points, from 87.5 per cent to 88 per cent - 5.8 percentage points below the rate seen in 2018-19.
In primary, the picture was more positive: the attendance rate increased by 0.6 percentage points to 92.1 per cent in 2023-24, which was 2.6 points below pre-pandemic levels.
Attendance was therefore flagged as one of the “specific challenges” facing Welsh schools - with local authorities criticised for the variation in support offered to schools.
Other key themes flagged by the inspectorate include:
- Anti-racism
“Around half of all providers inspected (including further education institutions) had embraced awareness events to promote equality and begin to address racism...However, in most cases, events involved ‘add on’ activities, isolated from the rest of the curriculum. In a few instances, they were the provider’s sole strategy to address racism.”
- Implementation of the Curriculum for Wales
“The implementation of the Curriculum for Wales has progressed, but many schools still do not align curriculum development with effective teaching and assessment strategies well enough. In some cases, schools’ planning for progression is underdeveloped and teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are too low.”
- Self-evaluation and improvement
“Self-evaluation, in particular, remains a crucial area for improvement. Only a minority of providers demonstrate strong practice that drives improvement”.
- Recruitment
“Recruitment, especially in areas such as the Welsh language, science and mathematics, has been a significant challenge, impacting the quality of education. This is particularly concerning in secondary schools. The failure to attract new entrants to the profession has impacted on the quality of teaching and learning.”
- Good practice in promoting the Welsh language
“While there is a need to strengthen the provision to develop learners’ grasp of Welsh in all sectors, we have also observed strong practice in the promotion of Welsh language and culture, which serves as models for others.”
‘Substantial shortfalls’ in newly qualified teachers
The report observes that, while recruitment to primary teacher education programmes “has remained buoyant”, there are “substantial shortfalls” in the number of newly qualified teachers in secondary.
The upshot is schools having “to advertise multiple times to fill teaching positions”; recruiting poor quality candidates who have to be supported when in post; and filling vacancies with non-specialists. The report blames the shortages on “the relative inflexibility of teachers’ working conditions, a decline in the number of people aged between 20 and 25 and the poor public perception of teaching as a profession”.
It calls for “more varied routes into teaching” and incentives to enter the profession, “particularly for Welsh-medium applicants”.
Mr Evans said: “This year’s report demonstrates that the Welsh education and training sectors have significant strengths but also a number of areas that continue to require improvement.
“We are committed to supporting improvement through our activities and hope that the report itself and the supporting resources will help providers to reflect constructively and drive improvements for our learners across Wales.”
Laura Doel, national secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT Cymru, called for “urgent attention, investment and support” from the Welsh government in relation to teacher recruitment and student absenteeism.
She said: “This report makes clear that significant hurdles remain for schools in Wales.
“The report’s emphasis on the need for improved self-evaluation and planning is crucial. However, we must acknowledge that schools are grappling with this amid ongoing pressures, including persistent recruitment challenges and serious funding pressures.”
