Education

Plaid Cymru aiming higher for education

Published

8 years ago

March 1, 2016

University: ‘Not the be all and end all’

“WHAT the Welsh Government needs to do,” said Simon Thomas, “is stop complaining about what those nasty Conservatives are doing and start setting out proposals of its own on Welsh education.”

The Plaid Education spokesperson and candidate for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire was very clear on that point when he spoke with The Herald.

“Labour always seems to want to set up a Labour/Conservative fight. I would prefer to concentrate on formulating a Welsh policy, saying this is what we want to do; then, if the UK Treasury doesn’t play fair, we can point out what opportunities have been lost because of it. By just complaining, the current Welsh Government is simply not offering an alternative, positive vision.”

And being positive was very important to Simon Thomas.

“We have just launched our policy from Cradle to Career. That sets out a plan from 3-16 and in the post-16 framework gives a clearer balance between tuition fee policy and apprenticeships.”

Of that policy, Leanne Wood, Plaid’s leader has said: “We are investing in the very early years but also making sure people have a range of choices when they get to fourteen, fifteen and sixteen so that the academic route is not the only option but that there are serious vocational options as well.”

That point is clearly close to Simon Thomas’s own heart: “Last month we announced our plans to create 50,000 additional apprenticeships in Wales. Those would be new apprenticeships. Today, Labour has announced 100,000 apprenticeships in total. There are already 44,000 Welsh apprenticeships, so the level of apprenticeships being offered is in the same direction as our policy. We have made a commitment to show what we would do with the UK Government’s Apprenticeship Levy.

“It was a budget deal we made with Labour which stopped the fall in the numbers of Welsh apprenticeships. So I am, and Plaid is, committed to providing more apprenticeships and – importantly – more higher apprenticeships at Level 4 and beyond. By investing in higher skills there is a huge potential for Wales.”

And as for the narrower party point, Simon Thomas did not mince his words: “A clearer framework is vital. There are a lot of missing pieces in Labour’s plans and they have made no announcement on tuition fees at all.”

He continued: “The Welsh Government has kicked the question of tuition fees into the long grass. That is dishonest. After the election there will be a new Education Minister, Huw Lewis is retiring, and it will be up to them to make a decision the Welsh Government knows has to be made on tuition fees for higher education.”

The Welsh Government commissioned a report into higher education funding in Wales and we asked Simon Thomas about what it reported: “The report (by Professor Sir Ian Diamond) could not be clearer. All of those bodies which responded to it agreed that the current tuition fee policy is completely unsustainable.

“The evidence is overwhelming and unanswerable, but the Welsh Government has decided to wait until October and then probably feign surprise when it is told things have to change. As I say, the Welsh Government’s position on tuition fees is dishonest.

“It was Labour that introduced tuition fees. I fought it every step of the way in Parliament to stop it applying to Wales.

But what of Plaid’s policy?

“We’ve kept some flexibility in our plans, because we don’t know what will be the recommendation about the maintenance element of student support. But we have made it clear that continuing to send £100m of the Welsh block grant to English universities is a non-starter. You could argue that it would be tolerable in times of plenty, but these are times of austerity.

“We need to remember that of the tuition fee loan, the student sees not one penny. The students are funding the universities who are charging the maximum possible. 45% of students do not even reach the level of income where they need to repay the loans made to them.”

We asked where that left Plaid’s policy on tuition fee abatement, the ‘Learning Bonds’ it announced recently: “For a Welsh student studying in England, if they return to Wales within five years of graduation we will offset their tuition fee loan repayments for each full year. We want everyone to be able to study any subject and in any university they want to. But the current tuition fee policy means we give more money to universities outside of Wales than we do inside of Wales. This is unsustainable and Plaid Cymru believes that this is wrong. Our plans will enable students from Wales to study anywhere they want, and will ensure that the Welsh economy can benefit from the talent of Welsh students.

“Under Plaid Cymru’s plans, students from Wales who study a three-year degree will have £18,000 of their loans written off.”

Simon continued: “Our plan acknowledges wages in Wales are generally lower; it means that if you are, for example in London in a wellpaid job, a positive incentive exists for you to take your skills back to Wales.”

He smiled: “Significantly, I think, there’s been no attack on our policy from Labour: I think they are probably looking at something similar.”

Regarding postgraduate funding, Simon Thomas returned to his core grievance about the existing Welsh Government’s approach: “This is an example of where Labour is simply complaining instead of putting forward a positive alternative itself. The Welsh Government should be saying this is what we are going to do and challenging Osborne to allow Welsh students access to the loans system English students will have.

“It’s the usual thing: the Treasury has not considered the Welsh aspect: it is not devolution-aware when it comes to this sort of policy. But the lack of challenge from the Welsh Government, the lack of an alternative policy: that is letting Wales down.”

He continued: “We want to see similar scheme as in England, where from September people studying for postgraduate degrees will have access to loan funding for their studies. What this means is that English students will have tuition fee support for studying in Wales, whereas Welsh students are not eligible for any support to study anywhere.

“Our tuition fee policy will release money back to Hefcw to support part time study, Coleg Cymraeg and postgraduate study for Welsh students. The problem now is that, if we are in government after May it will already be too late to do something this year. There’s simply no headroom in the budget.”

On the deep cuts to the further education sector, Simon Thomas was cautious: “I don’t want to make a firm commitment before seeing the books, I have talked already about £100m being released back through changing the tuition fee policy. £70m of that was taken from HEFCW’s budget, the rest was robbed out of the Further Education budget. So, our higher education policy will release significant money back to FE and enable us to strike a fairer balance.

“A University education is not the be all and end all of education. We have to realise that. Young people need to have more and better choices: at the moment they are all being pointed in one direction – towards Higher Education. We are committed to looking from starting from the position that there is more than one option and that it is possible for young people to develop graduate level skills through further education and higher skills apprenticeships. The benefit for those young people is that they will not have student debt and will have the sort of higher skills that will be an advantage to them and an advantage for Wales.”

Simon reflected: “The problem is around tuition fees. If you want to pack the maximum number of people in for 9K a year, then the cheapest way is humanities but not at a high level. Not with the rigour associated with it. We’re in danger, and unis have said this, of a race to the bottom to feed the machine because everyone comes with 9K a year on their head.

“We have to change that. We have to provide a better infrastructure for young people, not simply churn them through a factory to produce graduates without the skills the economy needs.”

On Welsh Medium Education, Simon Thomas acknowledged: “There is a weakness in College education in Welsh. In sixth forms, there is some provision but that is centred about academic subjects, not things like Gofal Plant and other vocational skills.”

What about locally: “What Pembrokeshire County Council is clearly seeking to do is to scrap sixth forms through a partnership with Pembrokeshire College and then place the onus for post-16 Welsh Medium Education on Ysgol Preseli. I do not see how that can deliver vocational post-16 training in Welsh. There is an extent to which I share the view of Cymdeithas yr Iaith, that post-16 there is an issue about continuing Welsh Medium education post-16.”

He continued: “The important thing about the legislation about reorganisation is that decisions are made locally and not nationally. Local decision-making must come first. I can see people fighting for their schools’ sixth forms, but education has changed enormously. In rural areas, it is sometimes not going to be possible to retain sixth forms that can provide the range of courses needed.”

A wintry smile: “That said, when we’re out and about knocking on doors, Pembrokeshire County Council comes up and has a poor reputation on the doorstep.”

We concluded by asking Simon Thomas about a recent remark made by Carmarthenshire Councillor Meryl Gravell. Ms Gravell opined at a recent Executive Board meeting that the standard of teachers coming out of Wales’s training centres was substandard.

“Let’s put it this way, I don’t think she worded it correctly, or described the problem correctly. The issue is one of the training we give our teachers. It’s not the quality of the individuals, we are not delivering them with the skills they need. There has been a number of failed reorganisations. The problem has been that changes have aimed to provide a little bit for everyone.”

Simon Thomas was generous to Huw Lewis, the outgoing Education Minister: “I believe he is sincere in wanting to put things right with the way teacher training is delivered. We have to focus on preparing teachers for their careers and retaining them. Huw Lewis seems genuinely committed to raising the bar on teacher training.”

And Plaid’s policy: “As part of our Cradle to Career policy, we want teachers in Wales to get to the level of Masters in Education; providing CPD for two years and then a premium for teachers to reach higher standard.

“Teaching is the most important factor in raising schools standards and raising pupils’ attainment. That’s why Plaid Cymru wants to invest in our teachers, helping them remain on the cutting edge of best practice in order to drive up standards and raise attainment levels.

“We will offer teachers and teaching assistants a premium of up to 10% on their pay in return for developing additional skills. Plaid Cymru will reward upskilling and best practice, and will work with the sector to develop a system of accreditation, aiming for 25% of teachers to gain this premium.”

Simon Thomas concluded: “Education is the bedrock of a strong economy, and our plans are aimed at raising children’s attainment and delivering tangible economic benefits.”

Education

Conservative calls for academies and free schools rejected by Senedd

Published

22 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Chris Haines, ICNN Senedd reporter

THE SENEDD has rejected calls to introduce free schools and academies after a report found major challenges in Wales’ education system.

Tom Giffard led a Conservative debate on educational attainment, warning that Wales is consistently at the bottom of UK-wide league tables.

The party’s new shadow education secretary pointed to an Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) report on education in Wales which found low outcomes and high levels of inequality.

Mr Giffard told the Senedd the IFS report highlights the pitfalls of the Welsh Government putting all its eggs in the basket of a skills-based approach.

Criticising a failure to measure skills inequalities and pupil progress, he stressed that Wales’ lower performance is due to policy and approach rather than funding or the pandemic.

He said: “It seems the Welsh Government relies on Pisa results to tell the story but then, when those same results are all too disappointing, they are dismissed in equal measure.”

Mr Giffard, who previously worked in a primary school, said declines in Pisa results can be observed in almost every country that has adopted a skills-based approach.

Raising concerns about disappointing Pisa results, the South Wales West MS pointed out that Wales saw the lowest scores in the UK for every subject.

Heledd Fychan, Plaid Cymru’s shadow education secretary, warned that Wales’ schools are understaffed and facing difficult decisions due to budgets being at breaking point.

She criticised implementation of the Welsh Government’s additional learning needs (ALN) reforms, saying schools cannot realise the aims without the budget to bring them to life.

Ms Fychan said Plaid Cymru agreed with much of the Tory motion but her party would not support calls for free schools and academies.

Sam Rowlands described the IFS report as damning, warning that the Welsh Government’s education reforms have been disastrous and have widened inequality.

The Tory MS claimed the reforms are systematically holding back disadvantaged children, saying: “The most remarkable fact is that the performance of disadvantaged children in England is either above or similar to the average for all children in Wales.”

Mr Rowlands added: “The poorest in England’s schools are doing the same or better than the Welsh average, thanks to ambition, the academies and free schools.”

Samuel Kurtz, a fellow Tory, said free schools and academies have driven up standards in England as he argued a Wales roll-out provides an opportunity to improve outcomes.

James Evans, the Conservative MS for Brecon and Radnorshire, highlighted the party’s pledge to get 5,000 more teachers into Wales’ classrooms.

Buffy Williams, the newly elected chair of the Senedd’s education committee, said Wales is undergoing a profound transformation propelled by ALN and curriculum reforms.

The Labour MS for Rhondda stressed the importance of listening to teachers and allowing ample time for the reforms to take root in classrooms across Wales.

Altaf Hussain recounted a conversation he had this week with a headteacher at one of the largest schools in his South Wales West region.

The Conservative said: “The major improvements they have been delivering to attainment and addressing behavioural issues are all at risk because of cuts to funding.

“Vital work undertaken to improve the lives of young people with additional needs could be halted because they cannot afford to continue employing the support workers.”

Lynne Neagle recognised the scale and seriousness of work still ahead to improve Wales’ education system, stressing: “I am not, in any way, complacent about that task.”

Wales’ newly appointed education secretary, who takes over from Jeremy Miles, said sustained improvement in attainment will be among her top priorities.

She told the chamber: “My early focus has been to listen closely to schools and where it is clear that schools seek more scaffolding.”

Ms Neagle said the Welsh Government will work with trade unions and employers to reduce workload and eliminate unnecessary red tape.

The Conservative motion was voted down, 14-35, following the debate on April 24. The motion as amended by the Welsh Government was agreed, 26-23.

Education

Ysgol Greenhill welcomes positive Estyn report

Published

22 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Tom Sinclair

YSGOL Greenhill and Pembrokeshire County Council have welcomed a strong and very positive Estyn report for the school.

Estyn, the education and training inspectorate for Wales, has released its findings following a full inspection of the school, based in Tenby, carried out in January 2024.

The report noted:

Under the supportive leadership of the Headteacher, staff at Ysgol Greenhill work together effectively to secure a happy and respectful learning community. Together they have developed a culture of openness and collaboration and share an ambitious goal to become a self-improving school.
Leaders have secured improvements in many important areas of the school’s work, such as pupils’ learning and attitudes and the provision of care and support for pupils’ wellbeing.
There is a suitably coordinated approach to improving pupils’ literacy, numeracy and digital skills, including support for pupils who have weak basic skills.
Leaders seek pupils’ views regularly on the quality and suitability of its provision and make changes accordingly. This includes amendments to pupils’ learning experiences and to the provision for developing pupils’ personal and social education.
Teachers plan their lessons well to ensure that pupils make good progress in their learning, subject knowledge and in developing relevant literacy and numeracy skills. Teaching assistants collaborate well with teachers to ensure that pupils who require support receive beneficial assistance as they work.
The school has a broad and valuable range of provisions to support pupils’ well-being. These include individual, tailored resource centres that provide learning, behavioural and emotional support as well as a nurture centre for pupils with low attendance. The school also hosts a local authority learning centre for pupils with autistic spectrum conditions.
The additional learning needs team work relentlessly to ensure that pupils who access these provisions are supported purposefully to enable them to make progress in their learning and social skills.
Pupils have positive attitudes towards school and their learning. They feel safe and value the friendly and supportive nature of staff. They settle swiftly in lessons and engage well in activities. Pupils value the ‘Ready to Learn’ system which rewards positive behaviour and provides relevant support for any pupil who displays negative behaviour.
Sixth form pupils are strong ambassadors of the school. They are friendly and polite towards visitors, conduct themselves well and are good role models for the younger pupils. Nearly all sixth form pupils say they are well supported to make progress in their academic, personal and social development. Many benefit well from valuable opportunities to lead and influence aspects of the school’s work.
Senior prefects run the school’s numerous pupil groups, house captains and deputy captains organise and manage house activities and trained peer mentors support younger pupils with their learning and social skills. Overall, sixth form pupils develop into mature, knowledgeable young people who speak highly of the valuable experiences they have had during their time at school.

Headteacher, David Haynes said: “I am delighted and immensely proud of this report. The school has made consistent progress over recent years and I very much look forward to Ysgol Greenhill being placed amongst the best schools in Wales.

“I must pay tribute to the outstanding staff and governors who have worked relentlessly to ensure that every pupil is valued and that their wellbeing and progress in their learning has been paramount.

“Ysgol Greenhill is a school that our pupils, families and wider community can be justifiably proud of.”

Councillor Guy Woodham, Cabinet Member for Education and Welsh Language, said: “The school has made good progress in the past two years and this is reflected in the inspection report.

“The strong and dedicated leadership of the Headteacher has contributed significantly to the inspection outcome. Alongside this the contribution of the governing body and the support from the local authority has also helped the school to achieve well. I am confident the school will continue to improve and thrive.”

Chair of the Governing Body, Mrs Heulwen Lear added: “I am thrilled that the report recognises that ‘building a supportive and positive working relationship with their pupils is a strong feature of teaching at Ysgol Greenhill’. Many pupils make secure progress in their learning and subject knowledge and understanding.

“Ysgol Greenhill’s values of kindness, respect, empathy and the celebration of diversity are reflected well in its strong commitment to pupils’ personal and social development. Staff care deeply about the well-being of their pupils and are sensitive to their individual circumstances.”

The full report is available online.

Education

Milford Haven School pupils showcase artistic talent at the Torch

Published

23 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Tom Sinclair

FROM May 3 to May 23, the Joanna Field Gallery at the Torch Theatre, Milford Haven will be exhibiting art works by pupils from Milford Haven Comprehensive School. This will be their fourth exhibition at the Torch.

The exhibition will see 44 pupils, aged 15 to 16, who undertook GCSE Art last summer taking part. Previously, the exhibition was held at the Milford Haven Town Hall before being relocated to the Torch.

“The exhibition is a celebration of art-work created by the pupils in their final year and a chance to see what they have achieved,” explained Katie George, the Art Technician at Milford Haven Comprehensive School.

Katie added: “This will be the ninth exhibition that the school has arranged. We started off in Milford Town Hall and then were very excited to be able to show our annual art event in the Torch. This will the fourth year showing in the Torch, which has been really fantastic as it gives us a chance to show the work of the pupils in a professional setting, and the pupils have spent a great deal of time and effort completing their masterpieces under the watchful eye of their Art Teacher, Mr Chris Green. They re encouraged to use as many different materials as possible ranging from painting in watercolours and acrylics, printing, sculpture, collage, clay work, printing and many more.

“The pupils work on their individual investigations. They pick a theme of their choice and then work through with artist research that connects to their theme. They then follow with lots of experimentation using different media and materials also painting, drawing and sketching. They then have their two-day exam, which they have spent time planning for using all the skills and materials they have now become familiar with to produce a final piece that will be shown in the exhibition,” explained Katie.

“It’s always exciting to tell the pupils that their final pieces will be on show in an exhibition in The Torch and generally they are excited for that to happen. They are so busy trying out new materials and ideas during their lessons, that they don’t really think about the exhibition itself until they are invited to see their work at the Torch. When they come with their parents or friends, it’s usually a real ‘Feel Good Factor’ of achievement, which is always great to see. The whole ambiance and setting created at the Torch is perfect,” concluded Katie.

To see the exhibition by pupils from Milford Haven Comprehensive School from 3 May to 23 May at the Joanna Field Gallery, Torch Theatre visit www.torchtheatre.co.uk or call by during Box Office opening hours.