Education

A long road back for education

Published

5 years ago

June 4, 2021

EVEN before schools find out what the new normal will be, the pressure is already on the education system to deliver significantly more.

Some talk about a ‘lost generation’ needing to ’catch-up’ amid concerns those comments stigmatise children. However, the reality is that children have missed months of face-to-face teaching, and that has inescapable consequences.

DISADVANTAGED SLIP FURTHER BEHIND

Wales’s learners have been part of the pandemic’s ‘collateral damage.’

Although, for now, there are more questions than answers, solutions to repair that ‘damage’ will need to be carefully considered and delivered during the Welsh Parliament’s sixth term.

Even before the pandemic, Wales already faced an uphill struggle to secure good educational outcomes for all its learners.

The most disadvantaged learners have extra challenges which can prevent them from achieving their full potential.

Even though the previous Welsh Government invested £585 million since 2012 through the Pupil Development Grant (PDG), the attainment gap it was seeking to close, didn’t narrow.

It also typically widens as learners get older.

There’s a stark difference between children eligible for free school meals and their peers at Key Stage 4, the two years where learners usually take GCSEs and other examinations.

Children and young people themselves are well placed to give their verdict.

A 2021 Children’s Commissioner survey of 20,000 children found that 35% didn’t feel confident about their learning, compared to 25% in May 2020.

63% of 12–18-year-olds were worried about falling behind.

There are countless reports setting out adults’ views about how missing more than half a year of ‘face-to-face’ schooling has affected learners.

One of the major concerns is the variation between what schools have delivered to pupils.

There’s a long list of potential impacts:

· ‘Lost learning’ meaning pupils could underperform academically and have their long-term prospects affected.

· A loss of confidence in the examination and assessment system.

· Long-term reductions in school attendance, a factor known to be key to educational outcomes.

· Difficult transitions between school years and from primary to secondary.

· Challenges in re-engaging learners and addressing low motivation.

· An unhelpful ‘catch up’ narrative about lost learning placing unnecessary psychological pressure on children and young people; and

· A negative effect on learners’ ability and confidence to communicate in Welsh where they haven’t been able to do so at home.

WIDER EFFECTS

As well as these obvious educational issues, there are wider predicted effects.

Current learners could earn less, with one estimate of up to £40,000 in a lifetime.

The harm to children’s physical health and a higher prevalence of mental health issues, including anxiety and depression, are also serious concerns.

The pandemic’s wider economic impact is also likely to increase the number of children living in low-income families.

Again, it’s the most disadvantaged learners who are predicted to bear the brunt in the longer term.

For example, in March 2021, the Child Poverty Action Group found that 35% of low-income families responding to its UK wide survey were still without essential resources for learning, with laptops and devices most commonly missing.

The Fifth Senedd’s Children, Young People and Education (CYPE) Committee heard that there is “plenty of evidence” that” there are striking differences between families in terms of their ability to support young people in their learning: the resources they have around them, the enthusiasm, the engagement, the commitment”.

REBUILDING TRUST

There must be work to rebuild relationships that have been under significant strain during the past 12 months.

Those between teaching unions and the decision-makers within the education system; between parents/carers and schools; and perhaps, most importantly, re-establishing the relationship between learners and their teachers.

Some of the immediate solutions which are already on the table or up for discussion are: more money, including the ‘Recruit, Recover and Raise Standards funding’; more teachers and learning assistants on the ground; changing term times; and setting up summer schools, holiday clubs and home tuition.

However, the longer-term problems are far harder to solve.

One estimate puts the cost of Wales’s journey back from COVID-19 at £1.4 bn to meet the challenges to the education system alone.

The opportunity exists for major reform and an examination of the whole approach to and aim of education.

Children and young people’s return to the classroom has been heralded as a big chance to put their well-being at the heart of education. As well as having a positive impact on well-being, put, mentally healthy children are much more likely to learn.

Following pressure from the Fifth Senedd’s CYPE Committee and its stakeholders, Wales has already made a significant shift towards establishing a ‘Whole School Approach to Mental Health’. The challenge during the Sixth Senedd will be to deliver it.

PERMANENT CHANGE

The potential sting in the tail is that, at the same time, the education system is getting children back to school, it also contends with major legislative reform.

This is in the form of wholesale changes to both the school curriculum and support for learners with Additional Learning Needs.

Some may argue that there’s been no better time to have such significant changes.

If the education system can successfully implement these three major reforms, arguably Wales will complete significant leg work and be on a firmer footing to meet the challenges presented by Covid-19.

At this stage there may be many more questions than answers for the education system.

The world into which learners will move has changed forever.

Not only has the pandemic interrupted their schooling, but the future journeys they were expected to make into the workplace or further and higher education could be unrecognisable.

The skills and aptitudes needed in the ‘new normal’ are only now beginning to be identified and are likely to be different from those needed before the pandemic began.

Community

Cilgerran Church in Wales school petition to be heard

Published

53 minutes ago

February 3, 2026

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A PETITION opposing proposed changes for a north Pembrokeshire school is to be heard by councillors later this week.

At last May’s meeting, Pembrokeshire County Council considered a report of the School Modernisation Working Group which outlined the findings of a review of education provision in the Preseli area.

A later July meeting backed a general consultation to discontinue Cilgerran Church in Wales Voluntary Controlled School, and to establish it as a 3-11 community school.

“In particular, the review considered the extent of surplus school places in the area, set against a significant decline in the pupil population,” the council in its consultation has said.

The consultation closed on January 30.

Hundreds have opposed the proposed changes, with a petition, on the council’s own website opposing the changes recently closing after gaining 391 signatures.

Any petition of more than 100 signatures triggers a debate at one of the council’s scrutiny committees, in the case of Cilgerran that debate taking place at Pembrokeshire County Council’s February 5 schools and learning overview and scrutiny committee.

The Cilgerran e-petition, created by Louise Williams, raised concerns including the school could become part of a federation, a loss of permanent head teacher on site, a shared head teacher would have to oversee several schools, loss of funding control and the ability to maintain the school’s current healthy and stable funding, and a loss of commitment to the church, in turn could impact on the school’s and pupils values, beliefs and cultural beliefs.

It said: “Ysgol Cilgerran VC school has strong links with the Church community in Cilgerran and we believe this will have a negative impact on the children who attend the school, the community of Cilgerran and the links between the two.
“We are proud of our school ethos and values which are strengthened by our links with the church. The school has close and strong relationships with our Church in Wales federation governors one of which is also our safeguarding governor.

“Our Church Federation governors work closely with the school and are regular visitors to the school and the children. They provide vital support and guidance to the school and have a positive impact on the Children’s education. We believe these links will be weakened by this proposal to remove our VC status and we believe this is an un-necessary action.”

The proposals for Cilgerran are part of a wide range of potential education changes in the county.

Two petitions, opposing the potential closures of Manorbier and Ysgol Clydau schools, were recently heard at full council and a further petition opposing the potential closure of Stepaside School has recently been launched, which has generated enough support to be heard at a future council meeting.

Education

Industry insight helps marine cadets chart career course

Published

2 days ago

January 31, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Shipping professional visits Pembrokeshire College to showcase real-world opportunities on the Milford Haven Waterway

STUDENTS training for careers at sea were given a first-hand look at life in the maritime industry after a leading shipping professional visited Pembrokeshire College to share his experience of operations on the Milford Haven Waterway.

Toby Forester, from Williams Shipping, met with the College’s Enhanced Marine Engineering Pre-Cadets to explain how commercial shipping, marine services and logistics work together to keep one of the UK’s busiest energy ports moving.

https://assets.admiralty.co.uk/public/inline-images/2023_MilfordHavenPort_SConway_32%20-%20Generic%20download%20%28ADMIRALTY%20website%29%20.jpg?VersionId=4K1W42umTxiA8WWpsOuXRfMRRdyNcl_Z

Learners heard about the wide range of activity taking place daily on the estuary, including vessel movements, specialist support craft, safety management and the coordination required to operate safely and efficiently in a working port environment.

Staff said the session gave students valuable real-world context, helping them understand how the engineering skills they develop in workshops and classrooms directly translate into careers within the maritime and energy sectors.

The visit forms part of the College’s wider effort to strengthen links between education and industry, ensuring young people are exposed to employers and career pathways while still in training.

College representatives said experiences like this help build confidence and ambition among learners considering technical roles at sea or ashore.

They thanked Williams Shipping and Mr Forester for supporting the next generation of marine engineers and helping inspire future talent in Pembrokeshire’s coastal economy.

Photo caption: Marine engineering pre-cadets at Pembrokeshire College welcomed an industry talk from Williams Shipping about operations on the Milford Haven Waterway (Pic: Supplied).

Education

Funding axe falls on Welsh digital education scheme as £1.4m handed to English uni

Published

4 days ago

January 30, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Face-to-face training replaced with online resources in decision branded a ‘slap in the face’ for Wales

A LONG-RUNNING Welsh digital education programme that has trained thousands of teachers and pupils every year is facing an uncertain future after Welsh Government funding was cut and redirected to an English university.

Technocamps, a Swansea University-based project which has operated across Wales for twenty-two years, has described the decision as a major blow to digital skills development, with staff already losing jobs and schools left without in-person support.

Instead of renewing Technocamps’ funding, ministers have awarded £1.4 million under the Curriculum for Wales Grant Support Programme to the University of York to deliver mainly online learning resources, with only limited face-to-face sessions in what are described as “priority areas”.

Critics say the move risks replacing hands-on, bilingual classroom support with generic remote materials.

Each year Technocamps provides direct training to more than 900 teachers and delivers workshops to over 30,000 young people in schools across Wales, working face-to-face with pupils to improve coding, computing and digital literacy.

The programme has been widely credited with helping schools meet the growing demands of the Curriculum for Wales and tackling shortages in specialist computing skills.

‘Bitter disappointment’

Plaid Cymru MS Sioned Williams, who represents South Wales West, said she had met the Technocamps team again this month and would be writing to the Cabinet Secretary for Education seeking answers.

She said: “The necessity of good quality, face-to-face digital skills training has never been more important in this digital age.

“I’ve seen firsthand how engaging and effective a Technocamps workshop is and what makes this programme so great is that it is made in Wales, delivered bilingually through our network of universities and is able to reach every school and teacher.

“That’s why the news that Welsh Government has cut funding is so bitterly disappointing.

“At a time when Welsh universities are in financial crisis, it’s an additional slap in the face that what little funding has been allocated has gone to a university in England.”

Jobs lost across Wales

Beti Williams MBE, the programme’s founder and patron, said the funding decision had already resulted in redundancies.

She said: “The end of Technocamps funding has led to the unemployment of teacher trainers at universities across Wales, leaving nearly 1,000 school teachers who rely on our bespoke in-person training and support in limbo.

“Replacing Technocamps with predominantly standard online courses is an insult to Welsh universities. Online courses, of which there is unlimited choice, offer nothing to struggling teachers who rely on tailored, face-to-face help.”

A petition calling for funding to be restored has gathered more than 4,000 signatures and is now being considered by the Senedd Petitions Committee.

Questions over value for money

The decision has also raised questions about value for money.

According to supporters, the £1.4m grant awarded to York is almost double Technocamps’ previous annual funding, yet delivers fewer in-person services.

There are also concerns that only seven per cent of the wider Curriculum for Wales grant funding over the next three years is allocated to science and technology subjects.

Education campaigners warn that reducing practical support in computing and digital technology could widen skills gaps at a time when Wales is trying to attract high-tech industries and improve economic productivity.

Digital divide fears

Teachers have long argued that in-person training is essential, particularly for schools with limited IT expertise or rural connectivity challenges.

Technocamps staff say online-only provision risks leaving some schools behind.

Ms Williams added: “It’s so important that we keep this crucial skills and knowledge in Wales. The thought that we could lose this valuable resource makes no sense at a time when the need for digital competency has never been greater.”

Welsh Government has been asked to explain why the funding was awarded outside Wales and whether the impact on Welsh university jobs and school support was assessed before the decision was made.