ESTYN warned teaching must improve in half of secondary schools in Wales, with the inspectorate raising serious concerns about the quality of leadership.

Buffy Williams, who chairs the Senedd education committee, quizzed Estyn chiefs about 52% of secondary schools inspected receiving a recommendation to improve teaching.

Giving evidence on March 5, Estyn’s chief inspector Owen Evans said: “We try to focus on what matters and teaching, as you say, is absolutely at the heart of what we expect to see.

“Yes, it is a concern that so many recommendations are given to schools on what is a fairly basic tenet of what we should be doing.”

Claire Morgan, a strategic director at Estyn, said around 20% of primary schools also received a recommendation on teaching in the last academic year.

She warned of inconsistencies across secondaries, with schools failing to build on pockets of best practice due to weaknesses in self-evaluation.

Joel James said Estyn inspected 31 secondaries in 2023/24, with 10% requiring follow-up inspections, two in special measures and two others needing significant improvement.

The Tory asked: “Is that an anomaly in terms of previous years or … a general reflection?”

Ms Morgan said: “It’s been a very challenging time for secondary schools: they’re still grappling with curriculum reform, additional learning needs reform, qualifications reform.”

She added: “Across all secondary schools, it’s about 10% of them in the statutory category, so that is really concerning for us.”

Ms Morgan raised issues around attendance, particularly among pupils eligible for free school meals, as well as weaknesses on literacy, numeracy and Welsh-language skills.

She said: “When you put all of these issues together, you can identify some serious concerns about the quality of leadership.”

She warned of a lack of high-quality, subject-specific professional learning for teachers.

“The job is very demanding,” she said. “We are seeing children with increased and complex wellbeing needs and often teachers are dealing with those on a daily basis.”

On Tuesday, trade union NAHT Cymru warned of rising abuse from parents towards school staff, including verbal abuse, threats and even physical violence.

Mr Evans, who was himself expelled from school for pulling a prank on teachers, said Estyn would soon be publishing an in-depth thematic report on behavioural issues.

He told the committee: “Where we see that behaviour is less of a problem it’s where they have quite strong policies that have been developed with pupils and parents.”

Mr Evans, a former senior Welsh Government civil servant responsible for schools, warned of a “plethora of priorities” and called for a tighter focus over the long term.

Labour’s Carolyn Thomas asked about the main challenges in primary schools.

Ms Morgan said the key challenges include pupil progression, self-evaluation, improvement planning, consistency of teaching and Welsh skills in English-medium schools.

Pressed on literacy and numeracy by the Conservatives’ Natasha Asghar, Ms Morgan warned of weaknesses in higher-level reading skills across primary and secondary.

Raising concerns about too much variation and low standards in maths teaching, she said: “The only way we’re going to make progress on numeracy is to get mathematics right.”

The witnesses called for a relentless focus on reading and numeracy, with the chief inspector later warning of a recruitment and retention crisis in schools.

Mr Evans said Estyn aims to embed a supportive ethos, with interim inspections every three years as part of a six-year cycle rather than a “big bang” every eight years as before.

The former S4C boss said: “Last year, we introduced the interim visits, so instead of what was every eight years getting the magic call and the boots of Estyn are in your school – we’re trying to take the sting, we’re trying to take the anxiety out of it.”

THE WELSH Parliament voted to scrap charitable business rates relief for private schools.

From April, private schools in Wales will no longer be eligible for charitable relief but an exception will be introduced for independent special schools.

Of the 83 independent schools in Wales, 17 receive charitable relief at an annual cost to the public purse of about £1.3m – equivalent to £210 for each of the estimated 6,200 pupils.

Welsh ministers said it would be impossible to “disentangle” the impact from the Labour UK Government’s separate decision to introduce VAT on private school fees.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimated the proportion of pupils who may move from private to state-funded schools as a result of the UK changes at 3% to 7%.

Similarly, private schools that are charities in England will also no longer be eligible to receive charitable relief of up to 80% off business rates bills from April 1.

Urging Senedd Members to back the Welsh regulations on March 4, Mark Drakeford said: “The policy aim is to make additional funding available for local services in Wales, by withdrawing a tax reduction for private education that is paid for by public funds.”

Natasha Asghar, the Conservatives’ shadow education secretary, accused the Labour Welsh Government of “another attack” on private schools.

She told the Senedd: “Not content with enforcing VAT on private independent schools, and implementing a hugely damaging national insurance hike, Labour now wants to take away the 80% business rate relief for charity-run private schools.

“Independent schools are being punished by Labour’s triple whammy on higher taxes.”

Ms Asghar raised a report that found 23% of parents were considering moving their children from private to state schools, which would equate to 140,000 pupils in Wales and England.

She said: “After 26 years of Labour mismanagement, we have the worst educational outcomes of anywhere else in the UK and this decision will only add to the already crippling pressures facing our schools.

“Removing charitable status from independent schools may seem like a quick fix, but it risks creating more problems than it actually solves.

“It could lead to fewer options for parents, increased costs for families, and, more importantly, it risks shifting the focus away from the real issue, which is improving education for all children regardless of their background.”

Plaid Cymru’s Heledd Fychan welcomed the regulations, calling for details of how much consequential funding Wales will receive from the VAT changes and when.

Prof Drakeford said the Welsh Government expects only one independent school to be exempt because it provides education to children with additional learning needs.

He did not address the question on consequential funding.

The First Minister-turned-finance secretary told the Senedd: “Of course, I was not surprised to hear the contribution from the Welsh Conservatives.

“They would rather my constituents in Ely and Riverside pay the £1.6m that goes in charitable rate relief to schools whose parents are well able to pay the fees out of their own pockets, that’s what you would prefer … to support the few and the privileged.

“And I absolutely resent … that it is somehow a problem to have more young people receiving state education in Wales.”

The Senedd approved the regulations, 42-16, with the Tory group voting against.

Additional funding aims to improve education standards

THE WELSH GOVERNMENT has announced an additional £20 million in funding for schools in 2024-25, aimed at raising education standards and providing targeted support to struggling institutions.

Lynne Neagle, Cabinet Secretary for Education, confirmed the funding boost, which comes through a combination of new investment and the repurposing of existing education funds.

She acknowledged the challenges faced by schools and praised the dedication of education staff across Wales. “Through continued dialogue with education partners, I understand the scale of the difficulties being faced every day and I am thankful for the hard work of the education workforce across Wales,” she said.

The funding will be distributed through the School Standards Grant, helping schools meet the needs of learners. A portion of the package will be directed toward schools in special measures, providing additional support to help them make sustainable improvements.

“We will work with our partners, including local authorities, schools, Estyn and teaching unions, to ensure this funding makes a difference to learners across Wales,” Neagle added.

In total, the education sector will benefit from an extra £262.5 million in funding, combining this in-year support with allocations in the Final Budget for 2025-26. Additionally, £262 million is being directed to local authorities through the Revenue Support Grant.

Neagle said the funding increase reflects the concerns raised by schools and councils, particularly around Additional Learning Needs (ALN) and wider education provision.