Education

Review of higher education published

Published

8 years ago

September 30, 2016

Kirsty Williams: Endorses underlying principles

IT IS THE BIGGEST shake up to financing higher education in Wales since the First Assembly term and yet, despite two years of research and the likely conclusions being flagged well in advance, the Welsh Government – which delayed changes to Welsh student finance until after May’s election – now claims that the changes recommended by the Diamond Review of higher education funding and finance might not be put in place until 2018, at the earliest.

In the meantime, the fees that universities can charge to students have been frozen, creating an effective cut in higher education funding at the same time as the whole funding system for students is overhauled.

THE REVIEW

The radical overhaul of the system in Wales has been put forward after an independent review led by Professor Sir Ian Diamond and a panel of experts.

It suggests a fundamental shift to a system that provides financial support for the daily living costs of students – both full and part time – through a mix of grants and loans. It would mean students receiving the equivalent of the National Living Wage during term time while they study.

The average Welsh student could receive £7,000 a year in grant support while they study, with a pro-rata version available to part-time students.

The maximum level of support available would be £9,113 a year for those studying full time.

Professor Diamond’s proposals aim to ensure all those who want to go to university are able to do so, while making the system more sustainable in the long term.

The panel recommends new, innovative ways of funding part-time students and a support package for post-graduate studies that helps students from disadvantaged backgrounds. They also propose new ideas for supporting research and knowledge transfer; and a Welsh programme for research students.

But the delay in implementing the review’s recommendations means that potential Welsh postgraduate students wishing to pursue a course at Welsh universities will remain at a massive disadvantage to English students wishing to do the same. English students have been able to access funding for postgraduate study at Welsh universities since the start of the current academic year. Welsh postgraduate students are left high and dry with what looks like a significant watering down of the funding that English students can access.

The Review’s recommendations include:

A new improved maintenance grant support system for undergraduate, post-graduate and part time students The highest level of grant support will go to those most in need
A £1,000 annual non-means-tested universal maintenance grant to be made available to all students alongside the additional means-tested grant to cover living costs. Part-time students to receive a modified version of this support on a pro-rata basis
The top rate of maintenance grant and/or loan support, for a student living away from home outside London, should be equivalent to the National Living Wage – based on 37.5 hours per week over a 30 week period, currently £8,100. A maximum total grant of 25% more (£10,125) to be available for a student living away from home in London and 15% less (£6,885) for students living at home
Maintenance support to be paid to students on a monthly basis to enable more efficient financial planning and budgeting

‘FUNDING SHOULD BE A PARTNERSHIP’

The Welsh Government claims that the recommended improvements to the overall student support package can only be achieved by releasing funds currently used to provide tuition fee grants to full-time undergraduates.

The tuition fee grant for full-time undergraduate students should be replaced with a student loan, up to a maximum fee level agreed with the Welsh Government. Repayments would only begin once graduates earn a salary above £21,000.

Professor Diamond said: “The funding of higher education should be a partnership between wider society and the individual. In contrast to England, where maintenance support for students will be based on loans, we propose a significant universal element of maintenance support for full-time students, meaning students from Wales will face a significantly lower average level of debt on leaving university than those from England.

“My proposals will support widening access and retention of students from all backgrounds, including those from poorer backgrounds, squeezed middle-income families and those either estranged from their parents or whose parents choose not to contribute to their higher education.”

WILLIAMS HAILS ‘PROGRESSIVE PLAN’

Education Secretary Kirsty Williams said: “This report presents a progressive and sustainable plan for Higher Education in Wales.

“My Cabinet colleagues and I endorse the underlying principles in the report and we will now look into the detail of how we can implement these recommendations.

“We want to make sure that those who wish to go on to university are able to. The fear of not being able to meet the cost of living on a daily basis puts many off, not the prospect of paying back loans after they are in work. This system addresses that issue head on, but will also mean making tough decisions to make sure the system is sustainable in the long-term.

“The generous package of support proposed by the panel would mean Welsh students would benefit from the only UK system that is consistent, progressive and fair across all levels and modes of study.

“I am deeply committed to making sure access to higher education should be determined by academic ability and not social background.”

REVIEW WELCOMED

Universities Wales welcomed the Review’s publication.

“Offering means-tested maintenance grants for Welsh students will give many more talented people the opportunity to transform their life-chances through going to university. There is a body of evidence that shows students need financial support whilst studying and so we are pleased to see the recommendation to provide this support.

“We hope that, as a result of the cross party support for the Review , we can build a consensus regarding the value of universities and their students to Wales and we look forward to working with Welsh Government to deliver their aim of early implementation of the recommendations.”

LIBDEMS ‘LISTENED TO’

Cadan ap Tomos, the Welsh Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Young People, said: “As someone who studied under the current system, it wasn’t help with tuition fees I needed – they didn’t need paying until after I’d graduated and was earning a decent salary. It was with living costs that I needed the most support – despite receiving more than most having come from a poorer family, I still had to work alongside my studies just to make ends meet.

“I’m proud that Welsh Lib Dems listened to students like me when coming up with our plan for student finance – and I’m proud that it’s Welsh Lib Dem Kirsty Williams who’ll be fighting within Government to secure these much-needed reforms for all students – rich or poor, full or parttime, undergrad or postgrad.

“It’s clear to everyone that the unsustainable system created by Labour and Plaid just can’t continue. The fact that both a cross-party panel and students across Wales are recommending our solution be put into action shows that it’s the Welsh Lib Dems who are fighting students’ corner.”

Mark Williams MP, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, added: “The Welsh Liberal Democrats have consistently made the case that the high cost of living is the number one barrier to people accessing university. I am pleased that the Diamond Review has today supported that view.

“I am in no doubt that these proposals put forward would offer Welsh students the most generous offer of support compared to anywhere in the UK. I welcome the fact that Kirsty Williams has today endorsed the principles of the review.”

REVIEW ADDRESSES NUS CONCERNS

The recommendations of the Diamond Review address many of the concerns that NUS Wales has held for Welsh students and marks a move towards a funding system that addresses the particular need to widen access for Wales’ poorest students.

Fflur Elin, NUS Wales President, said: “We have long been concerned that many students struggle to meet the basic cost of living. It is a particular strain for those from backgrounds where there is little or no financial support from families.

“Of course, NUS Wales does not want to see students leaving university saddled with enormous student loans. However, the reality for Welsh students is that they have to take out overdrafts, credit cards and a small but significant amount of students pay day loans in order to pay for food, rent and bills. The immediacy of the repayment on these types of finance lead to stress and in some cases students giving up their courses.

“Wales is unlike the rest of the UK in many respects; it has some of the poorest communities in Northern Europe. For some, university isn’t an aspiration as meeting the cost of living without working full time seems impossible. We are sure that doing more to support people to get into university by helping with their immediate costs is a positive step forward.

“NUS Wales in addition would like to see better financial education. Research has told us that students, particularly

those from a low participation background, do not know what they are entitled to. With recommendations for a more generous maintenance package, more should be done to inform those who would otherwise see education as unaffordable.”

LOCAL AMS RESPOND

Eluned Morgan and Joyce Watson have welcomed the Welsh Government’s plans for what they have described as ‘the most generous package of student support anywhere in the UK’.

Eluned Morgan AM said: “I am immensely proud that the package of support available to students in Carmarthenshire and Wales is the best available anywhere in the UK.

“This is yet another example of this Welsh Labour Government delivering on its promises. Supporting young people to further their education and helping those from the most disadvantaged communities in Wales benefit from a university degree.”

Joyce Watson AM explained, “Under the plans, support for students from disadvantaged backgrounds will be prioritised – the highest level of grant will be available to those most in need. Those with experience of care will automatically receive the maximum level of maintenance grant support.

“People studying part time will receive a similar level of financial support as full time students and post-graduate students will also be eligible for ongoing support under the new scheme. Students from Carmarthenshire will benefit from the only UK system that is consistent, progressive and fair across all levels and modes of study.”

OPPOSITION GIVE QUALIFIED WELCOME

Welsh Conservative Shadow Secretary for Education, Darren Millar AM, said: “I welcome the publication of the Diamond Review. We support the recommendations to move away from tuition fee support and towards a system of means-tested maintenance grants for students; this is something we advocated prior to the Assembly elections earlier this year.

“The Welsh Conservatives have always believed that support should be targeted at those who need it most to ensure that everyone can aspire to a university education, no matter what their background.

“It is essential that grants continue to be available to those who are already being supported under the current arrangements and that the transition to any new arrangements is fair and properly managed.”

Plaid Cymru’s Llyr Gruffydd said: “The Diamond Review has been much anticipated by universities, students and political parties. The Labour government’s current system is unsustainable and needs to be replaced. It was disingenuous of Labour to enter into the previous election on the promise that the policy would continue when it was clear that this could not happen.

“Plaid Cymru would expect that any new higher education funding system includes some way of retaining skills and attracting people back to Wales to work after they have graduated. This is a crucial aspect that is currently missing and , without it , the whole system of student support risks failing to serve the needs of the Welsh economy.

“And I would also expect that any savings made in the new system would be redirected back into our HE institutions, so that we can close the funding gap between Welsh universities and their English counterparts.”

APPROVAL FOR ‘BALANCED PACKAGE’

Dr David Blaney, Chief Executive of The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, said: “We welcome the Review. It clearly reflects a thorough, robust and evidence-based review process conducted by Professor Sir Ian Diamond and his all-party group. Sir Ian’s recommendations offer a balanced package which would see the distribution of available resources more evenly across the range of policy priorities, but with continuation of the principle that student support should be portable. They also respond to the concern which has been raised clearly and consistently by the National Union of Students in Wales that meeting the cost of living is a major challenge for students with the current arrangements.

“It is now for the Welsh Government to respond to the recommendations of the review. HEFCW is on hand to provide expert analysis of the options that need to be considered and to support the implementation process.”

Education

Conservative calls for academies and free schools rejected by Senedd

Published

2 days 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

2 days 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

2 days 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.