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Education

Secondary school attendance rates post-pandemic are a concern

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A NEW report published this week by Estyn, and seen by The Herald, shows that attendance in secondary schools has declined since the COVID-19 pandemic and has been slow to improve. Pupils who are eligible for Free School Meals (eFSM) have lower rates of attendance than pupils who are not eligible for FSM. The number of pupils who are persistently absent has increased substantially.

Im summary, Estyn says that improving attendance requires a multi-agency and cross service approach alongside support from the Welsh Government.

The report finds that schools have responded to these challenges by increasing their support for pupil well-being and putting measures into place to improve attendance such as rigorous monitoring and analysis of attendance rates. However, overall attendance has not improved at a fast enough rate. Schools which have been the most effective have a strong culture of high expectations regarding attendance, make effective us of data, focus on high quality teaching and effectively evaluate the impact of their work.

Owen Evans, Chief Inspector says: ‘Attendance rates in secondary schools are a cause for concern; when pupils are not in school, they are not learning, and the data reported equates to too many pupils having at least one day off per fortnight. Absence holds back many learners, particularly those living in poverty where non-attendance among pupils eligible for Free School Meals is a notable concern.

While most schools understand the importance of improving pupils’ attendance, in some schools, work to improve attendance has not had enough impact. Schools that are successful in improving attendance target resources carefully, monitor attendance with rigorous use of data, work with families, and set high expectations of pupils. Schools, Local Authorities and Welsh Government all have their role to play in improving attendance and should carefully consider the recommendations in the report.’

The report considers a range of barriers that schools face when tackling poor attendance, including how parents view the importance of good attendance, increasing costs associated with school transport, and the lack of dedicated Welsh Government funding to improve attendance.

Alan Edwards, author of the report, says: ‘It’s clear that although schools have an important role in improving attendance, they cannot tackle this issue alone. Improving attendance will require a cross-service approach alongside support from the Welsh Government. This includes reviewing the three-mile limit to free transport which particularly impacts pupils from lower-income families and how those not eligible for free school transport can be better supported to attend school. We also recommend that Welsh Government should consider how the funding that is available to schools can best help to build capacity and support staff to improve attendance. We have also recommended that Welsh Government develop a national campaign to improve parental and carer perception of the importance of attending school.’

Commenting, Laura Doel, National Secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT Cymru, said: “It is true that attendance has not fully recovered since the pandemic. There are many complex reasons for this, including continued illness, changing parental attitudes, increased issues with mental health and anxiety, and the appalling impact of rising poverty levels due to the cost-of-living crisis.

“As this report points out, some of this schools can – and are – attempting to tackle, but much of it is beyond schools’ expertise or ability to control. Access to mental health support, for example, is extremely limited following over a decade of neglect and under-funding of public services as a result of UK Government austerity. Continued cuts to core budgets for schools mean that posts like family liaison officers are under threat if they haven’t been cut already. Schools used to be able to rely far more on a wide range of services there to help support families and children that simply don’t exist in the same way.

“If the Welsh Government is serious about solving attendance issues – and is certainly is vital that children are in school as much as possible – then serious investment into a multi-agency approach is required. As ESTYN points out, Local Authorities and Welsh Government have a big part to play in solving this problem – schools can’t be left alone to try and fix it.”

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Education

Guide: Dissertation vs. Thesis: Differences and Similarities

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Students may confuse the terminology of different academic papers. However, the terms that are confused the most often are thesis and dissertation. These types of papers are similar indeed because they are written upon graduation and are pretty lengthy compared to ordinary home assignments. You may need to know the difference between these two terms to decide whether you want to pursue some degree or not.

However, the students should also differentiate between these two terms if they want to know how to find dissertation writing services. You can visit the link Thesis Vs Dissertation: What is The Difference? where you will learn the main difference between the two papers and will be able to order dissertation writing services for you right away. The link will lead you to the Dissertation Team website which is a quite reputable dissertation writing services near you and offers help with both, thesis and dissertation.

Dissertation vs. Thesis: Differences and Similarities

Many students find dissertations and theses similar because they may not have enough background information on two of these scholarly papers. Students who still study at schools or colleges may not delve deep into the terminology and think that thesis and dissertations are almost the same. While there is a piece of truth in it because all of these research papers are extensively long and require much time to complete they are still different. 

The difference starts with the period when the students write each of these research papers. Students submit a thesis paper when they graduate from their master’s degree. Nevertheless, to get the PHD degree the students need to submit that dissertation successfully. This is the main similarity you should know about these two types of paper. We will provide you with more details below.

What Do You Understand by Dissertation and Thesis?

To know how to choose dissertation writing services you should first know the terminology. Thesis and dissertation are the research papers written by the students at the end of the course or before graduation. They are written to show the student’s expertise in the topic and the overall field they are studying. Students need to include their unique research dissertation and thesis. 

Firstly, they need to research the current literature on the topic and analyze it. By analyzing the literature, the students should compile it in the specific section and connect it to their research topic. The literature review should also show the gaps which should be filled in.

Secondly, the students need to have their unique methodology and conduct the research using one of the methods: quantitative or qualitative. Based on the research method they should either interview a sample of people or use numerical data they gather to analyze some issue. 

As you can see, writing such extensive research papers is not easy. However, each of them has unique features and differences which we will discuss below.

Dissertation vs. Thesis: The Real Difference

As we have already mentioned there is a huge difference between thesis and dissertation and there are many factors contributing to how to hire dissertation writer for specific services. Let’s consider them all:

  1. Extend of research: To write a thesis successfully the students need to know how to analyze and gather the literature. In contrast when writing a dissertation the students need to provide new series and scientific concepts to the field.
  2. Length: the thesis usually does not exceed 100 pages. On the other hand, dissertations can be of different scopes and can even reach up to 400 pages.
  3. Country: the meaning of the thesis and dissertation is different in Europe and the USA. For instance, in Europe, it is possible to get a PhD by writing a thesis. At the same time, a thesis is just one step to getting a PhD in the USA.

Therefore you should also know the unique policies of education institutions and different countries to effectively differentiate between these types of research papers.

Dissertation vs. Thesis: Similarities

Students are confused about these types of projects for a reason. Now let’s discuss the similarities of thesis and dissertation and the person who is dissertation writer knows:

  1. The students need to write both of these types of papers in order to graduate from different programs 
  2. To write both of the papers the students need to complete a comprehensive research 
  3. Two of the papers should be written with adherence to the specific structure and use of the academic language 
  4. Professors require minimum plagiarism for both of these types of graduate projects

As you can see, you should have great research and writing skills inherent to proffesional dissertation writer to be independent from the type of paper you work on.

Where to Find Examples of Dissertation and Thesis

A good place to find examples of dissertations and learn how to write a dissertation faster is to visit professional writing websites. You can go to the sample page and look at how they have written a dissertation or thesis and to learn what is this dissertation writing services. Besides, you would also have the possibility to order help with your dissertation if you do not want to write this paper on your own. You can order help at the cheap dissertation writing services for you if you like the writing style of the writers on this platform and wish them to help you.

You can also find examples by simply searching online and looking at the papers submitted by the other students. Your professor can also provide you with examples of dissertations written by students in the previous year. 

https://app.originality.ai/share/qpytxvm8bfsz2wlu

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Education

Relationships and Sexuality Education curriculum discussed at County Hall

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A CALL for Pembrokeshire County Council to provide assurance that RSE education in the county was “both age appropriate and does not constitute grooming” was heard at County Hall last week.

In late 2022 a legal challenge against the teaching of young children about gender identity and sex in primary schools across Wales was lost.

Campaigners had launched a judicial review in the High Court against the Welsh Government’s new Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) curriculum.

The curriculum was launched that September, seeing the mandatory teaching of relationships and sexuality education to children from the age of seven.

In a submitted question heard at the May 9 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, member of the public Valerie Sutherland had asked: “Given the legal challenge to the RSE curriculum by concerned parents against Welsh Government, can you confirm the council’s safeguarding team are happy that the RSE education provided is both age appropriate and does not constitute grooming?

“Secondly, given that a number of parents are unhappy about the content of the new curriculum and the loss of their right to withdraw children from classes, particularly in light of the Cass Review, how are you ensuring that parents’ values are respected and that trust in schools is not eroded?”

Responding, Cabinet Member for Education and Welsh Language Cllr Guy Woodham said: “The safeguarding and education team has been actively involved in develop age-appropriate content for schools,” adding: “In faith schools work has been done with each diocese for RSE”.

“Each school has developed a plan for RSE and shared it with parents and learners at their school, parents have been provided with information by their school on how to raise their concerns about the RSE curriculum following the decision to make RSE mandatory for all learners.

“Schools are working with families through the challenges that this brings; each school community has provided sessions for parents on the curriculum, parents are being informed and they have the opportunity to discuss this with the school.”

Cllr Woodham advised parents to raise concerns through the schools’ complaints policy should they have any concerns.

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Education

Senedd told of families’ struggles with new ALN system

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FAR TOO many children and young people are unable to access support under Wales’ new additional learning needs system, leaving families at breaking point, the Senedd heard.

Jack Sargeant led a debate on a 15,000-name petition, submitted by Victoria Lightbown, raising concerns about implementation of the additional learning needs (ALN) system.

He said the ALN reforms have triggered more petitions in recent months than any other subject aside from 20mph, with five being considered by the petitions committee.

Mr Sargeant raised Estyn’s concerns about inconsistent application of reforms under the ALN Act, which is replacing the previous special educational needs (SEN) system.

The Labour MS, who chairs the petitions committee, said he has heard harrowing stories of parents having to fight against a system that sometimes feels inflexible and unsympathetic.

Buffy Williams, the newly elected chair of the Senedd’s education committee, said there is enthusiasm for the reform’s core principles but too much inconsistency on the ground.

She cautioned that a new category of pupils, with lower level additional needs, is emerging.

“They were on schools’ old SEN registers,” said the Labour backbencher.

“But for various reasons – which include funding, workload and perhaps the flexibility offered by the new curriculum – they are not being recognised as having ALN.”

Ms Williams, who represents Rhondda, said 32% fewer children were recorded as having SEN or ALN in the 2022/23 school year compared with 2020/21.

She raised concerns from the president of the education tribunal about “universal provision” being wrongly used as a reason not to give a child an individual development plan.

Saying the Act needs time to bed in, Ms Williams added that schools’ ALN co-ordinators need more dedicated non-teaching time to do their roles justice.

Sam Rowlands, for the Conservatives, raised concerns about far too many children falling through the gaps amid a massive overhaul of the system.

Mr Rowlands, the former Conwy Council leader, who represents North Wales in the Senedd, said parents also report issues with accountability.

Heledd Fychan, Plaid Cymru’s shadow education secretary, warned that too many children and young people are unable to access the support they need.

She told the chamber she was moved to tears by stories of families at breaking point.

Ms Fychan recalled one parent telling her how they contemplated suicide due to the strain of constantly trying to fight for the support their child deserves.

“This is the level of concern in our community – support is desperately needed,” she said.

The South Wales Central MS raised concerns about “incredible” inconsistencies for learners who need additional support in Welsh.

She warned that disabled and neurodivergent children are being excluded from many of the things that make school fun, from school trips to Christmas concerts.

Peredur Owen Griffiths, her Plaid Cymru colleague, highlighted a sense of frustration and anger among parents stemming from dismay at substandard provision.

He quoted a letter from Blaenau Gwent Council to parents which warned schools “can no longer afford to recruit the required number of staff to support our most vulnerable learners”.

Hefin David, whose daughter is autistic, reflected on his own family’s experiences.

He said: “One of the things that happens when you have a child with additional learning needs, or ALN in your family, is that it isn’t a moment of revelation – it’s a slow discovery.”

The Labour MS for Caerphilly stressed the importance of educational and clinical support, warning that all too often the two are disconnected.

Dr David likened the system to a pinball machine that passes parents from pillar to post.

He said his daughter is clearly diagnosable and in the right place in the system, but: “The problem you’ve got is where the children have more grey-area diagnoses….

“It’s much harder for them to find their place in the system as well, and I know others have had that experience. That’s where we really need to pick up.”

Vikki Howells, a fellow Labour backbencher, stressed that the transition to the new ALN system is not yet complete, with phased implementation allowing lessons to be learned.

She said casework in her Cynon Valley constituency shows ALN must be a priority.

Ms Howells, a former teacher and assistant head of sixth form at Caerphilly’s St Cenydd Comprehensive, highlighted a Welsh Government announcement of a further £20m for ALN.

Mabon ap Gwynfor, the Plaid Cymru MS for Dwyfor Meirionnydd, called for educational support to be based more on need rather than a diagnosis.

The shadow health secretary raised examples of children aged six not getting a diagnosis until they are 12 or 13, leading to a delay in support at school.

Lynne Neagle, Wales’ new education secretary, said ALN reform was always going to be an ambitious, systemic programme of change and it remains early days.

Vowing action to improve implementation, she told the chamber her priorities are twofold: improving oversight and increasing consistency.

Responding to the debate on May 8, she said the Welsh Government has protected more than £50m this year for ALN reforms.

Ms Neagle said there are examples of excellent practice in Wales’ schools, with the sector embedding a new person-centred approach while running the SEN system in parallel.

But she recognised the challenges, telling MSs: “We do hear too often that the families of children with ALN have to fight for the right support and education – and this must change.”

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