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Join us for our Estyn Live webinar at 4:00pm on 21 May 2026 for a discussion around improving attendance in secondary schools.
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Estyn will host an international workshop in Cardiff this week, bringing together education inspectorates from across Europe and beyond to explore the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in education.
The SICI Cymru Workshop 2026, Navigating the AI Journey, will take place from 22 to 24 April in Cardiff Bay. Organised in partnership with the Standing International Conference of Inspectorates (SICI), the event will welcome delegates from twenty five different countries to share expertise and strengthen international collaboration.
The workshop will focus on the outcomes of a joint project between inspectorates in Wales, Norway and Scotland, examining how AI can support inspection work. Through a combination of keynote presentations, practical sessions and collaborative workshops, delegates will explore how emerging technologies can be used responsibly and effectively within education systems.
The main conference will be held at Techniquest in Cardiff Bay, providing a dynamic setting for discussions on technological innovation. A keynote speech will be delivered by Dr Madiha Khan, an AI researcher and data scientist, who will explore the opportunities and challenges that AI presents for education.
The event also offers an opportunity to showcase Wales and its culture. Delegates will take part in a guided tour of Cardiff Bay and attend a gala dinner at the historic Coal Exchange, featuring performances by young people involved in the Urdd Eisteddfod, celebrating Welsh language and culture.
By hosting this international workshop, Estyn is contributing to global conversations about the future of education and inspection. The event reflects Estyn’s commitment to exploring how AI can enhance its work, improve efficiency and support better outcomes for learners in Wales.
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Join us for our Estyn Live webinar at 4:00pm on 30 April 2026 for a discussion around everything you need to know ahead of an inspection in the post 16 sector.
This is an essential session for leaders, staff and governors who want to find out more about the process.
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Local authorities play an important role in helping schools manage their finances, but the strategic support they provide varies too much across Wales, according to a new Estyn report, Local authority support for schools to manage their budgets. The report examines how effectively local authorities support maintained schools with financial management and long-term planning at a time of increasing pressure on school budgets.
The review finds that schools generally value the advice and guidance they receive from local authority finance teams. In many cases, schools benefit from strong day-to-day operational support to help them monitor spending, manage grants and ensure compliance with financial requirements.
However, support is less consistent when it comes to helping schools plan strategically. Too often, the focus is on balancing annual budgets rather than supporting schools to make confident medium- and long-term financial decisions.
Budget-setting processes are usually open and transparent, and most local authorities engage schools through consultation groups or budget forums. However, the clarity and timing of financial information can vary significantly, making it difficult for school leaders and governors to plan staffing and curriculum decisions with confidence.
The report also finds that while most authorities monitor financial risk and support schools facing financial difficulties, approaches to early intervention and long-term sustainability are inconsistent. In many cases, responses focus on short-term savings rather than longer-term planning.
Estyn highlights that the strongest practice occurs where finance, human resources and school improvement services work closely together. This helps authorities identify risks earlier and align financial decisions with educational priorities.
Owen Evans, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector at Estyn, said:
“Local authorities across Wales are strongly committed to supporting schools to manage their finances, and schools value the professionalism and accessibility of finance teams.
“However, we found that schools needed clearer, more timely information and stronger support to plan for the medium and long term. Where we saw local authorities bring together finance, workforce and school improvement expertise, they are better able to identify risks early and support schools to make sustainable decisions that benefit learners.”
The report recommends that the Welsh Government improves the timeliness and predictability of funding and simplifies funding arrangements to better support long-term planning. It also calls for stronger national guidance and investment in data to support consistent financial planning across Wales. The report recommends strengthening strategic support from local authorities by improving multi-year planning for schools, providing clearer and more timely financial information, and working more closely across finance, workforce and school improvement services.
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A new report published today, More than a last resort: Arrangements and quality of EOTAS tuition in Wales, finds that overall, tuition services provide high-quality support for vulnerable pupils. However, the overall quality and availability of provision varies too widely across Wales.
Tuition services play a vital role in supporting pupils who are unable to attend school because of health needs or other complex personal circumstances, helping them to continue their learning and maintain a connection with education. For many of these learners, tuition offers an important pathway to re-engage with education, build confidence and prepare for future learning or employment.
Our report highlights examples of strong practice where leaders have a clear strategic vision for tuition provision and see it as a purposeful intervention that helps pupils reconnect with learning and progress to positive destinations. In these cases, pupils benefit from engaging teaching, carefully planned curricula and effective support for their well-being.
However, the report finds that leadership, oversight and the quality of provision are inconsistent across Wales. In many areas, pupils receive only a limited number of hours of tuition each week and access to a broad and balanced curriculum is restricted. Provision is often focused narrowly on English and mathematics, which can limit pupils’ opportunities to gain qualifications and progress to further learning or employment.
Estyn also found that national expectations for tuition provision are not sufficiently clear. This has led to differences in how local authorities interpret their responsibilities, resulting in variation in the amount of learning pupils receive and the range of opportunities available to them.
Owen Evans, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, said:
“Tuition services support some of the most vulnerable young people in Wales. At their best, they provide stability, rebuild confidence and help learners reconnect with education and plan for their futures. However, our findings show that the quality and availability of provision varies too widely across Wales. Too many pupils receive a narrow curriculum and limited hours of learning, which restricts their opportunities to gain qualifications and progress to positive destinations.
Strengthening strategic leadership, clarifying expectations and improving monitoring will be essential to ensure that all pupils who rely on tuition services receive the high-quality education and support they deserve.” The report calls for clearer national expectations, stronger oversight by local authorities and improved monitoring of provision, particularly where services are commissioned or delivered online. These steps will help ensure that tuition services across Wales provide consistent, high-quality support and enable all learners to progress confidently to their next stage of education or employment.
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Further education colleges across Wales are beginning to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) can support teaching, learning and organisational efficiency, according to a new Estyn report, Exploring the Potential: Artificial Intelligence in Further Education.
The report finds that while the sector is still at an early stage of adopting AI, there is growing momentum among staff and learners to use the technology to support learning, planning and feedback. In the strongest examples, colleges are beginning to integrate AI into their strategic planning, linking it to teaching, inclusion and improving services for learners.
Learners reported using AI tools to help summarise information, structure written work and support their understanding of complex topics. Many learners, including those with additional learning needs, said that AI tools can help them build confidence and manage their coursework more effectively. Staff are also beginning to explore how AI can support lesson planning, resource creation and formative feedback, although practice varies widely across curriculum areas.
However, the report also highlights several challenges. In many colleges, learners receive mixed messages about what constitutes acceptable use of AI, particularly when completing assessed work. Guidance is often provided at induction but not revisited regularly, leaving some learners uncertain or anxious about using AI tools even when they could support learning.
The report also notes that while ethical, safety and safeguarding considerations are increasingly recognised by colleges, these are not yet consistently embedded in the learner experience. Opportunities for learners to develop critical understanding of AI, including issues such as bias and over-reliance on technology, remain limited in many cases.
Owen Evans, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector at Estyn, said:
“Artificial intelligence is already beginning to influence how learners study and how staff plan and deliver learning in further education colleges across Wales. Our findings show encouraging early practice, with learners and staff exploring how AI can support learning, confidence and efficiency.
“However, colleges will need to ensure that learners receive clear and consistent guidance about how AI can be used appropriately. Developing learners’ understanding of the ethical and responsible use of AI will also be important as the technology continues to evolve.”
The report highlights the importance of strong leadership, clear communication with learners and continued dialogue across the sector to ensure that AI supports high-quality learning and equitable access to opportunities.
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Join us for our next Estyn Live webinar at 4:00pm on 26 March 2026 for a discussion around Interim Visits and what they mean in practice.
The discussion session will break down everything you need to know ahead of an Interim Visit – making it an essential session for school leaders, staff, and governors who want to find out more about the process.
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Estyn has today published its Chief Inspector’s Annual Report, setting out a clear and detailed overview of education and training in Wales. The report recognises examples of strong practice, while warning that ongoing weaknesses in literacy, teaching quality and leadership, particularly in secondary schools, limit progress for too many learners.
Drawing on inspection evidence from across schools, colleges, training providers and wider education services during 2024–2025, the report finds that although there are many strengths, the system as a whole has not yet worked cohesively enough to secure consistently high-quality teaching and learning.
There are examples of strong practice highlighted throughout the report, including settings embedding purposeful and systematic approaches to reading, providers establishing cultures of professional learning and local authorities effectively developing Welsh-medium specialist provision.
The report highlights long-standing challenges, including inconsistency in leadership and self-evaluation, problems with recruitment, uneven access to high-quality professional learning for teachers, and weaknesses in the development of skills such as reading, mathematics and digital competence.
Owen Evans, Chief Inspector, says,
“This year’s report certainly points to grounds for optimism. Ongoing reform to curriculum, the new School Improvement Programme (SIP), the establishment of Adnodd and Dysgu, and the first fully operational year of Medr – provide opportunities to strengthen coherence across the system.
“We are however, acutely aware of the increasing pressures on providers, including financial, growing numbers of learners educated other than at school and rising demand for specialist provision. The concerns around levels of literacy and teaching quality across Wales remain and without a sharper and more sustained focus in these areas, too many learners will continue to fall short of their potential.”
The HMCI’s annual report looks back at findings from inspection and thematic reports over the last academic year. Following on from the publication of Estyn’s sector summaries in October, February’s full report offers detailed context and provides a much deeper insight into what’s working well and what needs to improve across eighteen education and training sectors in Wales. Schools, non-maintained nursery settings, FE colleges, apprenticeships, initial teacher education, Welsh language immersion arrangements and youth work are among the sectors featured.
The report also evaluates how well providers are tackling some of the specific challenges facing learners in Wales through a series of key themes.
This year’s themes include:
- Developing the Humanities area of learning and experience (AoLE)
- Supporting pupils from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.
- Developing learners as independent thinkers
- The impact of planning for literacy on pupils’ reading, writing, and oracy skills in primary, secondary and all-age schools
- Developing mathematical understanding and applying numeracy skills across the curriculum
- The impact of leadership on teaching
Owen Evans, Chief Inspector continued:
“I would like to thank all settings, providers, staff and learners who continue to demonstrate dedication and commitment despite significant pressures. Estyn remains committed to providing rigorous, constructive and fair independent scrutiny and I hope that this report will provide useful feedback for education and training sectors to support further improvement.
“I’m proud to include the innovation and strong practice we have seen across Wales and am optimistic that we can build on these strong foundations, however decisive action is needed to address systemic weaknesses. We will continue to play our part by highlighting best practice, challenging underperformance and supporting improvement – for learners, for Wales.”
As well as a range of best practice case studies, Estyn’s report is accompanied by a series of podcasts this year which bring together education professionals and learners to discuss some of the challenges and best practice in line with the key themes of work based learning apprenticeships and developing learners as independent thinkers.
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We recently sought the views of stakeholders as part of our annual independent stakeholder perceptions research. This work aims to help us understand how stakeholders across Wales view our work, who we are, what we do and the impact we have. One of our ambitions is that everyone we interact with understands and values our contribution to the sector and to learners in Wales.
This is the second year of running this work which includes an open online survey and more in-depth telephone interviews. The findings help us to gain a deeper understanding of the working relationships we have with our stakeholders – to assess our reputation, assess the impact and usefulness of our key reports, publications and campaigns and to understand stakeholders’ preferred methods of communicating and engaging with us.
Estyn will use the findings to inform ongoing work to improve consistency, reduce apprehension, and strengthen engagement and communications—particularly with staff in non-senior roles.
Owen Evans, Chief Inspector, says,
“It is encouraging that those who have experienced inspections in recent years are reporting more positive views, highlighting the importance of changes introduced under the new inspection framework and our clear focus on professional dialogue and collaboration.
“This research gives us a valuable and timely insight into how Estyn is perceived by a wide range of stakeholders across Wales. I am particularly pleased that this year we heard from many more middle leaders and staff working outside senior roles, whose voices are essential if we are to understand the full impact of our work.
“We take these findings seriously. They reinforce the need for us to continue improving consistency, transparency and communication, and to ensure our work is understood not just by senior leaders but by staff at all levels. Reducing unnecessary apprehension, strengthening engagement with middle leaders and teachers, and sharing best practice more effectively will remain key priorities for us. Listening to feedback like this is central to our commitment to learning, improving and building trust across the education system.”
We will continue to run this exercise annually to enable us to benchmark and measure progress in our work as we listen and respond.
Read more here: Estyn Stakeholder Perceptions Research 2025
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Following the publication of our recent thematic report, A New Era: How Artificial Intelligence (AI) is Supporting Teaching and Learning, which explores how artificial intelligence (AI) is being used across education in Wales, we are reissuing our survey on the use of AI in schools and pupil referral units (PRUs).
The original survey received a very high response rate, and there has been strong interest in the findings and messages in the published report. This highlighted how engagement with AI by education providers is growing and the urgency of the need for a coordinated, strategic response at all levels within the sector.
The survey was first shared a year ago and provided an engaging snapshot of how schools and PRUs were beginning to explore and use AI, its risks and benefits. By reissuing the questionnaire, we want to understand how things have changed over time and develop a clearer picture of how engagement with AI in education in Wales is evolving, including changes in confidence, practice, opportunities and concerns.
We would welcome responses from colleagues who completed the survey previously, as well as from those who did not. Those who completed the survey last time are encouraged to do so again to reflect how their use and understanding of AI has changed.
The questionnaire is open to anyone working in schools and PRUs in Wales, as well as those who support them, such as local authority officers and other education professionals.
The findings will help shape our ongoing work on AI in education and support a shared understanding of how AI is being used across the system.