In the report, ‘A levels in sixth forms and further education colleges’ Estyn evaluates the standards, quality of teaching and leadership of A levels in school sixth forms, and further education colleges. The report highlights how schools and colleges can better prepare students for A level, considers the curriculum and includes best practice case studies.

Meilyr Rowlands, Chief Inspector, says,

Learners need perseverance and motivation to do well in their A level studies. Successful A level teachers support and encourage students to develop their independent learning skills particularly well. They also show a passion for the subject, secure subject knowledge, and a thorough understanding of examination requirements. By developing these skills before they embark on A levels students will be better prepared and improve their chance of success.

The report notes that there are few opportunities for teachers in sixth forms and colleges to work together in networks to develop their professional practice, share resources and support A level teaching. One case study in the report describes how collaboration has been successful in one local area. Effective partnerships between schools and colleges in Conwy and Arfon areas have increased the range and choice of options available for learners in English and Welsh. By working together, the schools and colleges evaluate and review the success of courses offered, share best practice and change or stop underperforming courses.

The report identifies that there is still room to improve A level results and sets out a number of recommendations for key organisations. Schools and colleges can do more to improve the early advice and guidance given to learners about the range of qualifications on offer after the age of 16 to support learners to choose the course best suited to their interests and career ambitions. It also recommends that local authorities and regional consortia should work with sixth forms to help them evaluate the effectiveness of their A level delivery. 

As part of an annual celebration recognising and sharing excellence in education, the inspectorate recognised the schools and non-maintained settings that achieved ‘excellent’ in the majority of their inspection judgements and the local authority education service that was judged ‘excellent’ for its leadership and management  in 2017-18.

Meilyr Rowlands says,

Celebrating the excellence in our education system and recognising how it was achieved will help to drive improvement across Wales.  The Estyn awards both commend hard work and commitment while highlighting strategies that lead to success. On the Estyn website we’ve shared the success stories of the schools and other providers  that achieved excellence during 2017-2018 inspections to inspire others.

Estyn’s report, ‘Readiness for Additional Learning Needs reform’ is the first in a series to help to shape and support the reform process. It examines the extent to which schools, pupil referral units and education other than at school settings are preparing to meet the demands of new arrangements to support children and young people with additional learning needs which will be in place from September 2020.

Meilyr Rowlands, Chief Inspector, says,

Today’s report shows that many schools are already embracing change that firmly places learners’ individual needs at the heart of their education. Involving pupils more in their learning and target setting can empower them and improve wellbeing and attitudes to learning.   

It’s important that local authorities, regional consortia and schools remain up to date with guidance and training materials to keep the momentum going and ensure practice is established consistently across Wales.

Inspectors identified positive characteristics of schools and PRUs who are in a good position to reform. These providers have clear leadership roles that focus clearly on developing an ethos and a culture where diversity is recognised, accepted and celebrated.  They have high aspirations, invest in staff and have strong improvement processes. The most effective schools also provide the latest information and support for parents.

The report also highlights a few areas for improvement that are common to the majority of schools across Wales. These include the need to work in a more joined-up way with staff, parents and other professionals in a consistent and methodical way. At Darland High School, staff work closely with external partners to meet the complex needs of pupils, ensuring that the individual is at the centre of their practice.  Further case studies in the report outline good practice in special and primary schools.

The report, ‘Higher Apprenticeships in work-based learning’, evaluates the standards, provision and leadership of this type of apprenticeships, which are comparable to certain university-level qualifications.  It highlights the positive experience of many learners who welcome the opportunity to gain formal qualifications and develop their practical skills at a supervisory or managerial level, but recommends that work-based learning organisations address the length of time it takes some learners to finish.

Meilyr Rowlands, Chief Inspector, says,

Higher level apprenticeships are an ideal way to recognise people’s skills in the workplace and for them to gain a formal qualification while still earning.  The challenge now is to bring completion rates up to the level of other apprenticeships and to increase take-up in priority skill areas such as information technology and engineering.

The report highlights success stories and notes the benefits of gaining higher apprenticeship qualifications through strengthening the leadership and communication skills of learners and by increasing promotion and job opportunities. In a few cases, learners find the programme too demanding or difficult to balance with work and home life.

Inspectors recommend that work-based learning providers better support learners through mentoring, workshops and training, as well as engaging with new employers.  In addition, there is a role for the Welsh Government in facilitating better understanding in work-based learning providers about taking into account learners’ existing literacy and numeracy qualifications.

In its report, ‘The quality of education and training for young people engaged with youth offending teams’, Estyn evaluates the impact of the 15 partnerships across Wales known as youth offending teams or YOTs.  These teams support young people referred from the courts, or are at danger of offending or of getting into trouble with the law. The teams comprise of social services, the local authority, the police, probation and health services. The young people they work with can have complex needs such as speech and language difficulties, mental health issues and family problems.

Meilyr Rowlands, Chief Inspector, says,

Young people who are supported by youth offending teams spend too little time in education, training or employment. Youth offending teams need to work more closely with colleges and work-based learning providers to improve the range of opportunities available for these young people. 

These services are working with young people who do not always have the resilience to overcome the challenges they face. It is therefore vital that young people’s access to education is improved, and their progress is recorded carefully so that this information can be used to help improve opportunities for education, employment and training.

The report highlights how linking with local professionals can help find a suitable educational placement for a young person. However, only in a minority of areas do YOTs work in this way, for example in the Vale of Glamorgan and in Newport. Collaborative approaches like these are helpful, particularly in reducing the risk of young people disengaging from education. Further good practice and anonymised case studies about individual young people are outlined in the full report.

Inspectors also recommend that all youth offending teams have a dedicated co-ordinator for education, employment and training, develop strategies to promote literacy and numeracy skills, and extend management board membership to include local education and training providers.

Estyn’s report, ‘Youth Support Services in Wales – The Value of Youth Work’ provides a general evaluation of the quality of services for 11 – 25 year-olds.  These services include open access youth clubs, community-based projects, and more targeted support for young people facing difficulties with securing employment and training, poverty, domestic abuse, sexual exploitation, mental health or homelessness.

While there is a wide range of youth support services available across Wales, many young people either do not know about them or have difficulty getting access to professional youth work. Reduced funding and competing policy priorities have also changed the way services are structured and targeted. Often, their spread and location means that those living in a rural area may not have the same range of opportunities and services available to them as those living in urban areas, or face unreliable internet access to online services.

The report recommends that the Welsh Government, local authorities and their partners should renew a commitment to professional youth work. This can be achieved by putting young people’s rights at the heart of their work, listening to what they need and involving them in decisions. The report includes case studies describing particular projects that have overcome barriers in providing youth support services.

Estyn’s report is the first in a series arising from a joint project examining issues around support for young people in Wales. This project is being carried out by Estyn, Care Inspectorate Wales, Healthcare Inspectorate Wales and the Wales Audit Office working together as Inspection Wales. 

Meilyr Rowlands, Chief Inspector, says,

All young people have the right to high quality support through professional youth work.  Local authorities and voluntary sector groups such as the Urdd, Young Farmers, and the Prince’s Trust, provide important activities that develop young people’s self-reliance and widen their experiences.
 

There are variations in the quality and extent of youth services across Wales and barriers to ensuring all young people have equal access to the support they need. Today’s report recommends involving young people at a local level so they can influence the services available to them.

As part of the report, inspectors met local authority senior officers, local authority and voluntary sector youth service managers, youth workers, and young people to listen to their views. One young person believed that they “wouldn’t be here today” without their youth service.

The report highlights Llamau housing association in Cardiff which works well with very vulnerable young people who are either homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Their workers take the time to get to know the young people so that their needs can be addressed. Interventions are flexible and focused on individuals and provides targeted support for the range of issues and situations facing each young person.

Estyn outlines recommendations for local authorities, providers and the Welsh Government to address the barriers faced in providing effective youth services and ensure that the needs of young people remain at the heart of this work.

Estyn’s wide-ranging report, ‘The  new GCSE specifications in English language, Welsh language, mathematics, mathematics-numeracy and the Welsh Baccalaureate in schools and colleges’ considers the quality of teaching and assessment, planning, staff development and leadership in introducing these new qualifications.  Inspectors visited a broad range of schools and colleges, including a small number of pioneer schools. Case studies of interesting practice outline successful strategies from schools and colleges across Wales.  
 

Meilyr Rowlands, Chief Inspector, says,

These new qualifications are unique to Wales and have been designed to improve pupils’ knowledge, skills and particularly their ability to think critically and solve problems.  They also place a greater emphasis on the quality of pupils’ writing, reasoning and use of mathematics in a wide range of contexts.  Schools and colleges should respond to these important changes and help pupils of all ability to attain their full potential.
 

The report highlights Cardiff High School’s approach to teaching the new mathematics qualification.  As a result of placing a strong emphasis on reasoning in maths lessons, pupils have become more confident in their skills, leading to outstanding exam results.  Another case study highlights Ysgol Gyfun Gwŷr in Swansea which challenges pupils to reach the very highest levels of attainment in the Welsh Baccalaureate.  By challenging its more able pupils, the school has improved standards and achievement. A further 12 case studies outline interesting and effective practice in the Welsh Baccalaureate, English, Welsh and mathematics.
 

The report recommends that schools and colleges should:

• Provide stimulating tasks that develop the resilience of learners
• Ensure that learners improve their writing in English and Welsh
• Have high expectations that all learners contribute orally especially in Welsh
• Improve pupils’ problem-solving skills in mathematics and mathematics-numeracy
• Develop pupils’ higher-level reading skills in English, Welsh and mathematics and the Welsh Baccalaureate

Estyn’s report, ‘Preparing for the Digital Competence Framework’, gives an overview on how schools are beginning to ensure that pupils have opportunities to develop their digital competence. Inspectors visited schools many of which have been identified as having innovative and interesting strategies, which are captured in case studies.

Meilyr Rowlands, Chief Inspector, says,

Central to a successful education system is ensuring that the next generation are not only knowledgeable in an increasingly digital world, but stay safe online and acquire advanced digital skills to support their future employability.

Schools should be familiarising themselves with the new Digital Competence Framework, by creating a whole-school vision and putting this into practice. Our report outlines the key steps to starting this journey, making progress and then building and sustaining momentum.

The digital journey of Ysgol Gymraeg y Fenni in Monmouthshire involved radically rethinking its approach to new technology. Leaders changed the way that they planned their curriculum and established a programme of investment to ensure that the school’s digital infrastructure and hardware was fit to prepare pupils for life in the 21st century. Teachers’ and pupils’ confidence in digital skills is now far greater and pupils’ standards and progress are, in many cases, above that expected for their age.

Similarly, Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun, Rhondda Cynon Taf has a vision of digital learning that is contributing to a transformation in pupils’ and teachers’ use of technology, as well as to the school’s approach to online safety. This work has complemented the school’s overall approach to preparing for the new curriculum.

Inspectors found that the schools visited as part of the report were at various stages of preparedness for the new digital competence framework. The report makes a series of recommendations for all schools including appointing a digital lead who has full support of senior leaders, providing relevant training for teachers, and auditing ICT hardware and infrastructures. Local authorities, regional consortia and the Welsh Government have a key role to play in supporting schools to embed the framework in their curriculum.

Effective teaching is at the heart of school improvement and central to implementing a new curriculum in Wales. School leaders should encourage an open classroom culture where teachers are comfortable when reflecting on and sharing their practice.”

The report, “Religious education at key stage 2 and key stage 3’ evaluates standards, provision and leadership in religious education in schools. It also looks at pupils’ attitudes towards learning about religious education, how well the curriculum is planned, how well it is taught, led and assessed.  

Meilyr Rowlands, Chief Inspector, says,

Religious education should encourage pupils to explore a range of questions in a reflective, analytical and balanced way.  Pupils should have opportunities to consider aspects such as humanity’s quest for meaning.

We’ve found that the majority of 11-14 year-olds understand how religious education supports them to become informed global citizens and feel this helps them to contribute well in their local community. Case studies in the report outline good practice for schools to use.

The report highlights Dŵr-y-Felin Comprehensive School in Neath Port Talbot where teachers developed pupils’ interest through a project where they researched people with a religious background, using the theme of ‘Heroes and Villains’. Pupils worked collaboratively enhancing their evaluative and analytical skills. As a result, pupils had high levels of motivation, enthusiasm and engagement throughout the term.

Inspectors recommend that schools should ensure that more able pupils achieve standards of religious education in line with their ability, and strengthen transition arrangements between key stage 2 and key stage 3 to avoid repetition of work. In addition, schools should evaluate their curriculum for religious education in order to prepare for the development and implementation of the new Humanities Area of Learning and Experience as part of the new curriculum for Wales.