The big things going wrong in secondary schools in Wales

The man in charge of standards has detailed a series of problems in Wales' secondary schools. In his interim annual report, Chief Inspector of education Owen Evans highlighted a number of issues hampering pupils' development.

At the top of the list, Mr Evans said that because of “ineffective teaching” in a majority of secondaries, pupils’ literacy, numeracy and digital skills are not being developed well enough. Pupil absence, an ongoing problem right across Wales, is also highlighted once again, as are problems recruiting teachers in key subjects like science and the effects of combining subjects.

“In the majority of (secondary) schools, the proportion of ineffective teaching is too high and this results in pupils not making as much progress as they could,” Mr Evans says, adding "In a majority of (secondary) schools, leaders do not have a sufficiently strategic approach to developing pupils’ literacy, numeracy and digital skills across the curriculum. "

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In a hard hitting list the head of Estyn goes on to say that combining subjects rather than teaching them separately “often leads to a lack of depth and cohesion”. Worryingly the man responsible for overseeing school standards in Wales adds that “cross-curricular provision for the progressive development of pupils’ literacy, numeracy and digital skills is still weak in the majority of (secondary) schools” and that "in many secondaries "leaders have an overly positive view of the effectiveness of their provision".

The warning follows Wales’ continued poor ranking compared with the rest of the UK in international Pisa tests for literacy, numeracy and other skills. There has also been long standing concern about subjects being combined and removed from the curriculum in some schools as leaders struggle with stretched budgets.

Mr Evans repeats warnings from teaching unions about problems recruiting teachers and said most secondaries have less money. His report says teacher recruitment is a “significant concern” in secondaries particularly for subjects such as science and Welsh and, more generally, teachers that are able to teach through the medium of Welsh.

Mr Evans adds: “Most schools have seen their budget cut. Leaders are concerned about their ability to maintain current staffing levels and resources.”

The interim report, which comes ahead of the main report due in January, lists what is going well and what’s not across three areas in schools; teaching and learning, well-being, care, support and guidance and leading and improving. Of 31 secondaries inspected by Estyn in the 2023-25 academic year 20 (65%) were given a recommendation regarding improving progressive development of pupils’ skills through improvement of teaching, provision, planning, and/or “co-ordination”.

A further 21 secondary schools inspected (68%) were told by inspectors to strengthen self-evaluation and/or planning processes - a key part of Wales’ new curriculum. Nine of these schools were advised to focus on teaching, learning, and pupil progress and 48% were told to up attendance. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues affecting the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here.

This is what Evans says needs to improve, and what’s working in secondary schools in Wales:

Teaching and learning

What needs to improve:

• In general, schools do not develop pupils’ literacy, numeracy and digital skills progressively across the curriculum effectively enough.
• In the majority of schools, the proportion of ineffective teaching is too high and this results in pupils not making as much progress as they could.
• Weak planning in some areas, for example the humanities subjects, often leads to a lack of depth and cohesion. This is particularly often the case where schools have combined subjects rather than teaching them discretely.
• In many English-medium schools, there are too few opportunities for pupils to speak and listen to authentic Welsh.

What’s going well

• In many schools, teachers know their pupils well and foster positive relationships with them.
• In the majority of cases, teachers plan lessons carefully to meet pupils’ needs and many pupils make suitable progress in their subject knowledge as a result.
• The majority of pupils with ALN make secure progress against their individual targets.
• A majority of schools have designed a Curriculum for Years 7 and 8 which aligns with the expectations of the Curriculum for Wales. In the best cases, curriculum developments are aligned closely with developing teaching and learning.

Well-being, care, support and guidance

“Schools continue to provide strong care, support and guidance that impacts positively on pupils’ well-being but strategies to improve pupils’ attendance are not effective enough,” Mr Evans’ report warns.

What needs to improve:

• Attendance remains substantially lower than it was before the pandemic. The low attendance of pupils from low-income households is particularly concerning.
• The rate of persistent absence among secondary pupils is still too high.
• Many schools do not analyse attendance data including that of various groups of pupils carefully enough to identify patterns, nor do they review the effectiveness of their systems to improve attendance thoroughly enough.
• In a minority of schools, a few pupils exhibit poor behaviour. They do not engage well enough with teachers and disrupt their own learning and that of their peers.
• Many schools do not have sufficient specialism or expertise to manage the poor and complex behaviour of a few pupils.
• In general, there are not enough regular opportunities for pupils in Key Stage 4 and those in the sixth form to discuss important topics such as maintaining healthy relationships and mental health.
• Many schools do not regularly canvass pupils’ opinions on the quality of teaching or other strategic matters.

What’s going well

• Many schools place high importance on pupils’ well-being and ensure that they have appropriate systems in place to support their personal and emotional development.
• Many schools emphasise the importance of good attendance through regular communication with pupils and parents.
• Many schools have an appropriate behaviour policy and a suitable graduated response for dealing with poor behaviour.
• Many pupils have good attitudes to learning and benefit from a positive working relationship with school staff. They concentrate well during teacher instruction, respond suitably to tasks and generally develop independence and perseverance when given the opportunity to do so.
• Provision for pupils with additional learning needs is a strength in the majority of schools.
• Many schools are offering pupils increasing opportunities to participate in enrichment activities. These include school choirs, musical theatre productions, sports competitions and eisteddfodau.

Leading and improving

"Leaders continue to focus on equity and inclusion, and are making progress in the implementation of their Curriculum within the National Framework of Curriculum for Wales but the quality of self-evaluation remains a concern."

What needs to improve:

• In a majority of schools, leaders do not have a sufficiently strategic approach to developing pupils’ literacy, numeracy and digital skills across the curriculum.
• The quality and effectiveness of self-evaluation and improvement planning are weak in many schools.
• In many schools, leaders have an overly positive view of the effectiveness of their provision; this is particularly the case with regard to the quality of teaching, where leaders do not focus closely enough on its impact on pupil progress.
• In many cases, leaders have not made strong enough links between improving teaching and assessment and the planning and delivery of their Curriculum for Wales.
• Too often, professional learning activities are not targeted precisely enough on the specific aspects of teaching that require improvement; only a few schools evaluate their professional learning offer thoroughly enough.
• Teacher recruitment is a significant concern, particularly for a few subjects such as science and Welsh and, more generally, teachers that are able to teach through the medium of Welsh.
• Most schools have seen their budget cut. Leaders are concerned about their ability to maintain current staffing levels and resources.

What’s going well

• Leaders have established strong culture of safeguarding in nearly all schools.
• In many schools, leaders take appropriate steps to reduce barriers to learning for pupils who are impacted by poverty. In the best cases, high expectations, well-developed policies and comprehensive support systems are particularly effective in raising the attainment and attendance of this group of pupils and other vulnerable learners.
• The majority of schools are making appropriate progress with their arrangements for the ALNET Wales Act.
• In general, schools provide their staff with a range of helpful professional learning opportunities, including opportunities to share good practice.
• In most cases, governors discharge their responsibilities suitably and are supportive of schools. Where they are most effective, they are actively involved in setting the strategic direction of their school.

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