MS says education system in Wales is in a 'fragile state'
MS for North Wales
To put it mildly, education system across Wales is in a fragile state.
One-fifth of pupils are leaving Welsh primary schools unable to read, and results from the global PISA education rankings see us lagging well behind at the bottom of the UK nations.
Those PISA tests showed that the performance of disadvantaged children in England is either above or similar to the average for all children in Wales.
The Labour Welsh Government have run education here since 1999, and it's fair to say the outcomes are disastrous as a result of deliberate policy decisions.
Labour's most recent big idea is to reduce the number of academic qualifications, so your child will no longer be able to do separate chemistry, physics, and biology GCSEs, for example.
Not only that, but there is a clear funding crisis.
That is particularly acute here in North Wales, and the numbers make for sobering reading.
Sixteen schools across Wrexham county are projected to end the 2024/25 financial year in deficit, which is two more than last year.
Forty staff have left schools this academic year, with sixty redundancies expected in September.
Those redundancy payouts for the last year came at a cost of £403,976 – the Council had originally budgeted for £200,000.
This simply isn't sustainable.
Education has been woefully mismanaged by Cardiff Labour for a quarter-century and they don't seem to have a coherent strategy to improve the situation.
Getting education right is vitally important.
It unlocks life opportunities for children and young people.
It's genuinely transformative when done right, particularly for those who come from poorer backgrounds.
When schooling goes wrong, it can plague that child or young person for the rest of their lives.
Just think of those one-fifth who leave primary school functionally illiterate – that is a huge block in terms of accessing jobs and being a fully capable person in the modern world.
A fair funding model would be a step back on the path to a great Welsh education system, but we also need to see a rigorous focus on academic achievement and proper discipline in schools.
That way, schools in Wrexham, Flintshire and the rest of Wales can ensure children are ready to play their full part in society for years to come.
As ever, if you'd like to get in touch then you can email me at sam.rowlands@senedd.wales
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