Schools in Wales will receive instructions on plans to improve literacy and numeracy before the end of this term, according to the new cabinet minister for education, Anna Brychan. She stated she will not rule out additional or different tests and more data to gain a clearer understanding of how the system needs to improve.
Brychan said education in Wales has not met expectations since devolution and she intends to address this without delay. The plans will be published, and the minister emphasized the need for open conversations about how best to enhance performance.
Current State of Education
“Education has not been doing as well as it should,” said Brychan. “We are not where we want to be. We have not been where we want to be in the period since devolution, and one party has been in power all that time. So there is a challenge to resolve here.”
She added: “The main priority is literacy and numeracy. I have already told schools I want to communicate about that before the end of this term. What we will need to understand is where we are nationally at school level.”
Data and Testing
While testing and data already exist, the minister said the picture of strengths and weaknesses is not clear enough. She won't rule out more comparative data, which she said is not to criticize schools but to show more clearly what is working, what is not, and how to address that.
“We don't have a huge amount of data, so we need to know now what literacy and numeracy across Wales' schools looks like. We will concentrate on year six and seven primarily, but we need information for the whole school system. We already have tests from years two to nine, and those tests produce data which we can use to inform the system. The data will tell us where we are now and where we need to get to. It's not a one-size-fits-all, but we need data to best use our resources and see where there's good practice.”
“Clarity and expectation around literacy and numeracy has not been there from the last government.”
Comparative Data Controversy
When asked about the controversy surrounding comparative data—which led to the shelving of school color-coded rankings introduced by previous Labour governments—Brychan said she will not reintroduce those, but new tests to assess children cannot be ruled out.
“Data is a balance. Some testing was removed because it skewed the curriculum. When we publish the plans, and know if we need more data, then we can revisit whether we need more tests. Conversations about testing are loaded but may be conversations worth having. We want the data to be shared more too. Sharing data publicly is helpful because it helps you understand where the system is. But if it is not comparable, it is not helpful.”
Pisa Rankings
With curricula and GCSEs now so different across the devolved nations, Pisa is the only directly comparable performance data with other UK nations and the world. All eyes will be on the next three-yearly Pisa results due in September. The new education minister will want to show she is ahead of the situation before that.
Wales has consistently lagged behind other UK nations in Pisa rankings for literacy and numeracy, despite promises to improve scores by successive education ministers in the previous administration. Brychan said Pisa is only useful to a certain extent to show how schools have performed, but it is important and she takes it seriously.
“Pisa is helpful but retrospective. It tells you something about learners who have been through the system. It is useful in telling you how learners apply knowledge, but for the cohort who take Pisa, it is not useful. If we have common understanding of data and expand on that, it gives us a really thorough data set, and Pisa doesn't do that.”
For this reason, a new set of data—and possibly new tests—may be needed to get a clearer picture of literacy and numeracy across Wales and at different ages. Pisa is only taken by 15-year-olds every three years and does not provide a wide enough view.
Free Childcare and School Readiness
Brychan said Plaid's flagship policy to extend free childcare is part of its focus on education. With schools alarmed at rising numbers of children arriving at school needing help with independent eating, toilet training, and communication, it is hoped pre-school childcare may help.
Teachers have warned, especially since the pandemic, that valuable early learning time is lost to helping very young children with issues like potty training and independent eating and dressing. Plaid has pledged to expand free childcare provision to 20 hours weekly for 48 weeks each year for children from nine months to four years old.
“Post-Covid, everyone is dealing with school readiness,” said Brychan. “Our childcare policy aligns with support for school readiness so that we understand the needs of children. The childcare offer is part of education as well as anti-poverty. It has got a lot of purposes, but when we are thinking about the education system in Wales, we need to communicate what it is like from the moment children enter school.”
Behaviour and Attendance
She is also keen to address persistent problems of bad behaviour and low attendance—both of which have worsened since Covid and classroom closures during the pandemic. “Poverty, behaviour, and absence are linked. Attendance nationally is creeping up, but we will have conversations with schools and local education authorities about how they can get support around that. The focus of this government is on poverty in Wales and how that impacts families. Health and education are linked. The thread running through this is poverty.”
Funding for Education
She promised to fight for education funding. While she expects to be pushing against an open door for that within Cardiff Bay, the UK Labour government may be harder to squeeze more money from. “This Plaid Cymru Welsh Government has put education as one of its five priorities, and that's not always been done,” said Brychan. “That comes with a powerful platform to argue for money for education. We are committed to advocate for education.”
She said it could not be a matter of swinging between arguing for money for health versus education. “Education is linked to health. Education ultimately is such a lynchpin about how we think about the Wales we want to see—and effective education.”
Background of the Minister
As she starts her job, Brychan comes with a wealth of education knowledge and contacts. A former Plaid director of communications and chief executive, she led the head teachers’ union NAHT Cymru for 10 years. She was also assistant dean at the Athrofa Centre for Education at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.
Starting her new brief, Brychan said she wants to get out and meet teachers and school leaders. She has committed to visiting at least one school every week and wants a dialogue with educators.
