Welsh report shows education is “uniting in a mission of self-improvement”

Welsh education secretary, Kirsty Williams, has welcomed the Estyn Annual Report from the Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, which shows that Wales’ education system is “uniting in a mission of self-improvement”.

The report found there is “enough excellence across Welsh education to support improvement and help reduce variability” and that there is a “spirit of cooperation” with the teaching profession in developing a new curriculum.

The report also welcomes: the establishment of a National Academy of Educational Leadership; a “more systematic approach” to how pupils learn, apply and practise their literacy and numeracy across the curriculum; major changes in how professional learning is organised; improvements in attendance and behaviour; strengths in learner wellbeing, care, support and guidance, and learning environment; and strengthened links between higher and further education.

Welcoming the report, Kirsty Williams said: “Our national mission for education seeks to raise standards, reduce the attainment gap and deliver an education system that is a source of national pride and enjoys public confidence.

“It is clear from reading this report that there is sustained momentum in Welsh education; a culture of self-improvement that is embedded in the system and, most importantly, owned by those working in the profession”