Raising attainment and standards a 'top priority' says Wales' education minister

Education Minister Lynne Neagle has re-affirmed her commitment to improving school attainment. She said her focus is on improving literacy, numeracy and attendance as well as closing the stubborn attainment gap between children from lower income backgrounds and their better off peers.

The Education Minister said she had already announced further support for the new curriculum, with some schools more advanced with Wales’ education reforms than others. Increases to the Pupil Development Grant were also aimed at work plugging the attainment gap. You can read all our GCSE resulrts updates here

With free school meals being rolled out to all primary aged pupils from this September Ms Neagle said it was important to still keep tabs on attainment of children whose family incomes would have made them eligible for free school meals under the old system. Parents are being asked to register as such “because it is important we still have the data”, she said.

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“I have been really clear that raising attainment and standards is my top priority. I have announced additional support for schools impeoving the new curriculum and am making a statement to the Senedd in the autumn.

“Attendance is a huge part of the effort to raise standards. We have seen some improvement but there is a lot more work to do.”

As chair of a task force on attendance set up by the Welsh Government before she took the education brief, Ms Neagle said she was looking especially at the work of family engagement officers and said she didn’t want the group to be a talking shop, but to deliver action rapidly.

“Attendance is a huge issue. Some persistent absence rates are high, especially for pupils eligible for free school meals.”

Visiting Pencoed Comprehensive School in Bridgend as students their collected their GCSE results the Education Minister acknowledged their education had been impacted by Covid, despite exam conditions returning to “normal” this summer.

This group of year 11s started their first year of secondary in September 2020 at the height of lockdowns and classroom closures. Masks, remote learning and the halting of normal school and social life will have had an impact.

“I would like to offer my congratulations to everyone who is receiving their results today,” she said, “You will have no doubt been impacted by the pandemic but receiving your results today is a big milestone.

“You should all be very proud of the hard work, dedication, and resilience you have shown. This year is our final step back towards pre-pandemic exam arrangements and today’s results are where we expected them to be with outcomes similar to 2019.

“I would also like to thank our teachers and education workforce who have worked incredibly hard to support our learners to succeed. Join our WhatsApp community group where you can get the latest stories delivered straight to your phone.