Welsh medium 'victim of success'

Colette Hume BBC Wales education correspondent

Four-in-five seven-year-olds did well in core subjects, says Estyn report

There's some good news - and not such good news for education in Wales.

Overall standards in schools are continuing to improve.

This year 81% of seven-year-olds reached at least level two - the level expected of them - in the core subjects of English or Welsh, Maths or Science, and at Key Stage 2.

But the chief inspector's report also points to problems. It seems that Welsh-medium education is becoming a victim of its own success.

The chief inspector says good progress in pupil's literacy skills have contributed to improved results in English, maths and science.

Too many pupils in temporary classrooms of poor quality including problems with dampness, leaks and not enough space for practical activities Susan Lewis

At Key Stage 3 - 11 to 14-year-olds, there were improvements in Welsh and English, but the report says maths results didn't improve and science results were not as good as last year.

At GCSE level, there has been only a slight increase in the number of pupils gaining five good GCSEs at grade C or above while at A-level the results are slightly lower than 2004.

In terms of the quality of the education our children are receiving, inspectors gave top grades to 72% of lessons in primary and secondary schools inspected.

Girls continue to outperform boys in every part of Wales and at primary and secondary schools.

'Diverse backgrounds'

But standards in Welsh as a first language were good or very good in only 60% of lessons - lower than in any other subject.

The report notes that the popularity of Welsh-medium education means children from much more diverse backgrounds are moving into the sector.

Girls are still outperforming boys in primary and secondary schools

It includes more and more pupils who have what the report calls "greater difficulty in learning and who have less supportive backgrounds."

In north and west Wales, the report says, more pupils come from non-Welsh speaking homes, meaning that the proportion of children who already have language skills is falling.

Many teachers, the report says, are finding it difficult to change the way they teach to meet the needs of these new groups of pupils.

The biggest area of concern is, says Susan Lewis, the quality of work-based training courses - 28% of providers inspected had shortcomings or many shortcomings.

But what's happening inside schools is only part of the report.

The chief inspector also reports on the condition of Wales' school buildings and her report says that four-in-10 primary schools have shortcomings in their accommodation.

Too many children work in "poor quality temporary accommodation"

The problems include "too many pupils in temporary classrooms of poor quality including problems with dampness, leaks and not enough space for practical activities."

The problem of a declining birth-rate also has an impact on education and the chief inspector is critical of local authorities for being slow to reduce the number of spare schools.

The report says if the number of schools matched the number of pupils who actually need a place, 275 average-sized primary schools could be closed and 26 secondary schools.

That's bad news for campaigners across the country who are battling to save their schools from closure or merger as the birth-rate here in Wales continues to plummet.

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