School performance improvement in Swansea

School performance in Swansea is improving, according to a new evaluation of all schools in Wales.

The Welsh Government’s categorisation system is not a league table of schools but aims to identify the appropriate level of support for each school according to need.

It reveals more than 80 per cent of Swansea schools are now in the top categories and need the least amount of support.

The majority of secondary schools have maintained or improved their position since last year and none are in the category requiring the highest level of support.

The majority of primary schools have also maintained or improved on their previous positions.

Swansea Council will be using the findings to help inform its work with schools and partners to target support and resources to secure improvement across all schools.

All schools will get some support even if they are categorised in the top bracket.

Schools in those categories requiring most support will now benefit from additional support and resources so they can advance their improvements too.

Cllr Jen Raynor, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Education, said: “I am pleased to see our prioritising of and investment in education and attainment is helping schools improve and giving youngsters a better chance to achieve their full potential.

“It is also credit to teachers and I would like to thank parents, carers and other family members for the support they give their children too.

“We continue to provide targeted assistance to schools ranging from challenge and support for teaching staff to improving school facilities and buildings.

“These latest findings are in line with areas we have already identified as benefitting most from increased support and will further inform and underpin the work already under way.”

Betsan O’Connor, managing director of the ERW alliance of six local authorities including Swansea which are working together to deliver further education improvements, welcomed the results.

She said: “It’s pleasing to see schools are becoming more resilient and now need less support. It is also good to see a change in culture, as increasingly the support is coming from other schools.

“There will be some schools which are disappointed about elements of the outcomes published, but we will be providing support for those schools in the areas identified for improvement.”

The Welsh Government’s categorisation system for primary and secondary schools is available on the My Local School website from 10.30am on January 28^th.

The national school categorisation system is based on three steps:

* Step one is a data-driven judgement using an agreed set of performance measures provided by the Welsh Government.

* Step two begins with the school’s own self-evaluation of their capacity to improve in relation to leadership, teaching and learning.

* Step three is the combination of the two judgements that will lead to a colour-coded support category for the school which will trigger a tailored programme of support, challenge and intervention. This is agreed between the local authority and regional consortium.