Primary schools show improvements while one Deeside secondary school slips into the red

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The Welsh Government’s colour coded schools performance data has been published today.

The National Categorisation System was been introduced in 2014 to help identify those schools in need of support to improve.

Schools are placed into one of four colour-coded support categories to demonstrate the level of support they need.

Each school’s category is determined by a range of factors including its performance data and capacity to improve in areas such as leadership and teaching and learning.

Under the system there are four categories – green, yellow, amber and red. Schools in the green category are deemed to be in need of the least support while schools in the red category are those identified as needing the most support.

According to the National Categorisation System, this year’s results show that there are fewer schools in Wales in need of the highest levels of support when compared to last year.

Similarly, there are more schools categorised as needing lower levels of support.

[miptheme_quote author=”Ian Budd, Chief Officer Education and Youth, Flintshire County Council” style=”boxquote text-left”]The purpose of the categorisation model is to agree which schools are in most need of support taking into account leadership, teaching and learning.

Step one is a data driven judgement using an agreed set of performance indicators.

Step two begins with the school’s own self-evaluation of their capacity to improve.

Step three is a colour-coded support category ensuring that we direct our support and resources to the right schools to raise standards. Each school’s categorisation is republished annually.

We welcome everything being done by school communities to improve provision and outcomes for learners.

This is reflected in the larger number of schools assessed as green and yellow support.

The regional school improvement service and local authority are working closely with remaining amber and red support schools to help them towards the green and yellow categories.[[/miptheme_quote]

Ratings stand in contrast with“disastrous” PISA results

The colour-coded school rating system results sit “at odds” with recent independent reports, which take a damning view of the Welsh education system, according to Darren Millar AM.

The Welsh Conservative Shadow Secretary for Education says that the improvements seen in today’s ratings stand in contrast with Wales’ “disastrous” PISA results and Estyn’s “critical” annual report.

Darren Millar AM said:

The disastrous PISA results, compounded by a critical Estyn annual report just over a week ago, stand at odds with the impression given by today’s ratings, which clearly demonstrate that the colour-coded evaluation system does not give an accurate picture of school performance in Wales.

The Welsh Labour-led Government must explain why the ratings they have published are so out of kilter with the independent assessments of performance undertaken by PISA and Estyn.

If we want an education system that competes with the best in the world, then we must be honest about the failings in Welsh schools – and work with the teaching profession and other stakeholders to solve them.”

Cabinet Secretary for Education Kirsty Williams said:

This system is not about grading, labelling or creating crude league tables but about providing support and encouraging improvement in our schools.

It is about putting schools into a position that helps them to identify areas they can strengthen and what they need to do achieve further improvements.

The figures we have published today show that 84.4% of primary and 64.6% of secondary schools are now in the green and yellow categories.

This increase is to be welcomed, as these schools will have a key role to play in supporting other schools, sharing their skills, expertise, and good practice.

Deeside Schools

Three Deeside secondary schools remained with the same colour coded categorisation as they did the previous year, Hawarden HS and Connah’s Quay are classed as yellow, same as in 2015.

John Summers stays red while St David’s HS in Saltney, one of the schools receiving pupils from John Summers once it closes, slips from amber to red.

Deeside primary schools have all either retained their positions or improved, Sealand CP has moved up from yellow to green as has Ysgol Cae’r Nant, Penarlag has moved from amber to yellow, none were classed as red.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]

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