Core Aim 2 - Have access to a comprehensive range of education, training and learning opportunities, including acquision of essential personal and social skills

In addition to the research that Feinstein carried out on pre-school children (see Core Aim 1.2), which linked the development of a child with their socio-economic background, he also identified that the gap that exists at 22 months widen with the child’s age and through all levels of the education system.

Attainment in primary and secondary schools is closely linked to social class. Schools that admit pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds will encounter more educational and behavioural difficulties than schools whose intake is more advantaged.

Foundation phase: The support and stimulation children receive in their early years fundamentally affects their abilities and potential throughout life. The early years of a child’s life form the basis for their future development. During the early years there is the opportunity to enhance each child’s disposition to learning, and to start them on the road to being 'lifelong learners'. The Foundation Phase is a vital part of the journey which is based on learning through play, active involvement, practical activities and enhances creativity, knowledge, skills and understanding.

7-14yrs: Attainment in school makes an important contribution to boost children and young people’s wider outcomes. Low attainment during school years is a strong indicator of children having poor outcomes in later life.  For example, evidence suggests that learning to read during the primary school years is crucial. 

Pupils entering secondary school without basic literacy skills struggle to access the curriculum and are at substantial risk of falling further behind their peers. Pupils registering in the bottom 20% of reading skills at age ten, for example, are up to four times more likely not to be entered for any public examinations at age 16 than good readers at age 10 with similar social disadvantage risk factors.

Under-achievement in Key Skills is further reflected in longer-term life outcomes, with poor reading skills in primary school associated with higher unemployment, lower than average wages and poorer health outcomes.  Research by the KPMG Foundation has calculated the cost to the public purse of the 40,000 pupils in England and Wales with very low skills. It estimated that between £44,797 and £53,098 a head is spent during half a lifetime in areas such as special needs provision, truancy, exclusion from school, reduced job opportunities, social costs of teenage pregnancy and drug use, increased health risks and costs associated with an increased risk of ending up in the criminal justice system.

The transition from primary to secondary school leaves many pupils at a disadvantage.  This is especially true of vulnerable groups of young people. 

14-19yrs: The Assembly believes that all young people from 14-19 should be able to have an individually tailored ‘learning pathway’ to meet their needs, enabling them all to experience success.  There is a continuous drive to improve school performance, in particular, by raising standards in schools that have the furthest to go to meet their targets.

The Learning Pathways agenda, the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification and other associated legislation creates a need for curriculum and other developments to be supported in all learning settings in the 14-19 phase. 

Qualifications gained whilst at school are important for children and young people’s ability to succeed in their working lives. Although it is possible to do well without qualifications, it is not easy, and some children leave school having not reached their full potential.

The importance of education, training, skills and learning to Wales continues to grow as more individuals and businesses recognise the benefits of lifelong learning in both their personal and professional lives.

Inclusion and absenteeism

Levels of attendance across all ages are very low in Merthyr Tydfil. In both primary and secondary schools, our levels of all absences is the second highest in Wales and both are substantially higher than the Welsh average.

However, our level of unauthorised absence is relatively low and certainly well below the Welsh average. Whilst this is a success in itself and points to the presence of good monitoring systems in place within the schools to monitor unauthorised absence, it also points towards the fact that overall levels of approved absenteeism are high and that there must be underlying factors influencing this.

Communities that Care Risk Audit for Merthyr Tydfil:

Recent work carried out in Merthyr Tydfil, questioning nearly 1,800 year 7-11 pupils at two secondary schools, provides much interesting information about pupils’ attitude towards school and suggests at reasons behind the high levels of absenteeism and poor attainment.

Commitment to school:

·        31% of pupils questioned felt that their school subjects were slightly or very dull

·        33% said that in the past year, they had rarely or never enjoyed being in school

·        31% had played truant from school in the past year, 2% had done so for days or weeks at a time

·        6% felt that on the whole, their schoolwork was not very important, or not at all important for their later lives.

The last two responses are significantly higher than those given from the national sample. Within Merthyr, pupils from the Gurnos area were significantly more likely to report not enjoying school or admit to truancy than those from other areas of Merthyr.

Exclusions:

12% of pupils questioned said they had been excluded from school at some stage, with 7% and 2% citing suspensions and expulsions respectively in the past year. These figures are all significantly above the national sample.

Boys account for three quarters of the exclusions and expulsions, and four fifths of the suspensions.

Parental guidance and supervision:

This is recognised as being hugely influential on the attitudes of pupils to school. The CtC audit asked pupils about family risk factors and the results follow a similar pattern to those shown above.

·        20% of pupils felt that if they played truant, they would not be caught by their parents

·        19% said that their parents did not ask them regularly whether they had done their homework

·        9% felt that their families did not have clear rules about alcohol and drugs

All these figures are significantly worse than those from the national sample. They also worsened for pupils in years 9-11 compared to those in years 7 and 8. Parental involvement with homework was significantly lower in Cyfarthfa (11%) compared to Merthyr as a whole (19%).

Attitudes towards problem behaviour:

These are also indicative of underlying problems. When asked about their parents’ attitudes towards various antisocial behaviours, the following responses were given.

·        17% said that if they drank alcohol regularly, their parents would feel it was only a bit wrong or not wrong at all

·        5% said if they played truant, their parents would feel it was only a bit wrong or not wrong at all

·        7% said if they smoked cigarettes, their parents would feel it was only a bit wrong or not wrong at all

Again, these figures are all significantly worse than the national sample. They were also significantly worse for years 9-11 compared to years 7 and 8.

Vulnerable Children and Young People:

Some groups of children are particularly vulnerable to poor outcomes.  Children and young people in special circumstances do not always achieve their full potential in the education system.  The transition from primary to secondary school leaves many pupils at a disadvantage.  This is especially true of vulnerable groups of young people.  This group also needs additional support for the transition from Key Stage 4 into a positive outcome.

The Welsh Assembly Government Guidance Inclusion and Pupil Support (2005) lists those children and young people who should be considered under the overall heading of vulnerable and with additional needs:

·        Pupils from Minority Ethnic (ME) Groups

·        Children of families seeking asylum or who have refugee status / unaccompanied asylum seeking children

·        Gypsies and Travellers

·        Pupils with Severe Complex and / or Specific Learning Difficulties (special educational needs)

·        Pupils with a Disability

·        More able and talented pupils

·        Children and young people looked after by the local authority

·        Pupils with medical needs

·        Young parents and pregnant young women

·        Young offenders

·        Children of families in difficult circumstances

·        Young carers

·        Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pupils

·        School phobics and school refusers

·        Pupils who perform or who are employed

·        Bullied Children and Young People

Health, Social Care and Wellbeing Strategy  Consultation:

One workshop dealt specifically with how young people viewed those who worked with them, what qualities they wanted from teachers and youth workers, what they wanted included in their curriculum and other issues that concerned them. Their feedback is highlighted below:

Personal qualities of staff working with young people

Down to earth, Patient, good listening skills, good communication skills, Can give clear instructions, Flexible, honest, Friendly, Trustworthy, Ability to give young people responsibility, Treat people equally, Knowledge of different lifestyles, Must not put people down, can motivate young people

Curriculum Issues

Lessons made more attractive

Lessons should be interesting and fun

Lessons more activity based and interactive

More vocational options like Automotive project, Dolygaer

Provide skills for young people

Make learning meaningful (not abstract)

Lessons should be explained, what is being done? Why it is being done?

Staff are properly trained & educated

Teachers should not put too much pressure on young people

Need skill-based people

Youth workers should have access to skills training

'Young people to get qualified'

They should be properly skilled

Should have summer schools

More options should be available

More time allowed for assignments

More study leave should be available

Need better careers advice

More Youth Service provision in schools

More support should be given to help young people with course work

Should have 'life skills' programmes e.g. How to manage and pay bills, Finance skills

Need to be able to explore opportunities not just given sheets of paper with information on things we have expressed an interest in

Teachers & tutors have a good knowledge of what they are talking about

Career information should come with an explanation of what particular careers involve

Different learning strategies should be applied to suit the learning styles of individual learners

There should be 'community schools' to provide a broad range of activities

Options made available should be done after consultation with young people

Teachers should be shown good teaching strategies

Other Issues

Policy development

Young people should have an input into policies being developed that affect them

Policies affecting young people should come with accountability to young people

Bullying strategies

Teachers need to be better trained in dealing with bullying

Teachers need to be seen to take action on bullying

Some 'real' action is needed to address the problem

Some young people are too scared to attend school

You need people involved in dealing with bullying that have had real experiences of bullying to understand what it is about and how to deal with it

Some teachers are bullies themselves and bully some young people

Merthyr Tydfil has a disproportionate number of young people claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance. In July 2007, there were 540 such young people (aged 18-24yrs), which amounted for 42.9% of all claimants. This is compared to the national average of 36.1%, a difference that has been present for the past ten years.

Despite poor attainment at Key stages 2 and 3, there is evidence that good practice exists within schools in Merthyr Tydfil, and in great quantity. This shows that schools are overcoming the deprived social and economic background that many of their pupils come from, compared to many other areas in Wales, and allowing their pupils as full an opportunity as possible to maximise their achievements and personal development.

Given the circumstances that many pupils find themselves in when they enter the education system, a comparison between Merthyr Tydfil and other local authority areas based on attainment alone is misleading, as this does not consider the circumstances of the pupils. As previously stated in this Core Aim, much evidence exists to indicate that a pupil’s developmental potential is decided long before they begin full time education. Given this fact, much of the good work being conducted by schools in Merthyr Tydfil is hidden because it does not necessarily have a proportional effect on attainment at each Key stage level.

The most recent Estyn Inspection Reports for the four high schools in the County Borough all highlight good performance

Afon Taf (Inspected March 2002):

“..is an improving school, with considerable improvement in standards of achievement and quality of teaching.” 67% of classes are rated as good or better and 9% of lessons are very good, figures which greatly exceed NAW targets. “Pupils are confident, expressing ideas, reasons and opinions clearly and in detail. They prepare and deliver good quality presentations in class and to a wider audience in school assemblies and in local and national competitions.” Reading and writing skills are good, pupil’s social and moral development is very good and there is a very good range of extra curricular activities. Partnerships with parents, the community, other institutions and industry are very good.

Bishop Hedley (October 2001):

“..continues to be a good school and it has improved since the last inspection. It has a strong sense of community, based on shared values. Pupils achieve well…” Examination results improved from the previous inspection and exceeded the national average for five or more A*-C at GCSE in 2000. 75% of classes were good or very good, again a significant improvement from their previous inspection. There were many good features to the social and cultural development of pupils, who are outgoing and welcoming to visitors. Behaviour is good, in a relaxed but orderly community. The school’s bullying policy is highlighted as a strength.

Cyfarthfa High School (February 2003):

“..is a very good school with many strengths. It is very successful in terms of its ethos, standards of achievement and quality of teaching.” Again, the school has improved since the previous inspection. It also has a “clear educational direction and a shared commitment to implement improvements. A culture of continuous improvement is very well established and is very effective.” 89% of classes are good or better. Pupil’s moral, social and cultural development is very good, they have a very clear sense of right and wrong and have respect for their peers, teachers, other adults and the environment. There is also a very good range of extra curricular activities that extends pupils’ social and cultural development.

Pen y Dre High School (March 2003):

“Through a range of enterprising initiatives, it serves pupils and its community very well.” 59% of classes are good or better, which exceeds the target set by NAW for that year and has risen substantially since the last inspection. Pupil’s moral and spiritual development is good. There is a rich variety of extra curricular clubs and activities in school and the wider community

School Numbers On Register figures (Plasc returns, January 2007):

The full breakdown of pupil numbers by school, are shown in the attached Excel table. The abbreviated table is below: