Due to Andy's absence, the University have gone to such an effort to find guest lecturers to cover the 'What is Education' module. Despite the fact that a very rude girl said that she thought that the University has dealt with Andy's absence terribly, which is completely unfair, considering an illness is not something you have complete control over, I feel that they have done brilliantly. The idea to bring guests lecturers (some of whom, hold very high positions in Welsh education) really shows us how 'education' operates in the real world. It is great to have an additional insight on many other perspectives on a topic we're all studying!
9th January 2012- We had our first guest lecturer! I thought he really engaged us and presented the information (Which may have initially been quite dull in all honesty) in a way that stimulated our thinking. He also gave us general background knowledge of Wales, which is always interesting and contextually useful. Apparently 50% of people living in Wales, either live in the south or south/east, and because of this, there are many rural schools in the north, central and south/west Wales. Another statistic that surprised me was the use of the Welsh language, according to the guest lecturer only 20% of Primary schools and 15% of Secondary schools use Welsh as a main language. The lecturer went on to say that there is also a shortage of Welsh-medium headteachers with the NPQH. Does this then mean the Welsh language is a dying one? Coming from England, this is all new to me, but what I have gathered from such information is that, gradually less and less people are learning the Welsh language, especially in the South. Through evidence that the Welsh education as a whole can improve, it has been proposed that the 22 local Welsh authorities should change into 4 consortia.
After finding out a few years a go that Welsh child were not performing as well academically compared to their foreign counterparts, there was large focus on the education system in the country. In the 2006 PISA report (A report produced by the OECD every 4 years which makes child across the world sit the same test) showed that Wales did make a progress, but it was uneven and needed to be further advanced. Yet, it is important to take into account that Wales does not publish league tables, unlike many other countries, so the OECD could chose schools which perform very well, as shown in their league tables. Despite this, the Welsh education systems aim to improve the curriculum and teaching, leadership, working with others, networks of professional practice, intervention, support, improvement and accountability.
16th January 2012- Today we had an employee, Russell Grigg of Estyn (the Welsh equivalent of OFSTED.) Estyn inspects quality and standards in education and training providers in Wales. It was interesting how he highlighted the fact that quality and standards were two very different things. Quality is your experience, and the standard is the level you reach. Estyn also provide advice to the Welsh Assembly Government on the quality and standards of educational environment. As a whole, it is clear to see that their aim is to spread and promote good educational practice in Wales. According to Estyn, the three main things to consider when inspecting is accountability, ways to improve and to inform. Most of Estyn's employees are ex-teachers, who write reports on individual institutions and Wales as a whole.) I felt as if this was a very good idea; employing ex-teachers mean they also have people who have experienced the Welsh educational system in a physical environment, not just through statistics and research. When inspecting there are three things to consider: 1) How good are the outcomes? 2)How good is provision? 3) How good are leadership and management? Through these three main assessments, the inspector can produce a good conclusion about the school or educational institute. Like OFSTED, Estyn use a ranking system to assess different aspects of a school. For example attendance would be classed as 'excellent,' 'good, 'adequate' or 'unsatisfactory.' It was interesting to see their use of adequate, Russell told us that the word was not very liked, yet, still, Estyn chose to use it, as it encourages the educational institute to do better.
Persuming that Estyn is the Welsh equivalent to OFSTED, I have first-hand experience to how they can influence a school. My first secondary school (St.Neots community college- now Ernulf community college) was placed into special measures due to the poor services it offered, this was clearly shown in the fact that only 44% of year 11's got 5 A*-C in their GCSE's. The same year (or the year before) we were put into special measures, which meant we had regular inspections as well as many other things. Yet, through OFSTED's infleunce, the school has risen out of it's 'darker days' and has become a far better school, for example in 2010, the GCSE 5 A*-C pass rate rose to 50% and in 2011 they rose to an impressive 60% pass rate. Despite the fact, that this is lower than many other local schools, through OFSTED's assistance and guidance, the school has come through leaps and bounds and is once again thriving. This just shows the impact of such companies like Estyn and OFSTED,) they really do help and improve learning for children.
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