Speaking in a Welsh Conservative debate on stretching talented and able young people, Angela Burns AM, Shadow Minister for Education, said:
I am pleased to move the motion tabled in the name of William Graham. The Welsh Conservatives have brought forward today’s debate because we believe that stretching the best & brightest of our children will not only enhance their lives but will help to secure a more prosperous future for Wales.
We are proposing that the National Assembly;
Recognises that to improve educational standards and attainment across Wales there must be a focus on stretching pupils of all abilities. I cannot believe that any of the Parties present could quarrel with that assertion.
Rather than setting the bar at average we should be asking that all excel and therefore by stretching our most able and talented pupils we must also support those who are underachieving or disengaged to raise their aspirations.
We are also asking that the National Assembly; Regrets that the capabilities of many able and talented pupils are not challenged enough in Welsh schools and I am surprised that Plaid Cymru have tabled an amendment to delete this point.
I think they are being too hasty in this matter, I would draw your attention to the report compiled by Estyn in July last year regarding the support that able & talented children receive in our primary schools. It is more than a mixed bag; the examples of best practice are far outweighed by the examples of indifferent practice.
I use the term indifferent advisedly, supporting able & talented pupils requires intervention, bespoke programmes, clear initiatives but according to Estyn in the majority of primary schools not only are the more able & talented pupils not identified and supported but the Teachers in those schools do not have the expertise to identify and then support those pupils.
The picture in secondary schools also appears to be quite varied, the more talented and motivated are often able to achieve support in a particular field through a dedicated subject teacher but their progress all too often remains uncharted.
“Innovation in Key Stage 3” (2010) states that only a very few secondary schools identify more able & talented pupils through data received from their partner primary school, resulting in low teacher expectations and poor provision to extend the learning experiences of these pupils as they begin key stage 3”
The latest figures from StatsWales show that fixed term exclusions more than triple from Year 6, the last year in Primary to Year 7 the first year of secondary as pupils struggle to cope with the transition. And some of those pupils are amongst the brightest and most able but their social skills, their emotional maturity cannot cope with that transition.
Estyn states that the quality of transition between schools is a significant factor in the long term success of pupils. Estyn goes on to say that this is particularly the case for those who are more able & talented because they provide an even greater challenge for the receiving school.
Where transition systems are poor and the receiving school starts afresh with each new pupil the more able tend to suffer the most. Work is too easy for them and secondary school teacher’s expectations are not high enough. This leads to frustration and often negative attitudes to school that can lead to disengagement from learning.
That is one of the many cogent reasons why the Welsh Conservatives have called for a middle phase in education to encompass 8 to 13 year olds as a significant number of children in that age group struggle at this time in their lives.
Thankfully it is only some 2,000 who end up being permanently excluded but each of those 2,000 is a marker of 2,000 instances where WE have got it wrong and subsequently rescuing those children is incredibly difficult.
My final reason for why I cannot accept the deletion of point 2 is that we have a situation where almost no local authorities use data to monitor the progress of the more able & talented pupil and there is very little evidence of best practice being shared amongst the education community.
School Improvement officers seldom discuss how to measure and stretch the more Able and Talented pupil when they visit schools and educational psychologists are not involved either.
So I do regret that the capabilities of many able and talented pupils are not challenged enough in Wales and I don’t see the evidence that would support the deletion of this point.
And this is such a vital point because the evidence is that some 20% of Welsh Children would fall into the able and talented category. Just to clarify, that is 20% of children who require enriched or extended opportunities to develop their abilities or talents in one or more areas.
Estyn and the Government identify these children as individuals who require greater support in learning than that provided for the majority of pupils. They are pupils who are more able across the national curriculum and should be capable of achieving above the expected level in the end of key stage teacher assessments. They also include those pupils who show ability or are particularly talented in one or more specific areas such as music, drama, art or sport.
Let me give you some examples;
Ysgol Dyfrrn Taf in Whitland won the Award for School Team of the Year in the Pearson Teaching Awards 2011. Their amazing sports programme identifies the talented and today they have not one but 2 alumni in the Welsh Rugby Team, Mike Phillips and Jonathan Davies and they were nominated by the successful Scarlets player and also an ex-student Dan Newton.
Greenhill School in Tenby has an outstanding school orchestra which was joint winner of the 2009 Music for Youth Finals, has appeared in those finals many times, won the National Urdd Competition and regularly produced finalist in the Young Musician of Wales. They are children who are truly gifted musically, inspired by an electric teacher and supported by school and parents.
20% of extraordinary talent lurks in Welsh schools, we need to extract it, nurture it and let it blossom which is why I cannot support Plaid Cymru’s first amendment. I totally understand the principle but I fear that adopting that focus would lead the Government to only target those children and the great majority would again be left to plod along as best they could.
Whereas stretching and supporting 20% of talented pupils throughout Wales would reap huge benefits for every child in education.
Evidence shows that teaching and learning strategies which have the most positive impact on the more able pupils also improve standards within the school for pupils of all abilities. As the Teachers within those schools expect their most able pupils to achieve the best they can they also challenge all pupils to reach the highest standards.
What I would say is that children from disadvantaged backgrounds should receive specific support to overcome barriers to their learning including nurture groups and guidance for their families.
A clearly defined and implemented policy, I know there is one, it’s just not working very well, would enable all our children to benefit and would enhance the calibre of students within our Further and Higher Education sectors.
I would briefly address Amendment 3; it’s inaccurate, look at the evidence.
Amendment 4; another paean of praise for the Liberal Democrats in supporting a woolly and ineffective Welsh Government budget and finally Amendment 5.
We do need to keep track of where we are in relation to international comparators and the disingenuous reasons for discarding the monitoring of spending per pupil in Wales in unworthy even for this administration.
Finally Llywydd we should reflect that stretching our most able & talented pupils not only serves them but serves us.
High quality learning is strongly linked with higher earnings, lower chances of becoming unemployed, better health and reduced crime. It enhances productivity, drives economies and underpins culture.
Whether a scientist or an artist, a captain of industry or a self-employed business person, public sector, private sector, voluntary sector, team player or individualist. The development of the strengths of that 20% of able & talented pupils with the concomitant raising of learning, achievements and aspirations throughout our schools benefits the individual, our society and our economy.
I commend this motion to the chamber.
