Neath Port Talbot’s poor school attendance record reflects the Welsh Government’s own poor performance on the issue says regional AM, Suzy Davies. It also calls into question the value of school banding.
“The authority’s schools did extremely well in terms of banding this summer. Five schools are in Band 1, three schools are in Band 2 and three schools are in Band 3. There are no Band 4 or 5 schools in the authority. One of the criteria by which banding is determined is school attendance. Yet the authority came last in the Wales ‘league table’ for attendance last year. No wonder parents and staff are confused.”
She continued: “Neath Port Talbot have a problem here, but the Labour Welsh Government must take responsibility as well. The Children and Young People Committee’s ‘Inquiry into Attendance and Behaviour’ reported that it had concerns over the slow progress in addressing attendance by the Welsh Government.
“I welcome the steps being taken by NPT Council to improve attendance but it needs the full support of the Welsh Government if we are going to see significant increases in attendance across the board. After all, if a child isn’t attending school, they are missing out on their education and we know that Wales’s PISA results have been a scandal as it is.”
