Until about 10 years ago, I used to get paid to stand in the street and stop people and ask their opinions on the issues of the day. Some people would stop, some would shout abuse. In fact, when you think about it, my life hasn’t changed that much at all. I’m pretty confident that, if I were to do a vox pop today and ask people which they were most concerned about, the PISA report or the Estyn report, I’d be met with blank looks. Most people don’t obsess about these things, but they have a view of their local school, and it’s usually positive.

Of course, for most people, schools are much more than about data; they are focal points for their communities. Before becoming an Assembly Member, I spent 10 years as a primary school governor, seven of those as an active chair in a successful school, a school whose leadership did not take the deprivation of their community as an excuse for performance but as a spur for excellence. One of the things I learned was the value of data properly used to direct teaching and learning to try and ensure every child achieves their potential.

If I was stopped for a vox pop, I would say I am far more concerned about the Estyn report than I am about the PISA rankings. I don’t dismiss the importance of PISA; I think it’s right that we take notice of it. But, to my mind, the annual report of the chief inspector of schools contains far more worrying conclusions about the day-to-day performance of our schools. It’s these issues that determine whether we can create a successful schools system, which, ultimately, is what PISA measures.

I just want to focus on a few points from the report about schools that jump out at me. Clearly, we have a problem with the quality of teaching. Estyn regards teaching as one of the weakest aspects of the education system. We should be clear: there is some world-class teaching in Welsh schools—world class—but there is far too much variation;

‘the gap between providers that are doing well and those that are not is still too wide’, the chief inspector of schools says in his annual report. And, as the report notes, the Donaldson curriculum reforms will demand more of our teachers, particularly in digital learning, an area where the report tells us there are only ‘very few schools’ excelling and many are completely failing to equip young people with these essential skills for the modern world.

As well as addressing the recruitment and initial teacher training of teachers, as the Welsh Government is, Estyn argues we need to address professional learning and development for current teachers, an area we have neglected—and, I would add, not just for teachers. Very nearly half of our school staff work in a support role. They are critical to the success of our education system, but we do not value them, we do not train them well, and we do not pay them well enough.

The Cabinet Secretary has already started work on improving leadership in our schools, and I strongly support that. Being a headteacher is an enormously challenging role. You can spot a great one a mile off, and I am in awe of them. I’m always amazed at the range of skills needed to be an excellent head, a mastery of everything from the plumbing to pedagogy. The best, Estyn found, know the strengths and weaknesses of teaching in their institutions. But, in providers where teaching has shortcomings, Estyn says,

‘leaders do not have a clear idea of what needs to be improved and self-evaluation reports are often thin on detail regarding teaching.’

Leadership is the key to addressing these shortcomings. I find it very worrying that, in Carmarthenshire, there are currently 23 schools without a permanent headteacher. I am encouraged that seven out of 10 primary schools inspected this year are good or better, which is a little better than last year, but it is deeply troubling that just four out of ten of our secondary schools are judged to be good or better—the same as last year—with just a quarter having some excellence, down from 38 per cent last year.

Now, just as we should celebrate excellence, we should not tolerate mediocrity—we all know it when we see that, too, but the system doesn’t call it out. Governors do not challenge it enough and mediocre heads often surround themselves with mediocre governors to ensure they’re not challenged. Local education authorities do not do enough to deal with underperforming heads. One of my disappointments with the end of the Schools Challenge Cymru project is that it’s ending before some of the leadership shortfalls have been fully confronted in our poorest-performing schools.

I was very concerned to hear the chief inspector of schools tell the Public Accounts Committee some months ago that he did not propose to inspect LEAs in the next inspection round, but he would instead focus on the regional consortia. Clearly, they have some explaining to do for the variability in performance across schools, particularly secondary schools, but I would ask the Cabinet Secretary to reflect on whether we can afford to take the eye off LEAs.

Surely, the lesson of the last 20 years of the devolution of education policy is that we can innovate and we can achieve excellence, but only when we are searingly honest with ourselves about how the whole system is performing. This year’s annual Estyn report is invaluable in reminding us that we can ill afford to be complacent. Thank you.