Torfaen: Estyn worry over secondary schools' performance

Torfaen is Wales' third local authority to have serious concerns raised over its education

Some pupils have spent "their entire secondary education in schools that cause concern", a watchdog has said.

Estyn's inspection of Torfaen council's school services found "significant concern" due to a lack of progress in addressing the "weak performance".

The council will have to show how it intends addressing recommendations following the March 2022 review.

Torfaen council said it has already started work on an action plan to address the concerns.

It becomes the third local authority, along with Wrexham and Pembrokeshire, to be judged as "causing significant concern" by Estyn.

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The performance of primary schools in the area is "sound overall" but the standard of secondary schools over time was judged "a significant issue".

Two of Torfaen's seven secondary schools are in special measures.

The council has vowed to put a plan in place to improve the situation

The council was criticised by inspectors for being "too slow" to improve the situation, raising concern about the wellbeing and educational progress of young people as well as their future opportunities.

Overall, a lack of capacity to address long standing issues, to evaluate work accurately and bring about improvements swiftly, led to a conclusion that Torfaen is a local authority causing significant concern, inspectors said.

But the watchdog praised the local authority's youth services for maintaining strong relationships with young people during lockdowns and offering "effective and caring support" for vulnerable youngsters.

Inspections were paused in March 2020 due to the pandemic and resumed for local authorities in September 2021.

Education services in Wrexham and Pembrokeshire are also being monitored by Estyn, while Powys was judged to have made enough progress to be removed from the list of councils "causing significant concern" in November 2021.

Torfaen council's chief executive Stephen Vickers said it fully accepted the findings, adding: "The council has already started a post inspection action plan to address the recommendations and we will work with Estyn, the regional consortium and school leaders to improve outcomes for pupils.

"Given recent appointments in the education service and the work already underway to improve performance, I'm confident that with continued political backing we will have significant progress to share when inspectors return to monitor the service's progress."