Leading and Transforming Education Systems by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789811549960
Publisher: Springer Singapore

7.1.3 Outcomes and Reflections

Sir Michael Barber, speaking to the Welsh Government’s Raising Our Sights conference attended by school leaders from across Wales in 2013, while acknowledging the pace of change and the demands it put on the system, declared that ‘it’s great to see the Welsh education system on the move again’ (Andrews, 2014: 124). GCSE results in 2013 showed Wales starting to close the gap with England, and also showed the attainment gap between those on free school meals and those not—used as a proxy for measures of deprivation—narrowing (Andrews, 2014: 126–127). Perhaps more importantly, statistics have shown a rising percentage of Welsh students gaining 5 good GCSEs including English or Welsh and Maths since the reform programme took place, and increases in the overall wider and capped wider points scores. Changes in qualifications in both England and Wales have made general comparison more difficult over the last three years in particular. The Welsh education system is improving, has an agenda agreed and supported across the system (OECD, 2014) and has put in place significant reforms in respect of system-wide goals, accountability, support, qualification reform, professional development, and many other areas.

Perhaps more importantly, the key reforms have been endorsed and built upon by both of my successors in office, Huw Lewis and Kirsty Williams. The school banding system was developed into a more comprehensive school categorisation system. Additional targeted support for schools in need was successfully developed through the School Challenge Cymru system (Ainscow, 2017). The Literacy and Numeracy Framework, supported by annual tests, continues (Williams, 2017). A new National Academy for Educational Leadership has now been launched (Welsh Government, 2018b). To some extent, all you can hope for as a minister, particularly in a policy arena often so ideologically charged as education, is that the basics of the reforms that you help to institute are carried through and developed subsequently, rather than being overturned in a short time-frame.

In their account of how the world’s most successful school systems keep improving, McKinsey found that the most commonly-observed feature which ignited a programme of school improvement was the introduction of new political leadership (Mourshed, Chijioke, & Barber, 2010: 98). They argued that this could be the overall political leader of a system, or what they called a ‘strategic leader’ such as an Education Minister. Another factor could be the publication of a critical report, such as an international benchmarking report. All of these factors were true in the Welsh context: a new First Minister In Carwyn Jones, a new Education Minister in myself, and the publication of a highly critical report in terms of the 2009 PISA results. These were key elements of the context that led to our reform programme in Wales, and the continuing commitment to it since.

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