‘Secondary school standards are not good enough’ – survey
PARENTS are becoming more dissatisfied with schools in Wales. One in four people say standards in secondary schools are not good enough – with 10% more people dissatisfied than there were just 12 months ago.
Secondary schools are failing to meet individual pupil’s educational needs and do not prepare them adequately for the future, many parents say.
The startling snapshot of how parents feel comes in the National Survey for Wales published today.
The annual survey, which looks at everything from lifestyle, health to education and public services, is commissioned by the Welsh Government. It is answered by more than 10,000 people a year across the whole of Wales.
Asked about satisfaction with their child’s school, 88% of parents said they were satisfied with their child’s primary school and 75% were satisfied with their child’s secondary school – a 10% fall on last year for secondaries.
Satisfaction levels for primary schools have gradually decreased over time, from 92% in 2012-13 to 88% in 2017-18.
For secondary schools, there has been a marked decline in satisfaction over the past year – from 85% in 2016-17 to 75% in 2017-18.
Around three in every 10 parents of secondary school pupils do not believe their school meets their children’s individual educational needs, that it prepares them for the next stage of life or that it helps them develop into well-rounded individuals.
And 85% of parents of primary school children said they felt the school ensures that all their child’s individual educational needs are provided for – this has fallen from 91% in 2013-14.
Asked whether primary prepares their child well for the next stage of education, 86% said they believe it does and 91% that it helps their child to develop into a well-rounded individual. The equivalent percentages for secondary school children were 73%, 72% and 74% respectively.
On health services, 70% of adults said they are in good or very good health – down from 72% in 2016-17.
People are also less satisfied with their GP. Of those asked, 86% were satisfied with their GP – down from 90%. Patients said they were also finding it harder to make an appointment.
Just over four in 10 people said they found it difficult to make a convenient appointment at their surgery in 2017-18 – a steady rise compared with 33% in 2012-13 and 38% in 2016-17. This compares with 90% saying they were satisfied with the care received at their last NHS hospital appointment.
Smoking was more common for men, for those in materiallydeprived households, and less common among people aged over 75.
Meanwhile, 7% of people used e-cigarettes and 19% of adults said they smoke.
On alcohol, 18% were found to drink more than the weekly guideline amount (average weekly consumption above 14 units). Drinking above weekly guidelines was more common among men, middle-aged adults, and those with higher incomes.
Only 23% said they ate at least the guideline amount of five portions of fruit or vegetables the previous day. People who were materially deprived were less likely to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
People are also not taking enough exercise, with only 53% meeting the guideline amount of 150 minutes’ activity in the previous week. Men were more likely to have done so than women. But 34% were inactive (active less than 30 minutes the previous week) and inactivity was highest among older adults (aged 75 or over) and those who were materially deprived.
The survey found six in 10 people are overweight or obese, with 22% classed as obese. Men were more likely to be overweight or obese (66% of men) than women (54%).
Those in materially-deprived households were more likely to be overweight or obese and obesity was most prevalent for those aged 45 to 74.
Asked about facilities and services (like shops, parks, schools and GP surgeries) that were within 15 to 20 minutes’ walking distance from their homes, 68% were satisfied that good services and facilities are available in their local area, but 3% said that there are no services or facilities in their area and less than half said they had a secondary school within that distance.
Some 77% were satisfied with their ability to get to or access the facilities and services they needed. This is the first time these questions on proximity of public services have been in the survey.
There were also new questions on how people feel about their local council.
A quarter of respondents felt they could not access information about their local authority in the way they would like to, while 76% felt they knew how to find out what services their local authority provides.
This varied by local authority – from 67% of people in Blaenau Gwent to 86% of people in Gwynedd and 77% in Cardiff.
Looking at attitude to the Welsh language, the survey found 19% of adults aged 16 and over reported that they can speak Welsh, 11% said they can speak Welsh fluently and 12% reported that they can speak more than a few words.
Nearly seven in 10 Welsh speakers and more than three in 10 nonWelsh speakers believe more effort needs to be put into supporting the language.
Responding to the findings Plaid Cymru Assembly Members accused the Welsh Government of “failing patients pupils and parents”.
Llyr Gruffydd AM said: “These are shocking figures which show that one in four people in Wales believe that standards in our secondary schools are simply not good enough. 10% more people are dissatisfied than there were just twelve months ago. The Labour Welsh Government must get to grips with the challenges facing our education sector as a matter of urgency.”
The National Survey for Wales is carried out by the Office for National Statistics on behalf of the Welsh Government. A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We have embarked on a national mission to raise standards, reduce the attainment gap and deliver an education system which is a source of national pride and confidence.
“This means asking questions about where and how we can improve and ensuring that all the reforms we introduce are focused on improving outcomes for learners.
“We can’t ignore the strain the UK Government’s continued austerity agenda is putting on our public services, but as a government, we will continue to prioritise school funding by ensuring resources go straight to the frontline to support schools.”