Kirsty Williams, Cabinet Secretary for Education
Last July I informed Assembly Members that Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector for Education and Training in Wales had written to me seeking my support for a review of the role of Estyn, to assess the implications of our education reforms on the future work of the Inspectorate. This was a proposal that I fully supported to continue to drive up standards in our education system.
The independent review, published today on Estyn’s website, was undertaken by Professor Graham Donaldson who has a wealth of experience of conducting reviews of education systems around the world, including Australia, Portugal, and Japan.
As Professor Donaldson remarks in this review “the ultimate tests of the reforms to Welsh education will be the extent to which they lead to higher standards of attainment and more relevant learning for all pupils”. Needless to say, the work of the Inspectorate has an important part to play in our ongoing reforms.
I welcome this report and will work with Estyn and the wider education system to consider the recommendations and its implications for our reform process.
You can read the report on the Estyn website.