School inspections in Wales were lacking long before Covid stalled them with nearly 200 schools last inspected between seven and 10 years ago, Wales’ shadow Education Minister has warned.
One school was last inspected by Estyn over 10 years ago, data obtained by the Welsh Conservatives under a Freedom of Information request shows.
While 189 (12.6%) were last inspected between seven and 10 years ago a further 417 schools (27.9%) were last inspected between five and seven years ago.
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School inspections, already halted for a year, will not resume next term either. Estyn has announced new, reformed, inspections will start in spring 2022.
There will also be no colour coded performance data again this year.
Data obtained by the Welsh Conservatives show there are currently 23 schools (10 primary and 12 secondary) and two pupil referral units) in special measures in Wales, the highest Estyn monitoring category.
The longest that any of these school have been in special measures is almost four years, with St Julian’s High School in Newport being placed in that category in July 2017. Of these schools, the average length of time since being placed under special measures is around two and a half years,
Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Education, Laura Anne Jones, said: “There is no doubt that teachers, school staff and pupils have had an awful 18 or so months with the pandemic and I hope the recently announced Estyn inspection postponement will ease their workloads.
“But these figures show school inspections were lacking long before coronavirus hit, which means hundreds of schools across the country could have been under performing for years.
“Parents and guardians need to know that schools are putting children first, giving them the right support and a decent education.
“Estyn must do everything it can to inspect as many schools as possible when inspections start again next year to ensure youngsters are getting the education they deserve.”
Estyn said the time between inspections was not predictable and can be affected by whether a school is new or part of an amalgamation.
In the eight-year inspection cycle, which began in 2017, all schools and PRUs will be inspected at least once, the inspectorate added.
A spokeswoman said: “All the schools and PRUs which haven’t been inspected in more than seven years will be inspected in the current cycle.
“We planned to suspend school inspections in 2020-21 to enable inspectors to work with schools on the curriculum changes, but due to the effects of the pandemic this suspension will continue in the autumn term, 2021.
“From spring 2022, we’ll be piloting new inspection arrangements. These arrangements will enable us to continue to provide assurance on the quality of teaching, learning and leadership in our schools and PRUs. We’ve also continued to support schools and PRUs in a statutory category through pastoral and monitoring visits which restarted during summer term.”
Asked how school standards were being monitored the Welsh Government said: “Regular inspections by Estyn play an important role in delivering assurance, including to parents and learners, about the quality of education in our schools. They also support improvement by providing information about where schools and the wider system need to improve.
“The pandemic has clearly had an impact on Estyn’s regular inspection routine. During the past 18 months, Estyn have played a valuable role in supporting schools’ recovery as well as vital intelligence gathering on the state of education as a whole.”
The school last inspected more than a decade ago has not been named.
Meilyr Rowlands will step down at the end of August after more than six years as Chief Inspector and 22 years at Estyn.
He will be replaced by Owen Evans, currently S4C’s Chief Executive and designated accounting Officer, who takes over in January 2022
Claire Morgan, Estyn’s strategic director will act as the interim Chief Inspector until Mr Evans takes over in January.
The school not inspected for more than 10 years was not named.
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