Schools

Standards and attainment, the curriculum and exams, additional learning needs, attendance and behaviour, teachers, and school funding.

In the Programme for Government this sits under the well-being objective Raising standards in our schools, and ensuring the best conditions for learning.

ThemesEverything Standards and attainment The curriculum Exams and qualifications Additional learning needs Attendance and behaviour Teachers School funding and buildings Welsh-medium schools

Statements and debates: 3; in the Seventh Senedd
Contributions: 729; in the Seventh Senedd
Written questions: 41; in the Seventh Senedd
Commitments raised: 10 of 11; in the Seventh Senedd

How often it comes up

May 2026Oct 2026

729 contributions in the Seventh Senedd touched on this. The busiest month was Sept 2026, with 248.

Who raises it

Plaid56%
Reform19%
Labour15%
Conservative10%
Lib Dem1%
Green1%

Share of the 663 contributions on this subject, by the speaker's party.

On this page

The debate so far
Where things stand
What the government has promised
From the Welsh Government
Key moments in the Senedd
Related votes
Who raises it
Who ministers have met
Declared interests
What people say matters
Written questions
Petitions
In committee
From Senedd Research
Latest contributions
Month by month
How this brief is put together

The debate so far

Since May 2026 the Senedd has focused on standards in schools after the PISA results, with the new Plaid Cymru Government publishing a foundational literacy and numeracy plan. Funding for additional learning needs (ALN), and whether UK consequentials should go to schools, caused the sharpest dispute. Members also debated support staff pay, the curriculum, teacher recruitment and retention, behaviour and school closures.

The main arguments

Janet Finch-Saunders (Welsh Conservatives) and Helen Jenner (Reform UK) cite PISA results as failure. Rhun ap Iorwerth (Plaid Cymru) called them disappointing. Anna Brychan's plan sets year-by-year expectations, phonics and a baseline assessment at school entry. Contributions:

Where things stand

Statistics published by the Welsh Government. Each chart covers the years since the 2016 Senedd election, or as far back as the figures go, and marks each election since.

Secondary school attendance

89.1%

2025/26

A year earlier: 89.0% (2024/25)

The share of possible half-day sessions attended by pupils aged 11 to 15 in maintained schools, from the start of each school year to the spring bank holiday at the end of May.

This series has no figures for the school years 2019/20 to 2021/22.

Source: Welsh Government, Overall attendance and absence of pupils of secondary school age. Accredited official statistics. Next update due in 2027. Checked on 22 October 2026.

Show the figures

Secondary school attendance: every figure in the chart, newest first.
Period	Wales
2025/26	89.1%
2024/25	89.0%
2023/24	88.0%
2022/23	87.5%
2018/19	93.8%
2017/18	93.8%
2016/17	94.1%

Qualified teachers

22,660

2025/26

A year earlier: 22,830 (2024/25)

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

How we show official statistics

What the government has promised

11 commitments in the Welsh Government's Programme for Government 2026 to 2030 fall under this brief, in the Programme's own words. Under each is how often it has been raised in the Seventh Senedd.

Raising standards

Publish a Literacy and Numeracy Plan and raise standards by establishing national targets, including a baseline assessment for learners entering school. We will support our workforce to develop individual targets for all learners.
Raised in 34 speeches, 1 agenda item and 2 written questions. Most recently on 20 October 2026, by Helen Jenner. Matched on: “literacy and numeracy”.
Read it in the Programme
Review curriculum and assessment arrangements to simplify and clarify expectations for schools and settings. This will include ensuring clear expectations for knowledge and education about our nation’s culture and history.
Raised in 23 speeches and 1 petition. Most recently on 15 October 2026, by Ei Fawrhydi y Brenin / His Majesty the King. Matched on: “History of Wales”.
Read it in the Programme

Wellbeing and inclusion in schools

Develop a coordinated framework bringing together schools, health and social care, and youth services to address behaviour, attendance, wellbeing and educational inequality. These also reflect wider societal issues, and we will work across government to address them. We will improve professional learning, reporting of incidents and information sharing between schools, and test implementation through our Community Schools Plus pilots.
Latest figure: Secondary school attendance, 89.1%, 2025/26.
Raised in 5 speeches. Most recently on 20 October 2026, by Helen Jenner. Matched on: “behaviour in schools”.
Read it in the Programme
Strengthen the long‑term sustainability of the Additional Learning Needs system. We will work in partnership, including with health partners, to strengthen system clarity, capacity and workforce confidence to deliver inclusive education in Welsh and English, so that children and young people receive the right support at the right time to meet their needs.
Raised in 158 speeches, 1 agenda item, 4 written questions and 3 petitions. Most recently on 20 October 2026, by Steven Rodaway. Matched on: “ALN”.
Read it in the Programme

Cymraeg in education

Grow the proportion of children and young people receiving Welsh‑medium education, and improve accessibility to Welsh‑medium education, setting local targets to ensure the steady growth of Welsh‑medium provision in all schools.
Raised in 50 speeches and 1 written question. Most recently on 8 October 2026, by Janet Finch-Saunders. Matched on: “Welsh-medium provision”.
Read it in the ProgrammeAlso followed in: The Welsh language.
Increase the number of students able to access tertiary pathways in Welsh, supporting and developing the work of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol and working with the Coleg and Medr to increase opportunities to study Welsh as a subject.
Raised in 4 speeches. Most recently on 28 September 2026, by Anna Brychan. Matched on: “Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol”.
Read it in the ProgrammeAlso followed in: The Welsh language.
Support an increase in the number of teachers able to teach through the medium of Welsh, promoting and developing the Welsh‑language skills of practitioners and developing new sabbatical opportunities.
Raised in 6 speeches. Most recently on 30 September 2026, by Lis McLean. Matched on: “teach through the medium of Welsh”.
Read it in the Programme

Supporting teachers

Work with our education workforce and social partners to make teaching an attractive, respected and rewarding career.
Too general to match reliably, so not tracked.
Read it in the Programme
Improve recruitment and retention by reducing workload, providing more flexibility for planning, preparation and assessment and supporting high‑quality professional development for all teachers, leaders and teaching assistants.
Latest figure: Qualified teachers, 22,660, 2025/26.
Raised in 9 speeches. Most recently on 22 September 2026, by Sera Evans. Matched on: “teachers' workload”.
Read it in the Programme
Build on our increase of the Initial Teacher Education Priority Subject Incentive from £15,000 to £20,000 to help attract more teachers into shortage subjects and explore opportunities to increase this further.
Raised in 2 speeches. Most recently on 30 June 2026, by Rhun ap Iorwerth. Matched on: “priority subject incentive”.
Read it in the Programme
Strengthen safeguarding leadership and governance across education by ensuring learners and educators can recognise and report grooming. We will provide comprehensive digital safety and media literacy education, and ensure safeguarding and educational standards are consistently upheld and independently scrutinised.

Source: Welsh Government, Programme for government 2026 to 2030: New ambition for Wales, first published on 10 September 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Mentions are found by matching the names of plans, bodies and schemes; a mention says nothing about progress.

Declared interests

Members whose entries in the Register of Members' Interests relate to this brief, matched by the brief's words and phrases. Members must register these interests, and having one doesn't mean anything improper.

Paul Rock2 related entries
- Membership/Chairmanship of bodies in receipt of direct or indirect Senedd Commission or Welsh Government funds: Member Name of organisation: Hawthorn Primary School Role within organisation: Governor
- Remunerated Employment, Directorships etc.: Spouse Name and nature of the employer: Hawthorn Primary School Nature of the post: Teaching Assistant
Gareth Beer1 related entry
- Membership/Chairmanship of bodies in receipt of direct or indirect Senedd Commission or Welsh Government funds: Spouse Name of organisation: Old Road School, Llanelli Role within organisation: Local Authority Governor
Carmelo Colasanto1 related entry
- Membership/Chairmanship of bodies in receipt of direct or indirect Senedd Commission or Welsh Government funds: Member Name of organisation: Bryn Community Primary School Role within organisation: Governor
Sara Crowley1 related entry
- Remunerated Employment, Directorships etc.: Partner Name and nature of the employer: Cefn Saeson Comprehensive School Nature of the post: Science teacher
Louise Emery1 related entry
- Membership/Chairmanship of bodies in receipt of direct or indirect Senedd Commission or Welsh Government funds: Member Name of organisation: School Lane Pre-school Role within organisation: Responsible Individual, Charitable trustee Additional information: Receives Welsh Government child…
Sera Evans1 related entry
- Membership/Chairmanship of bodies in receipt of direct or indirect Senedd Commission or Welsh Government funds: Member Name of organisation: Parc Primary School Role within organisation: Vice-Chair of Governors
Mike Hedges1 related entry
- Membership/Chairmanship of bodies in receipt of direct or indirect Senedd Commission or Welsh Government funds: Member Name of organisation: Glyncollen School Role within organisation: Governor
David Hughes1 related entry
- Voluntary record of Members’ other interests: Information relevant to entry: Trustee for Park Baptist Church. Included in this are Gurnos Christian Centre, and Galon Uchaf Sunday school.
Helen Jenner1 related entry
- Remunerated Employment, Directorships etc.: Member Name and nature of the employer: Star English Ltd. Nature of the post: Freelance English Tutor Amount of remuneration received: Band 5: between £2501 - £5000 a year Average…
Adrian Mason1 related entry
- Remunerated Employment, Directorships etc.: Spouse Name and nature of the employer: Bangor University Nature of the post: Deputy/Interim Head of School Date on which the employment commenced: 1 January 2005
Iain McIntosh1 related entry
- Voluntary record of Members’ other interests: Information relevant to entry: Daughter is a primary school teacher at Llangynidr Primary School, Powys.
Sam Rowlands1 related entry
- Membership/Chairmanship of bodies in receipt of direct or indirect Senedd Commission or Welsh Government funds: Member Name of organisation: St. Brigid’s School, Denbigh Role within organisation: Governing body member Additional information: LEA representative

The full register

Month by month

Contributions tagged in each month of the Seventh Senedd. No sittings were held in August 2026.

Show the numbers

Month	Contributions
May 2026	14
June 2026	218
July 2026	141
August 2026	No sittings
September 2026	248
October 2026	108

How this brief is put together

This brief follows the Programme commitments listed above and tags the record with the phrases below. Keyword matching can miss business that discusses the issue in other words, and can tag a passing mention.

Show the phrases it uses

A contribution is tagged when its English text contains one of these phrases. Capital letters don't matter, except in abbreviations, which must match exactly. It is also tagged when the title of the agenda item or question it was part of contains one, as long as the contribution is at least 30 words long. The brief is also tagged whenever one of its themes is.

Phrases for the brief as a whole

“schools”
“school”
“pupils”
“headteachers”
“headteacher”
“Estyn”
“education system”

Not counted when part of

“school of government”
“School of Government”
“medical school”
“dental school”
“school meals”
“school transport”
“school buses”
“school bus”

Standards and attainment

“attainment”
“literacy”
“numeracy”
“reading ages”
“school standards”
“standards in schools”
“educational standards”
“national tests”
“personalised assessments”
“Literacy and Numeracy Plan”

Abbreviations

“PISA”

The curriculum

“Curriculum for Wales”
“new curriculum”
“curriculum reform”
“the curriculum”
“relationships and sexuality education”

Abbreviations

“RSE”

Exams and qualifications

“GCSE”
“GCSEs”
“A-level”
“A-levels”
“A level”
“A levels”
“Qualifications Wales”
“Welsh Baccalaureate”
“qualification reform”
“exam results”
“examinations”
“exams”

Additional learning needs

“additional learning needs”
“special educational needs”
“ALN reforms”
“ALN Act”
“special schools”

Abbreviations

“ALN”
“ALNCo”
“SEN”

Attendance and behaviour

“school attendance”
“persistent absence”
“absenteeism”
“behaviour in schools”
“pupil behaviour”
“exclusions”
“violence in schools”
“school wellbeing”
“school counsellors”
“youth work”
“youth services”

Teachers

“teachers”
“teacher recruitment”
“teacher retention”
“teacher shortage”
“teacher shortages”
“teachers' pay”
“teaching assistants”
“supply teachers”
“teacher workload”
“recruiting teachers”
“initial teacher education”
“teacher training”

School funding and buildings

“school budgets”
“school budget”
“school funding”
“Sustainable Communities for Learning”
“school buildings”
“school closures”
“school closure”
“small schools”
“rural schools”
“school reorganisation”

Abbreviations

“RAAC”

Welsh-medium schools

“Welsh-medium”
“Welsh medium education”
“Welsh in Education Strategic Plan”
“Welsh in Education Strategic Plans”
“immersion education”
“late immersion”

Abbreviations

“WESP”
“WESPs”

Qualified teachers: every figure in the chart, newest first.
Period	Wales
2025/26	22,660
2024/25	22,830
2023/24	23,400
2022/23	24,080
2021/22	24,120
2020/21	23,160

The debate so far

The main arguments

The debate so far

The main arguments

Where the parties stand

Plaid Cymru

Welsh LabourShifted

Welsh Conservatives

Reform UK

Wales Green Party

Welsh Liberal Democrats

What the government is being pressed on

What the public is asking for

Who ministers are meeting

In the Sixth Senedd (2021 to 2026)

Where things stand

Secondary school attendance

Qualified teachers

What the government has promised

Raising standards

Wellbeing and inclusion in schools

Cymraeg in education

Supporting teachers

From the Welsh Government

Key moments in the Senedd

Related votes

Welsh Labour Debate - School support staff negotiating body

Who raises it

Answering for the government

Which parties raise it

Members who raise it most

Who ministers have met

Declared interests

What people say matters

Written questions

Petitions

In committee

From Senedd Research

Latest contributions

Month by month

How this brief is put together

Phrases for the brief as a whole