What assessment has the Welsh Government made of whether maintaining a separate devolved education structure has contributed to poorer educational outcomes?
Devolution has enabled Wales to develop an education system that reflects Welsh priorities, values and the needs of our learners. While PISA and other measures show that outcomes remain a challenge, educational performance is influenced by a wide range of factors, including poverty, attendance, workforce pressures and the lasting impacts of the pandemic. Rather than debating the principle of devolution, our focus is on what the evidence tells us works. We continue to learn from high-performing systems across the UK and internationally, while taking decisions that are right for learners and communities in Wales.
Raising standards is a priority, and last week we published our Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Plan to accelerate improvement across Wales, in every classroom, without delay.