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Cash-strapped sixth-forms and colleges are under great pressure to compete with each other for funding, putting their own interests before those of learners, a committee heard.

The Senedd’s education committee launched an inquiry on routes into post-16 education and training in Wales, taking evidence from trade unions and parents on January 29.

Ioan Rhys Jones, general secretary of Undeb Cenedlaethol Athrawon Cymru (UCAC), raised concerns about unhealthy competition distorting the post-16 system.

In written evidence, the trade union for teachers and lecturers explained “Institutions are ‘competing’ for learners and the future of some courses is at stake due to a lack of learners.

“As such, institutions are very keen to attract learners to their institutions, getting learners to study courses is vital in order to retain staff and the courses themselves.”

‘Perfect storm’

Mr Rhys Jones said: “I’ve been supporting members in schools these past few weeks because they’re facing redundancies, not voluntary redundancies, and the main reason is the reduction in the numbers going into the sixth-form.”

Warning of a perfect storm, he added: “The last thing that they are going to do is encourage those who have a good chance to do an A-level – they’re not going to encourage those pupils to do anything else, are they?”

Mr Rhys Jones told the committee that smaller sixth-forms and Welsh-medium schools face particularly acute problems.

He said: “All of the financial pressure, all of this competition means that leaders don’t have any other choice or they are facing periods of redundancies in schools.

“The budgets are so seriously bad now – there’s no flexibility at all.”

‘Bums on seats’

Sion Amlyn, policy and casework official at the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, echoed UCAC’s concerns.

He told the committee: “The more students that you have, the more funding you will receive and the more job security will exist.”

Asked about sixth-forms predominantly promoting their own courses, Mr Amlyn explained that “bums on seats” essentially dictate a school’s budget.

He added: “And there is pressure on teachers from above to ensure that pupil numbers don’t fall, so teachers will naturally do their best .. to try to retain as many pupils as possible.”

Mr Amlyn said shrinking budgets mean the very first courses to go are the ones with the least number of pupils, which are invariably in sixth-forms.

‘Pulling back’

Mary van den Heuvel, senior policy officer at National Education Union Cymru, was deeply concerned by levels of post-16 participation in Wales.

According to analysis by the Education Policy Institute, nearly 11% of those aged 16 to 18 in Wales were classified as not in education, employment or training in 2022/23.

This compared with 5% in Northern Ireland, 8% in England and 9% in Scotland, with Wales also seeing a bigger rise in rates up from 6% in 2021/22.

Ms van den Heuvel said: “Our members tell us that there used to be a much better system in terms of Careers Wales supporting schools with work experience.

“We’ve definitely got to look at that in terms of the way Careers Wales pulled back from that.”

‘Chilling’

A survey found only 39% of parents with a child in secondary or post-16 education in Wales agreed that their school or college helped them explore a broad range of career choices.

This compared with 46% in England, 49% in Scotland and 53% in Northern Ireland, according to the research from Parentkind.

Ms van den Heuvel agreed support for those with additional learning needs is insufficient due to funding constraints, with a “chilling” number not in education, employment or training.

Mr Amlyn said careers advice needs to be offered sooner than year nine as he stressed the need for equality – with disabled children more dependent on traditional, one-to-one advice.

He suggested careers advice needs to be woven into the fabric of Wales’ curriculum.

‘Glass ceiling’

Deb Austin, mum of a neurodivergent boy, told the committee that communication, flexibility, transport and role models are key as she warned that pupils’ entitlement is not always clear.

Calling for a focus on individuals’ needs and strengths, she said: “The incentivisation within education at the moment is around bums on seats and that pays.”

Karen Berell said her daughter did not feel like she had much choice nor space to work out what was important to her, with pathways for children already mapped out for them.

She told the committee: “From a very young age, kids who are neurodivergent struggle within the school system and a lot of the time the feedback is ‘you’re not good enough’.

“And actually they are, they’re all good enough, they all have a skillset. How are we nurturing that skillset so they have that resilience and we are not putting a glass ceiling on them?”