Young people highlight transport and choice of courses as concerns in Learning and Skills Measure inquiry

Cost and provision of transport and the variety of courses available are concerns for young people in Welsh education according to a new report from a National Assembly for Wales committee.

The Children and Young People Committee has been looking at the implementation of the Welsh Government’s Learning and Skills Measure which was introduced in 2009 to give 14-19 year olds more choices on the courses they can do.

This is the first piece of Welsh legislation to be examined by a Committee to assess how successful its implementation has been.

As part of its inquiry, the Committee consulted young people across Wales to find out what they thought of the opportunities they had.

Some were concerned about the costs and the distance they had to travel to attend the courses of their choice. Others could not find the course they wanted in the Welsh language and some were unaware that they could have had more support in making their choices.

“As a committee, we are therefore recommending that the Welsh Government examines whether the right balance has been struck in the requirement to offer 30 courses,” said said Christine Chapman AM, Chair of the Children and Young People Committee.

“Travel and transport to the courses are clearly issues for the young people we spoke to, and we would like to see how much travelling is required for pupils to attend their courses and the effect that is having on their effectiveness.

“We were concerned that not all young people and their parents or guardians were able to access full, open and impartial advice on the learning opportunities and choice of courses available in their area and we have asked the Welsh Government to issue guidance requiring all schools and colleges to produce a joint prospectus containing that impartial advice.

“We were also told that are still very apparent gender differences in subject choices, with some subjects more likely to contain female than male students, and vice versa, particularly in further education colleges, and in the choice of vocational courses at Key Stage 4. The Committee therefore welcomes any new developments that tackle gender stereotypes and that provide opportunities for girls and boys to choose a wider range of vocational and academic courses.”

The Committee also called on the Welsh Government to review the impact of the Measure’s implementation, particularly with regards to Welsh medium and bilingual education.

More information on the Learning and Skills (Wales) Measure.