News and Blog

A new ADR-UK Data Insight report by WISERD Co-Director, Rhys Davis, reveals the important role played by Careers Wales in supporting those children most in need of careers guidance within Welsh Schools. Following the withdrawal of funding for the Connexions Network in 2010 – a dedicated careers guidance service for young people – concerns have…

Director of WISERD Education, Sally Power, has been interviewed and quoted on ITV Wales in relation to the long term effects that COVID-19 measures in Schools might incur to pupils. “Professor Sally Power from Cardiff University has warned that the attainment gap between pupils will have widened as a result of the pandemic”. See full article: https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2020-09-24/experts-warn-of-long-term-damage-to-education-due-to-school-closures…

Survey of 128,000 children across 35 countries raises questions about levels of well-being experienced across different areas of children’s lives in Wales. Children in Wales have some of the lowest levels of well-being amongst children across 35 countries, a team of WISERD researchers has found. The team surveyed over 2,600 children from across Wales about…

Recent results from the Children’s Worlds study revealed that children in Wales have some of the lowest levels of well-being amongst children surveyed in 35 countries. Children’s Worlds is an international study of children’s subjective well-being, with the third and most recent survey including over 128,000 children, surveyed between 2016 – 2019. This is the…

As the start of another school year approaches, amongst the many challenges that providing a COVID-safe educational environment poses, reintegrating learners into a safe and secure learning environment will be key. Concerns have rightly been raised about young people’s mental health and welfare during these unprecedented times. Our research with children and young people as…

Today sees the release of GCSE results for pupils across the UK. The last-minute changes to the awarding of A level grades last week saw similar changes made to the awarding of GCSE results. Pupils will now receive the centre assessment grade, provided by their school, if it was higher than the calculated grade, produced…

In the shadow of the fallout from the qualifications results announced for young people in Scotland earlier this month, and last-minute amendments made by the Welsh and English governments to the awarding of grades, this blog reflects on the steps taken to calculate grades, necessitated by these unprecedented times. Detailed information is now publicly available…

Note: This blog has been updated on 28 July to include Student Loan Company data to the end of June 2020. There has been much discussion, forecasting and concern around the impact of COVID-19 on the higher education sector. With many universities beginning to slowly lay out their intended teaching and learning practices for the…

The newly established WISERD Education Data Lab has launched a series of blog posts to share its latest analysis with a wider audience. The lab aims to generate high quality research-based evidence using education administrative data to support the Wales education sector. In order to undertake this work, the WISERD Education Data Lab is using administrative data…

This blog outlines preliminary findings from a larger WISERD Education Data Lab project exploring non-attendance and school exclusions. Here we draw on annual attendance data and pupil level data. We explore the total number of school sessions missed by a cohort of young people over an 11-year period, from age 5 years old (Year 1)…