The Facts

Learning: the family effect

  • Nearly one in three children in Wales live in poverty[i]
  • In Wales, only 20% of children who are eligible for free school meals achieve an A-C grade in the core subjects at GCSE, compared to 52% of children who are not eligible[ii]
  • Learning together as a family helps to break the cycle of deprivation and educational underachievement[iii]
  • Children with parents who read to them more than once a week performed higher in PISA 2009 scores than those with parents who did not[iv]
  • In Wales, only 42% of children from the poorest families are read to on a daily basis, compared to 72% from the richest families[v]
  • 15 year olds with parents who discuss social or political issues more than once a week do better academically than those with parents who do not[vi]

Find out more about family learning

The sources:

[i]wales.gov.uk/docs/caecd/research/110328executivesummaryen.pdf
[ii] How Fair is Wales http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/Wales/how_fair_is_wales.pdf
[iv] OECD (2010), PISA 2009 Results: Executive Summary. Available @ www.oecd.org/dataoecd/34/60/46619703.pdf
[v] How Fair is Wales http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/Wales/how_fair_is_wales.pdf
[vi] OECD (2010), PISA 2009 Results: Executive Summary. Available @ www.oecd.org/dataoecd/34/60/46619703.pdf

Adult Numeracy and Literacy

  • 25% of adults in Wales lack basic literacy and numeracy skills and 51% lack basic numeracy skills
  • Older people are more likely to lack basic numeracy and literacy skills than younger people
  • In Wales, 41% of people from ethnic minority groups fail to achieve functional literacy[iii]
  • 69% of adults in Wales with a household income of less than £15,000 have numeracy skills at Entry Level or below[iv]
  • By the age of 34, adults with the lowest level of basic skills are more likely to have experienced homelessness and to be without a partner
  • By the age of three the children of graduates are one year ahead in vocabulary tests than children of parents with fewer qualifications

The sources:

[i] Equality and Human Rights Commission (2011), How Fair is Wales?
[ii] Equality and Human Rights Commission (2011), How Fair is Wales?
[iii] Equality and Human Rights Commission (2011), How Fair is Wales?
[iv] Welsh Government (2010) Statistics for Wales: National Survey of Adult Skills in Wales. Available online @ http://wales.gov.uk/docs/statistics/2011/110713sdr1192011en.pdf
[v] Parsons and Bynner (2007) Illuminating Disadvantage: Profiling the experiences of adults with Entry level literacy or numeracy over the lifecourse. London: NRDC p8
[vi] Feinstein L., Budge D., Vorhaus J., Duckworth K. (2008) The social and personal benefits of learning. A Summary of key research findings. Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning

Education and Workplace Learning

  • 25% of the working population in Wales do not have a level 2 qualification[i]
  • Since 2007, the employment rate of people with the lowest qualifications in Wales has dropped by 10%[ii]
  • 28% of Welsh employers report a skills gap within their workforce[iii]
  • 35% of managers and professionals in Wales lack an "appropriate" formal qualification[iv]
  • Businesses are two and a half times more likely to fail if they don't take training seriously[v]

[i]The Bevan Foundation (2010) Poverty and social exclusion in Wales
[ii]The Bevan Foundation (2010) Poverty and social exclusion in Wales
[iii]UK Commission for Employment and Skills(2011) Skills for Jobs: The National Strategic Skills Audit for Wales 2011
[iv]UK Commission for Employment and Skills(2011) Skills for Jobs: The National Strategic Skills Audit for Wales 2011

Education and Women

  • In Wales, 51% of girls achieve 5 A*-C core GCSEs compared to 43% of boys [i]
  • 54% of women in Wales lack functional numeracy compared to only 34% of men[ii]
  • In Wales, 37% of disabled women and 34% of Pakistani women have no qualifications[iii]
  • 38% of women in Wales work in a low paid job compared with 28% of men[iv]
  • The most common occupations for women in Wales are shop assistant and care worker[v]

[i]How Fair is Wales http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/Wales/how_fair_is_wales.pdf
[ii]Equality and Human Rights Commission (2011), How Fair is Wales?
[iii]Equality and Human Rights Commission (2011), How Fair is Wales?
[iv] Equality and Human Rights Commission (2011 An anatomy of economic inequality in Wales [v]Equality and Human Rights Commission (2011 An anatomy of economic inequality in Wales
[vi]UK Commission for Employment and Skills(2011) Skills for Jobs: The National Strategic Skills Audit for Wales 2011

It is predicted that jobs as managers, professionals and technicians will become in most in demand in Wales. Learning can provide a route back into employment and help women to access new opportunities[i]

[i]UK Commission for Employment and Skills(2011) Skills for Jobs: The National Strategic Skills Audit for Wales 2011