:00:00. > :00:22.Good evening. The quality of teaching in Wales needs to improve
:00:23. > :00:25.if education standards are to have any chance of getting better. That's
:00:26. > :00:29.the message from the schools watchdog Estyn, in its annual
:00:30. > :00:31.report. According to inspectors, the number of secondary schools that are
:00:32. > :00:45.unsatisfactory has increased from one in seven to one in four. Here's
:00:46. > :00:48.our education correspondent. BBC Three's hit programme Tough
:00:49. > :00:51.Young Teachers follows a group of graduates working for the Teach
:00:52. > :00:54.First charity. They pick the brightest students from the best
:00:55. > :00:58.universities and send them to work in challenging schools. They've just
:00:59. > :01:07.started working in Wales. But today's Estyn report raises concerns
:01:08. > :01:11.about our current crop of teachers. The most important resource in any
:01:12. > :01:16.education system is the quality of the teachers, and the quality of the
:01:17. > :01:19.teaching in school. Recent data showed that over half our teachers
:01:20. > :01:22.qualified with a 2.1 degree or higher. So what type of salary can
:01:23. > :01:26.they expect? For a newly qualified teacher, it's around ?21,000, going
:01:27. > :01:30.up to ?31,000 after six years. Heads generally start off at around
:01:31. > :01:36.?70,000 a year, and can earn over ?100,000. Unions argue that teachers
:01:37. > :01:45.are worth every penny. What's most needed is time to train and develop
:01:46. > :01:49.throughout their careers. We need to insure that access to professional
:01:50. > :01:55.development is easily and readily available, is high quality and
:01:56. > :02:00.resourced. Where we have quality teachers, we need to ensure they
:02:01. > :02:04.have the risk -- the opportunity to share that within schools. At
:02:05. > :02:08.Cwmtawe secondary school, they use data on every pupil to set very
:02:09. > :02:17.ambitious targets. As a result, they believe underachievement is being
:02:18. > :02:19.tackled. It is very important to challenge people, but also support
:02:20. > :02:24.them. It is one thing to set challenge people, but also support
:02:25. > :02:27.children high target grades, another to make
:02:28. > :02:29.issue raised in the report is how to tackle poverty. At Mount Stuart
:02:30. > :02:32.Primary School tackle poverty. At Mount Stuart
:02:33. > :02:34.out of ten pupils don't have English or Welsh as a first language. A
:02:35. > :02:42.they overcome those challenges by getting parents into the school for
:02:43. > :02:46.one day a week. Parents now expect to come in, they sit at the tables,
:02:47. > :02:52.and they will do the maths activities. We even had information
:02:53. > :02:55.technology, and the parents were really interested. Today's report
:02:56. > :02:58.caps what has been a disappointing 12 months for education in Wales.
:02:59. > :03:01.GCSE results showed signs of improvement, but A-levels and the
:03:02. > :03:06.PISA tests, which chart Wales's progress against other countries,
:03:07. > :03:10.were a real disappointment. Policies that are just beginning to bite,
:03:11. > :03:15.that will make a difference, like our literacy and numerous E
:03:16. > :03:20.framework, our new testing regime, and our support network around
:03:21. > :03:23.teachers, and there will be more to come. But this isn't enough for the
:03:24. > :03:26.opposition parties, who say the government should apologise for
:03:27. > :03:29.mismanaging the education sector in Wales. Yet again, we're faced with
:03:30. > :03:32.another worrying report on the state of education. The priority would
:03:33. > :03:35.seem to be how to help teachers across Wales.
:03:36. > :03:38.There are major problems with the way the Welsh Assembly operates.
:03:39. > :03:42.That's according a survey of AMs. Just over half of the 60 Assembly
:03:43. > :03:45.Members responded to questions by the Electoral Reform Society, with
:03:46. > :03:52.four out of five saying time in full Assembly sessions was not used
:03:53. > :03:56.effectively. The society has now backed calls for a review of
:03:57. > :04:01.procedures. The Presiding Officer says she has wrought in changes for
:04:02. > :04:04.backbench AMs to scrutinise the government.
:04:05. > :04:07.Two hired killers who murdered a teenage boy when they went to the
:04:08. > :04:10.wrong house have launched an appeal against their sentences. 17-year-old
:04:11. > :04:14.Aamir Siddiqi from Cardiff was stabbed to death on his doorstep in
:04:15. > :04:17.front of his parents, who were also injured in the attack. Jason
:04:18. > :04:20.Richards, who's 39, and Ben Hope, who's 40, were convicted last year
:04:21. > :04:28.and handed life sentences with a minimum of 40 years.
:04:29. > :04:31.A farmer's plan to build a dairy for 1,000 cows has been put on hold,
:04:32. > :04:37.after an animal welfare group intervened. The World Society for
:04:38. > :04:40.the Protection of Animals has been granted a judicial review into the
:04:41. > :04:45.decision to allow the dairy at Leighton, near Welshpool. The Welsh
:04:46. > :04:51.Government had previously approved the plan, despite a public inquiry
:04:52. > :04:54.inspector recommending against it. Wales's head coach says it was one
:04:55. > :04:58.of the hardest selections he's had to make. Regular skipper Sam
:04:59. > :05:01.Warburton is only on the bench for Saturday's opener against Italy,
:05:02. > :05:04.despite being passed fit. The captain's arm-band passes to
:05:05. > :05:20.Alun-Wyn Jones, with Rhys Priestland picked at fly-half.
:05:21. > :05:22.As the Lions tour ended, the Six Nations begins, with Alun-Wyn Jones
:05:23. > :05:28.Warren Gatland's chosen man Nations begins, with Alun-Wyn Jones
:05:29. > :05:32.the troops. Sam Warburton is fit after testing his injured shoulder
:05:33. > :05:32.the troops. Sam Warburton is fit in training, but he will take a
:05:33. > :05:40.back-seat against in training, but he will take a
:05:41. > :05:45.we have at number seven. in training, but he will take a
:05:46. > :05:53.felt we would give Justin the opportunity to start at seven, and
:05:54. > :05:58.then putting Sam on the bench. It's a team full of experience. Paul
:05:59. > :06:03.James plays at prop, with Gethin Jenkins given an extra week to build
:06:04. > :06:09.up his troublesome knee. Justin Tipuric will wear the number seven
:06:10. > :06:17.shirt. It's still possible Sam Warburton could start the match on
:06:18. > :06:22.Saturday. The team are hoping for good news on all fronts, but no one
:06:23. > :06:27.knows when he will be back. Perhaps the tightest school was at
:06:28. > :06:31.fly-half, where Rhys Priestland gets the nod. Jamie Roberts returns at
:06:32. > :06:39.centre after missing the autumn series, and Leigh Halfpenny is going
:06:40. > :06:44.to kick the goals. It's an important opportunity for priests and in
:06:45. > :06:50.particular. He's one of the players the Welsh Rugby Union want to sign
:06:51. > :06:54.on a central contact -- contract. Little things have been frustrating
:06:55. > :07:05.me. I've been getting agitated quite easily. It's not the sort of person
:07:06. > :07:10.I am. The others feel a weight off their shoulders and Alan know what
:07:11. > :07:14.they are doing. The players will be trying to put the off field
:07:15. > :07:18.uncertainties for a few weeks now. That's easier said than done, but at
:07:19. > :07:24.least they can unite around a shared goal - being the first team to win
:07:25. > :07:27.three back-to-back 6-nation titles. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's return to Old
:07:28. > :07:32.Trafford ended in disappointment tonight. His Cardiff City side lost
:07:33. > :07:35.2-0 to Manchester United. Robin van Persie scored the opener on his
:07:36. > :07:38.return from injury. Swansea City have their first win in nine games.
:07:39. > :07:40.return from injury. Swansea City have their first win in The 2-0
:07:41. > :07:44.result over Fulham sees them move to tenth in the table. In the
:07:45. > :07:47.Conference, Wrexham also won 2-0 against Tamworth. In League Two,
:07:48. > :07:55.Newport's match with Plymouth Argyle was postponed due to a waterlogged
:07:56. > :08:02.pitch. That sets the scene for the weather.
:08:03. > :08:11.The ground is saturated and sodden at the moment. There is one flood
:08:12. > :08:17.warning in force on the river seven near Welshpool. There are six other
:08:18. > :08:21.flood alerts. More rain and showers to come in the next 24
:08:22. > :08:27.snow on higher ground. More rain and showers to come through the
:08:28. > :08:27.snow on higher ground. More rain and tonight, heavy in places. Some
:08:28. > :08:29.snow on higher ground. More rain and weather in between the showers. A
:08:30. > :08:33.bit weather in between the showers. A
:08:34. > :08:37.above freezing with weather in between the showers. A
:08:38. > :08:41.Tomorrow morning, there will be further areas of rain and showers
:08:42. > :08:44.Tomorrow morning, there will be spinning around an area of low
:08:45. > :08:47.pressure. Some places dry and bright, the wind fairly light.
:08:48. > :08:55.Across the rest of the UK, there will be showers and out rates of
:08:56. > :09:00.rain in places. A little sleet and snow on the higher ground in
:09:01. > :09:05.Scotland, but also elsewhere, such as the Chilterns and the Pennines.
:09:06. > :09:09.The western side of the country turning drier, a little bit of
:09:10. > :09:14.brightness and sunshine to western Scotland, and it should dry up in
:09:15. > :09:19.Lincolnshire in the afternoon. Most of the rain is on the eastern side
:09:20. > :09:24.of Wales in the afternoon. A bit of sleet and snow in the higher
:09:25. > :09:29.ground. Turning drier in the west and south-west. Tomorrow night, rain
:09:30. > :09:38.and sleet will clear away, and then eyeful become a hazard as
:09:39. > :09:43.temperatures drop. A cold day, but much drier. Sunshine in places.
:09:44. > :09:49.Thursday the coldest day of the winter so far, but Friday, heavy
:09:50. > :09:54.rain with at risk of localised flooding. Showers for the weekend,
:09:55. > :09:56.and high spring tides. Thank you.
:09:57. > :10:00.We're back in Breakfast from 6am tomorrow. That's Wales Today. Thank
:10:01. > :10:02.you for watching.