Improvements are being made at Pembrokeshire’s secondary schools a national education body has said.

School inspectorate Estyn held a recent improvement conference with representatives of Pembrokeshire County Council for an update on what is being done to change the status of struggling secondary schools.

The meeting focused on performance in the county’s eight schools and the authority’s ability to support learners with additional needs.

It was found that “since the initial improvement conference, the local authority has increased its capacity to support improvement in education services through the appointment of a deputy chief education officer.”

Discussion of the report at overview and scrutiny committee on Tuesday, June 19 prompted questions about the delay in diagnosis of children with autism and additional learning needs by Hywel Dda Health Board.

Clr. Ken Rowlands said he was shocked to discover a wait of two to three years was still experienced by families in the county - a situation that has not changed for many years.

“We should be watching this very carefully. Why should it continue to be so long when we are offering our education services to the board?” he asked.

Director of eduction Kate Evan-Hughes told the committee that despite delays in official diagnosis, if there are concerns a child has additional needs changes are made in schools but did not impact on accessing specialist eduction.

“The important message for parents is that diagnosis is not required to make the adjustments in terms of education.

“It’s a barrier to families in accessing other services they may need,” she added.