A key priority for the Welsh Assembly Government is to secure a workforce that is sufficiently skilled to access future high level employment opportunities. Evidence suggests that to help achieve this, we should seek ways to more fully integrate the work of schools, Further Education Institutions, Higher Education Institutions and other post -16 providers. This will transform the ways in which education and training provision is delivered. More
Education Minister Jane Hutt has invited schools, colleges and learning providers across Wales to apply to join the third phase of roll-out of the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification at post 16 Intermediate and Advanced level that begins from September 2009. More
The General Teaching Council for Wales’ annual statistics digest has revealed for the third year running that the number of female headteachers continues to increase and there are more women in the post than men. The number of female headteachers has risen from 897 in 2007 to 919 in 2008 which means 52.5% of heads are female. Despite the broadly equal gender split among headteachers overall, in secondary schools men dominate headships with 84% being male. More
The termly notification newsletter is designed to keep schools and their governing bodies fully informed of forthcoming consultations and documents sent to schools. This will help schools to forward plan and manage their workload. More
The 2007-2008 report focuses on the impact and effectiveness of RAISE work at the end of the first eighteen months of funding to schools. The report was commissioned by the former Performance and Improvement Division of the Welsh Assembly Government as part of Estyn’s remit in 2007-2008. More
The One Wales policy programme (2007) of the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) included a commitment to 'develop a national structure for classroom assistants in Wales'. In order to develop its understanding of issues concerning the full range of support staff, the WAG commissioned research into the employment and deployment of all such personnel in schools in Wales. More
The SVG Act 2006 introduces new arrangements to improve and extend current practices for vetting people who come into contact with children and vulnerable adults. This consultation seeks views on who should be the ‘Appropriate Officer’. More
This year Anti-Bullying Week runs from the 17th – 21st November. Schools in Wales are being encouraged to enter two competitions being organised by the Welsh Assembly Government to highlight the problem of bullying. The deadline for entries in both competitions is Friday 10th October. More
The conferences this year will explore issues such as bullying around disability, cyberbullying and multi-agency approaches to bullying. Events will take place on 14 October in Llandudno and 16 October in Swansea. If you’re interested in attending, please email anti-bullyingevent@cazbah.biz. More
Across OECD countries, governments are seeking policies to make education more effective while searching for additional resources to meet the increasing demand for education. The 2008 edition of Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators enables countries to see themselves in the light of other countries’ performance. More
Over 60 per cent of colleges are now considered good or better at inspection, up from just under 50 per cent in 2001-2005. Ofsted’s latest report, How Colleges Improve: A review of effective practice, looks at ways colleges have successfully improved their standards between Ofsted inspections, from inadequate to good or from satisfactory or good to outstanding. It also identifies factors which appeared to hold back progress in those colleges that did not improve. More Full report
The UK Commission for Employment and Skills has been asked by governments to conduct a full strategic review of national occupational standards to ensure they meet the needs of employers and support the aims of qualifications systems. More
On 21 August 2008, the think tank Civitas published a report (School improvement – or the ‘equivalent’) which argues that a preoccupation with the A*-C GCSE grade benchmark has led to a scenario in which pupils are being encouraged to opt out of academic courses and into less relevant 'vocational' qualifications to boost national GCSE results. More
On the 27 August 2008, the Australian Government published a report (Quality education: the case for an education revolution in our schools) which argues that Australia needs to build a culture of high expectations in its schools for students and teachers. More
