Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru | National Assembly for Wales

Y Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl Ifanc ac Addysg | Children, Young People and Education Committee

Blaenoriaethau ar gyfer y Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl Ifanc ac Addysg | Priorities for the Children, Young People and Education Committee

CYPE 04

Ymateb gan : Allison Hunt

Response from : Allison Hunt

Question 1 – Within the remit set out above: what do you consider to be the priorities or issues that the Children, Young People and Education Committee should consider during the Fifth Assembly?

Issue: Allocation of funding for STEM initiatives:

· recipients need to be held accountable of spend – funded providers do use an intervention recording numbers of beneficiaries, but will often double account the young people so reducing the value of the investment.  If more stringent accountability, it would make the £ more powerful

Issue: Scattergun approach of delivering STEM interventions

· Develop and define clear pathways of STEM interventions that will encourage:

o discovery of the STEM subjects, building a curiosity to

o develop and further the skills for STEM,

o creating future interest to seek further education and eventual employment in the STEM subject area. 

Issue: Quality of delivery

· Funded interventions are not currently required to meet any specific quality standards. 

Issue: Return on investment

· There is no real ROI required for funded interventions and engagement.  Looking at a progression of impact from pre and post evaluation, followed by longer term impressions and destinations.

Issue: There may be a lack of understanding for teachers, parents and young people of the wide range of industry sectors and career opportunities available within localities and regions 

· Raise awareness of opportunities and what that looks like

Issue: Careers awareness

· A systematic employer engagement programme will improve awareness of different careers and pathways to those careers. 

Issue: Employability Skills

· Promote and instil employability skills required by employers to enable smoother transition from education to the world of work.  Starting with the earliest of interventions (pre-school)

Issue: Pre NEET and NEET

· all young people are potentially pre NEET, the focus of schemes and funding needs to be proactive and focus on reducing numbers moving into the NEET category.  Currently the emphasis is on those who are NEET and is reactive.  Prevention of NEETs should be able to be achieved by early interventions

Question 2 – From the list of priorities or issues you have identified, what do you consider to be the key areas that should be considered during the next 12 months (please identify up to three areas or issues)?  Please outline why these should be considered as key priorities.

All of the above issues are inter-related.  Three priorities needing consideration in the next 12 months:

Funding:  Those being funded need to be held accountable so that there is confidence that true numbers are being achieved, and the interventions are meaningful.  Being able to demonstrate the intervention meets the criteria and fits into the pathway.  It will also reduce any double accounting that is taking place and will make the value of the investment more powerful.

STEM scattergun: needs to be addressed to make sure the investments made by Welsh Government to a wide range of delivery partners are more powerful and provide real added value, reaching the appropriate and recorded audience, reducing a tick box approach of delivering interventions for interventions sake.  With a review of the quality and standard, and return on investment.  This can be achieved with a truly coordinated pathway.

Careers Awareness:  Through engagement with employers, schools, parents awareness of local and regional opportunities, the qualifications, skills and personal attributes required to take advantage of the opportunities needs to be reviewed.  This should also fit into the STEM coordinated pathway.