Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru | National Assembly for
Wales
Y Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl Ifanc ac Addysg | Children,
Young People and Education Committee
Hynt y gwaith gan Lywodraeth Cymru wrth ddatblygu
Cwricwlwm newydd Cymru | Welsh Government's progress in developing
the new Curriculum for Wales
CR 10
Ymateb gan: Cyngor y Gweithlu Addysg
Response from: Education Workforce Council
About the Education Workforce Council
(EWC)
-
The Education Workforce Council (EWC) is the independent
regulator in Wales for teachers in maintained schools, Further
Education teachers and learning support staff in both school and FE
settings, as well as youth workers and people involved in
work-based learning.
The principal aims of Council are to:
●
contribute to improving the standards of teaching and
the quality of learning in Wales;
●
maintain and improve standards of professional
conduct amongst teachers and those who support teaching and
learning in Wales;
●
safeguard the interests of learners, parents and the
public and maintain public trust and confidence in the education
workforce.
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This submission complements evidence previously submitted to
the Children, Young People and Education Committee’s review
of curriculum and assessment arrangements in Wales: Implementation
(2016)
The role of Pioneer Schools and any opportunities and
challenges in their involvement in curriculum design;
-
Research being conducted by WISERD[1] (2018) highlights
some very positive experiences from pioneer school teachers
regarding their involvement in curriculum development, however
early discussions undertaken with staff have shown that there were
some concerns e.g. around time, removal of high quality teachers
from the classroom, and cost of supporting cover for teachers to
attend meetings etc. There has also been some concern that the
input of key stakeholders is being omitted from the process e.g.
pupils, parents, HE subject specialists and business stakeholders.
Implementation costs were also a key area of concern, particularly
around the Digital Competency Framework which has a pivotal role in
the development of the new curriculum.
- Given that workload was one of the key concerns highlighted
via the National Education Workforce Survey[2] in particular for teachers
(78.1% of school teacher respondents and 61.8% of FE teacher
respondents found this to be the least rewarding aspect of their
job) it is important to ensure that curriculum development activity
does not further impinge upon the workload of staff as the
development activity gains impetus. Sufficient time needs to be
allocated to practitioners to enable them to fully participate in
development work in order that it does not impact negatively on
learners or their work-life balance.
How the development of the new Curriculum for Wales
is aligning with the development of the new national professional
learning offer for teachers;
-
The Cabinet Secretary for Education’s recent
statement[3] outlines Welsh
Government’s commitment to investing significant financial
resources into supporting practitioner development. The sum
of £24 million, earmarked for the professional learning of
both teachers and learning support staff, is being split over two
years (£9 million to be distributed via the regional
consortia in the first year and £15 million in the second
year to be distributed via the local authorities), however, at the
present time, it is not clear what the professional learning offer
will look like in practice. Such a significant investment, whilst
welcomed in principle, if it were to be looked on a per capita
basis, this raises questions about whether this is sufficient
investment to have a tangible impact. Equally, the fact that this
is only a pledge of funding for two years, creates concerns around
sustainability.
-
The significant investment in professional learning
requires sufficient oversight to ensure stakeholders can be
confident that this money is being utilised to best effect,
particularly given the increasing funding pressures schools and
local authorities are facing. There needs to be sufficient external
scrutiny, clear key performance indicators, quality assurance of
consortia provision and evaluation of impact. There also needs to
be guidelines in place to ensure that money is spent appropriately
and that there is a consistent, equitable approach across all
consortia areas. With all funded provision delivered by the
consortia, there is an inherent danger that professional
development offering will become internalised with lost
opportunities to learn from outside.
-
Council would also like to see a more holistic
approach to developing the education workforce as a whole. Welsh
Government afforded additional legislative powers to the Education
Workforce Council which means that Wales is in a unique position of
having a range of education practitioners all under one regulatory
framework, including those in work-based learning, FE, and youth
work. Wales now has one of the most comprehensive registers of
education practitioners in the world, yet there is concern that
opportunities to raise standards across the whole spectrum of
education practitioners are being missed. Whilst it is appreciated
that that teachers and learning support staff in schools make up
the main part of the Register, there are other individuals
supporting learners who will be both directly and indirectly
involved in the curriculum journey and there needs to be equity in
the system to ensure a cohesive and responsive
workforce.
-
It is important that Wales learns lessons from
previous education reform activity, e.g. the foundation phase in
Wales. The 2014 independent
report on the foundation phase
found that successful implementation ‘relies on all the key
players (including head and lead teachers/practitioners, class
teachers, teaching assistants, nursery staff, governors, committee
members, advisors and inspectors (p.21)).
-
It is recognised that the new suite of professional
standards aims to align the expectations of professional learning
with the requirements of the new curriculum, but this requires more
than financial investment, it also requires a cultural shift with
clear, consistent messages coming from Welsh Government about what
the expectations are. This is not something which can change
overnight and requires sustained activity. The number of learning
support assistants in the education workforce in Wales is almost on
a par with the numbers of teachers (As at 1 March 2018 35,576
school teachers, 32,662 schools learning support workers), yet the
professional standards for this group are currently only at the
pilot stage, and have not yet progressed through the formal Welsh
Government consultation process. The expectations on this group in
terms of professional development and learning are therefore
lagging behind.
Communication with schools and teachers of the
curriculum development work being undertaken and the engagement of
all schools (not only Pioneer Schools);
- We know that there is variation between schools in
terms of their preparedness for the new curriculum, and this is
largely linked to the weakness in the pioneer school model. A
recent Estyn report[5], for example, highlights
that some schools made only tentative steps in developing the
curriculum as they are awaiting definitive guidance from Welsh
Government before committing to deep-rooted change (p.10). Their
report illustrated that schools were at very different stages in
the curriculum development journey (p.15). It is imperative that
where slow progress is being made, that there is sufficient support
to move these schools in the right direction and to get them on
board with the process.
The preparedness of schools and teachers for delivering the
new curriculum and to what extent the concepts of Professor
Donaldson’s Successful Futures review are being tested
and carried out already;
-
There is evidence from the National Education Workforce
Survey[6], that some education
practitioners were more familiar with the content and
recommendations in Professor Donaldson's report 'Successful
Futures’ than others. Given the timeframes for
implementation, it is of concern that 38.6% of school teacher
respondents to the survey felt they were ‘not very’, or
‘not at all’ familiar with this. Within the supply
sector, there was even less familiarity with Donaldson’s
report with 71.1% of supply teachers respondents indicating they
were ‘not very’ or ‘not at all’ familiar
with the content and recommendations contained within.
-
The supply workforce in Wales constitutes a sizeable
proportion of the overall teaching workforce. Data held of the
register of education practitioners as at 1 March 2018 indicate
that there are more than 4,800 school teachers working on a supply
basis which constitutes approximately 14% of all school teachers on
the register. It is of paramount importance that the supply
workforce is factored in to the communications strategy,
professional development offering and developmental work around the
curriculum.
-
Evidence from the National Education Workforce
Survey[7] 2017 suggests that
education practitioners would value more professional development
opportunities around curriculum content and design, which suggests
this is either an area where practitioners have not had sufficient
support, or because it has recently become a new
priority:
o
35.2% of school teachers who responded to the survey said they
would welcome development around curriculum content and
design;
o
39.1% of school supply teachers who responded to the survey
said that would welcome development in curriculum content and
design;
o
27.6% of FE teachers who responded to the survey said that
they would welcome development around curriculum content and
design.
- It is recognised that following on from previous concerns
around the sufficiency of communications about the progress of the
new curriculum amongst key stakeholders, efforts have doubled in
terms of making improvements in this area e.g. via the curriculum
for Wales blog. It is not clear how communications are being
targeted at those practitioners in education related roles who are
supporting schools to ensure a joined up approach.
The steps being taken to ensure that the new
Curriculum for Wales complements other Welsh Government priorities,
including (but not restricted to) Cymraeg 2050;
- The scale of curriculum reform in Wales is
deliberately bold and ambitious, but there are also a number of
parallel reforms being implemented which are having a significant
impact upon the education workforce. Wales needs to learn from the
experiences of curriculum reform in Scotland. The curriculum reform
journey in Scotland has not been a smooth journey, and it must be
noted that their reform agenda was less ambitious than the approach
being taken in Wales.
-
The register of education practitioners holds
valuable information about the Welsh language ability of the
education workforce. As at 1 March 2018, 33.3% of registered school
teachers indicated that they were Welsh speakers. Whilst this is
higher than the general population according to census data, this
figure has remained relatively static over several years. In terms
of school teachers able to teach through the medium of Welsh, 27.3%
have this ability. Again, this figure has shown negligible change
over several years despite efforts to upskill the workforce in this
area (e.g. via sabbatical schemes, etc.). In order to meet the need
for increased demand for Welsh language education provision, there
needs to be a clear and focused strategy to ensure there is a
sufficient supply of teachers with these skills.
-
It is recognised that there are explicit references
to developing Welsh language ability in the new professional
standards, but whilst this may act as a lever, there needs to be a
range of accessible, cost effective professional development
opportunities available to all individuals supporting learners. It
must also be considered that there are costs involved in releasing
staff from their role, which may present a barrier. The impact on
the learner also needs to be considered since releasing staff from
their educational setting may have continuity
implications.
-
Welsh Government have recently afforded the EWC
additional powers to accredit programmes of Initial Teacher
Education (ITE). From September 2019, all ITE programmes in Wales
will need to be accredited by the EWC. The criteria for ITE[8] make explicit reference to
developing new teachers’ understanding of the curriculum
including curriculum design and planning. This represents a very
positive step which will ensure new teachers entering the workforce
are equipped with the skills and knowledge required in this area.
Cognisance needs to be given, however, to the fact that existing
education practitioners and those responsible for coordinating and
overseeing the implementation will have limited experience in
curriculum design. It is important therefore that there are
suitable development opportunities available and that the impact of
the training/development is evaluated to ensure it remains fit for
purpose. It is not clear where the expertise is coming from to
develop knowledge of curriculum design, given that it is an
entirely new approach.
-
Trend data[9] for Initial Teacher
Education (ITE) illustrate that the supply of new teachers is
dropping year on year. This is further compounded by the fact that
centres are not recruiting to target. A total of 1,910 students
successfully completed their programme in 2002/03, compared with
1,033 in 2016/17 which constitutes a fall of 45.9%. Whilst
recruitment targets were adjusted in line with a previous
oversupply in the system following on from the ‘Review of
initial teacher training provision in Wales’ report[10] (2006), it is important
to ensure that there remains a sufficient supply particularly in
relation to certain subjects where traditionally it has been
difficult to recruit to target. It is becoming difficult to meet
ITE targets for Welsh language, for example, which will impact on
numbers coming through the system with highly developed Welsh
language skills. Teaching is competing with other professions
for high calibre graduates with Welsh language skills, and often
other professions can offer more attractive salaries and reward
packages. Whilst attempts are being made to build Welsh language
capacity within the existing workforce via various initiatives, it
will still need to be complemented with new entrants with
sufficient language skills.
- As
the ITE system builds the foundations for new teachers to develop a
better understanding of curriculum design, the role of the National
Academy for Educational Leadership will be vital in ensuring that
existing and future education leaders in Wales are sufficiently
equipped to support their staff in meeting the challenges of the
new curriculum.
- The Digital Competence Framework (DCF) aims to
underpin the new curriculum, however recent evidence from
Estyn[11], suggests that some
leaders are unsure of when the DCF should be implemented, due to
there being no explicit realisation date which
‘…suggests to some that it will be introduced at the
same time as the new curriculum, six years after the DCF was first
made available. As a result the DCF could lose impetus’
(p.3). The report also expressed a specific concern in relation to
secondary schools in that too few digital leads have mapped the
provision of the DCF across KS4 (p.15). This means that they are
not currently in a position to fully realise the DCF. It is vitally
important the systems and frameworks that aim to underpin and
support curriculum development are moving at the same
pace.
Any other issue stakeholders wish to draw to the
Committee’s attention.
-
Wales is keen to develop schools as learning
organisations as this is seen to be pivotal in ensuring that they
can be responsive to the changing educational landscape and
supporting the development of the new curriculum. A recent report
by the OECD[12], however, suggests that
whilst significant progress has been made by the majority of
schools, ‘a considerable proportion of schools are still far
removed from realising this objective’. It also suggests that
secondary schools are finding it more challenging to develop as
learning organisations. The fact that there is variability in the
system creates challenges.
-
Much of the activity over recent years in the area of
education policy has tended to be very school-centric, yet the
education workforce responsible for delivering the curriculum
encompasses groups beyond schools. The Education Workforce Council
currently has over 1,000 registrants in the youth work sector and
more than 2,600 in the work-based learning sector. There are also
2,554 FE learning support workers and 5,844 FE teachers registered
with the EWC (as at 1 March 2018).
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Whilst much of the curriculum development work is
being driven by the pioneer schools, it is important to recognise
that there is also good practice to be seen outside the pioneer
schools. It is of paramount importance to ensure that there is a
mechanism to ensure that good practice is identified and that it is
easily accessible.
-
Whilst the impending curriculum changes are lauded as
a revolution in the way education is delivered in Wales, it will
inevitably invite intense scrutiny from key stakeholders, with a
need to get it right. Whilst it appears that much work has gone in
to the development of the curriculum itself, it is not clear what
work has gone in to systematically documenting the ongoing
development activity and planning for future evaluation of the
curriculum reform process.
-
The political timetable could also have an impact on
curriculum reform matters and it is important that there remains a
focus on pressing ahead and maintaining momentum throughout this
period in order that impetus is not lost.
EWC National
Education Workforce Survey, 2017: Available from
www.ewc.wales
Furlong, J;
Hagger, H and Butcher, C. (2006). Review of Initial Teacher
Training Provision in Wales A Report to the Welsh Assembly
Government University of Oxford.