Recently, we had the privilege of bringing together previous Professional Teaching Awards Cymru winners, National Teaching Gold Winners and education partners at the Senedd to celebrate the very best of teaching in Wales. Hearing their journeys, how their work has grown, how they continue to innovate, and how they support their learners, was a powerful reminder of the remarkable talent and dedication within our profession.
Highlights reel:
These stories don’t just reflect individual achievement; they capture the spirit of the entire workforce. Each example shows how teachers and support staff across Wales create meaningful change, day after day, in ways that echo throughout learners’ lives.
We also introduced the new Teaching Wales Ambassadors, who will help share the vibrancy and purpose of teaching with others. Their passion reflects what we see across the system: a belief in education’s power to transform lives.
You make a difference, every day, in ways that matter. Diolch yn fawr.
A service providing mental health and wellbeing support for school leaders, teachers and education staff has been extended for another year, thanks to funding from the Welsh Government.
Education Support is the only UK charity dedicated to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of teachers, school leaders and education staff.
The funded Staff Wellbeing Service offers free advice and support for schools across Wales, with a focus on improving staff wellbeing and healthy workplace cultures.
Staff Wellbeing Advisors work with schools to provide practical guidance, strategies and free resources that support staff mental health and wellbeing.
The service offers two types of support. We suggest that you sign-up now – spaces are free but limited:
Access to the Wellbeing Advisory Service Schools can access open, honest and non-judgemental conversations with a Staff Wellbeing Advisor about how to improve staff wellbeing. Advisors provide practical, actionable advice and free resources to help schools build healthier workplace cultures. Sign-up now
Professional supervision for school leaders and managers School leaders and managers in Wales can access six online sessions with a fully qualified supervisor who understands the education sector. Supervision is confidential and professionally focused, offering dedicated time to reflect on your leadership role and strengthen your wellbeing. Sign-up now
Faye McGuinness, Director of Programmes and Services at Education Support, said:
“Teachers, leaders and school staff play a vital role in shaping the lives of children and young people, and good mental and emotional health is central to their ability to do their jobs effectively.
“It is in everyone’s interest – pupils’, parents’ and the wider Welsh community – that educators in Wales are mentally and emotionally well enough to guide and inspire the next generation.
“For staff wellbeing to thrive, school cultures must actively prioritise it. That’s why we are delighted to continue offering this support, thanks to funding from the Welsh Government.”
At the end of 2025, the Seren Academy celebrated 10 years of opening doors for Wales’s brightest learners, helping them to recognise their potential, build confidence, and pursue ambitious futures.
Across Wales, Seren has grown into a learner-centred programme that champions aspiration, nurtures excellence and creates meaningful opportunities that change lives. Now with a £2.5 million annual investment, Seren delivers a tailored, evidence-based offer that supports around 24,000 learners each year, from Year 8 though to Year 13, unique among UK nations, providing opportunities to such learners regardless of where they live or their background.
Ambition without barriers
One of the most powerful aspects of Seren is the diversity of learners it supports. We continue to be inspired by learners who are the first in their family to consider higher education just like Seren graduate Louisa who, with Seren support, in particular the residentials that she describes as a “turning point” for her, she was able to realise her childhood ambition of studying medicine at Cardiff University.
Learners constantly tell us that Seren is transformational. Across Wales, they describe how the programme has helped them to build the confidence, develop resilience, and feel part of a supportive community of like-minded peers.
Seren has been described as the point where ambition becomes achievable, where learners move from uncertainty to informed decision-making about their futures. Beyond academic challenge, mentoring and enrichment, Seren has helped build self-belief, resilience and a strong sense of belonging learners need to set ambitious goals and work towards them. Seren graduate Joel found the support Seren provided him invaluable as he was inspired to and supported to apply to Oxford University. Many learners have told us that the support with personal statements, admissions tests and interviews, alongside the chance to speak directly with academics and current students, has given them the confidence to apply.
Strong partnerships, wider impact
Partnership working sits at the heart of Seren’s success. By collaborating closely with universities in Wales, across the UK and internationally, Seren has developed a strong understanding of what is required for the most competitive courses, qualities that extend well beyond academic attainment.
Our partners consistently emphasise the value of Seren as a clear, national voice for Wales’s brightest learners. Seren provides a trusted route for universities and organisations to engage with learners, deliver tailored guidance, and offer opportunities that reflect their expertise.
Recently, officials have met with representatives from every university in Wales to ensure the Seren offer fully reflects the breadth and quality of opportunities available here, including studying through the medium of Welsh. New initiatives, such as Year 10 Seren Discovery Days taking place this summer, will help learners explore these options early and with confidence.
Looking ahead
We are now entering a new chapter for Seren. The programme continues to evolve in response to what learners, teachers and partners tell us works best. An improved delivery model has been introduced to strengthen consistency and accessibility across Wales, while new pathways, including routes into degree apprenticeships are being explored to ensure excellence can be pursued through different but equally ambitious routes.
Seren’s mission remains clear: to dismantle barriers, broaden horizons, and inspire ambition among Wales’s future leaders, innovators, and problem solvers. Building on a strong decade of success, Seren will continue to be inclusive, ambitious and responsive, opening doors, nurturing talent and supporting the next generation of Seren learners to shine.
Further information on the Seren programme can be found at Seren – Hwb
In February 2025, colleagues from East Carolina University (ECU) and the University of Central Florida (UCF) joined Welsh partners for a week-long international learning exchange focused on the development of Community Focused Schools (CFS) in Wales. With research, policy, and practice at the heart of the visit, and cultural experiences that brought hiraeth and cynefin to life, the week highlighted one core message: we share more similarities than differences, and global collaboration is essential for addressing today’s educational challenges.
Community Focused Schools are a key part of Wales’ programme for government. They emphasise strong partnerships with families, links with communities, and collaboration with multi-agency services to ensure every learner is supported. This approach plays a central role in reducing the impact of poverty, raising achievement, and strengthening pupil and family wellbeing across Wales.
The visit opened in Cardiff, where an engaging overview of Wales’ history and culture was brilliantly brought to life by Edward Jones, Headteacher of Pencoed Comprehensive School. Introductory sessions, including a presentation from the British Council, helped set the context before the delegation met with Welsh Government policy leads to explore how national strategies underpin Community Focused Schools.
Across the week, colleagues visited five diverse schools, Ysgol Pen Rhos, Clwyd Primary School, Ysgol Clywedog, Pencoed Primary School, and Maindee Primary School. They also had presentations from Wrexham, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, and Conwy local authorities. These opportunities offered a unique perspective on how Community Focused School approaches take shape in practice, both at school level and at a regional level.
Partnerships with Wrexham University and Swansea University added a strong research dimension to the visit, including a valuable contribution from Professor Janet Goodall on family engagement.
Throughout the visit, one powerful theme emerged: despite working in different systems, the challenges and hopes of education are shared globally.
Across Wales, North Carolina, and Florida, schools are striving to:
build meaningful family partnerships
engage with and serve their communities
collaborate with wider services to reduce barriers
respond to the effects of socio-economic disadvantage
create equitable opportunities for all learners
Recognising these shared challenges reinforced the value of international collaboration, and the belief that educational systems grow stronger when they learn from one another.
As Welsh Government guidance makes clear, Community Focused Schools aim to bring families, schools, and services together so every learner can thrive. This visit demonstrated that when educators work together across national borders, we move closer to realising that vision for all children.
Helping children across Wales improve their ability to read, write, listen and speak and improve their language skills in general is a subject that parents, teachers and education leaders across the country care deeply about. It is also a priority for the Welsh Government, who have made driving improvement in literacy standards central to their work on education more generally.
As part of that effort, the Welsh Government has published the Literacy Expert Panel’s agreed Principles for Language and Literacy in Wales and the Statement of Intent for Early Reading. These are:
A strong foundation in spoken language is essential for the successful development of learners’ literacy across all stages.
The teaching of literacy should be systematic, structured and explicit.
Making connections between listening, speaking, reading and writing is vital for supporting learners to learn, communicate and make meaning.
Effective language and literacy teaching enables learners to experience enjoyment, success and motivation.
Purposeful assessment is fundamental to support the informed, responsive teaching of language and literacy.
The Literacy Expert Panel is a group of experts who bring a mix of knowledge on the teaching and learning of literacy, relevant academic research and direct teaching experience from across Wales and the UK.
The Panel was set up by the Cabinet Secretary for Education in November 2024 to inform Welsh Government thinking on future guidance, professional learning, and wider priorities for strengthening literacy across Wales, and ensure this approach is both rigorous and grounded in real evidence.
For further information on the background of Panel members, watch the video below:
What is the Welsh Government doing to improve literacy standards?
These principles are already being put into practice across Wales. A key part of this work is the £8.2 million CAL:ON Cymru project, which is creating a national centre of excellence for literacy teaching. The programme draws on the strongest international evidence, including elements of approaches used in places such as Mississippi and New Zealand. Through CAL:ON Cymru, schools will receive bilingual, national support that includes help to strengthen learners’ spoken language skills, alongside more targeted assistance for those who need additional help to learn to read in upper primary and secondary school.
CAL:ON Cymru will publish guidance on effective phonics teaching, including advice on using systematic synthetic phonics programmes and on choosing the right phonics package for a school’s context. The project will also make available internationally recognised assessment tools that help schools understand learners’ specific literacy needs.
Alongside this, wider literacy grants continue to promote literacy through creativity and a love of reading, as well as providing focused support for reading and oracy in Welsh. This year, Wales is joining the other UK nations in marking the National Year of Reading. The campaign, Ymgolli/Go all in – launched earlier this month – builds on work already underway to help schools, learners and families develop lifelong reading habits and raise literacy standards. This shared national campaign aligns with Estyn’s enhanced focus on reading, where inspectors will work with all education providers to prioritise improving reading skills for all learners.
Dysgu, the new national professional learning body, will play a central role in taking this professional learning offer forward, ensuring support reaches every school. Close work with Local Authorities continues so that schools can access a coherent, joined up offer that builds on this national support.
It is vital that this work is done well. Experts and teachers have contributed extensively to the development of the approach. Wales now has a clear, evidence based national strategy that will support every school to equip learners with the literacy skills they need to unlock their education and to thrive throughout their lives.
Welsh Government’s Education Improvement Team (EIT) is still new – but our first year has been a busy one.
We were established to strengthen collaboration across the system, create space for high-quality professional dialogue, and ensure national priorities are shaped by the realities of schools and local authorities. Since then, our focus has been simple: listen carefully, connect insight across Wales, and ensure that we feed local intelligence into Welsh Government.
We have operated in this initial year as a very small team, with Alun Jones as Head of the team and our permanent Welsh Government lead, supported by secondees with experience in schools, local authorities and Estyn. We are currently recruiting for 2 additional secondees to join the team.
Here’s what we’ve been doing so far and what comes next.
Listening first: workshops with every local authority
Our spring workshops with local authorities were a crucial starting point. These sessions were designed as conversations, not briefings. They gave us a rich picture of local priorities, pressures and opportunities – and that intelligence is already shaping national work.
Two key themes stood out.
First, the feedback directly influenced the finalisation of the new school improvement guidance, published on 5 January 2026. The professional discussions around local improvement models were honest and practical. What was shared fed straight into the final guidance and helped ensure it reflects real system experience.
Second, our focused conversations about literacy revealed common challenges across Wales. Colleagues highlighted issues around speech and language on entry, reading skills across the curriculum, and the increasing recognition that strong literacy underpins learner wellbeing. These discussions reinforced something important: improvement priorities are interconnected. Literacy, wellbeing, inclusion and curriculum development cannot be tackled in isolation.
We fed this intelligence directly to relevant policy teams and discussed it in detail with Dysgu, the new professional learning and leadership body. This ensures that what schools and local authorities told us informs their next steps and future support. Your voice is actively shaping national responses.
Building a clearer engagement cycle
Alongside this, we’ve been putting structure around how we engage with the system. The aim is to create a predictable, purposeful cycle that reduces duplication and focuses time on meaningful professional dialogue.
This includes annual spring workshops with each local authority and a named EIT link officer to support ongoing local conversations and to keep national and local work connected. A key part of our engagement is supporting the twice‑yearly Education Improvement Network, where local authorities come together with Welsh Government and national partners to share learning and shape a coherent, joined‑up approach to school improvement within an inclusive education system.
We are also working closely across Welsh Government policy teams and with other national partners to keep engagement joined up and manageable.
Strengthening the national voice of school leadership
We have been supporting the Ministerial Headteacher Advisory Group – a group of serving headteachers who advise the Cabinet Secretary and ensure school leadership is represented at national level.
Over the course of the year, members of the team have also been happy to engage with a range of local and national school leader networks, something which we value greatly.
This engagement keeps national discussions grounded in current school practice and ensures policy is informed by professional expertise.
What happens next
We’re about to begin the next round of workshops with local authorities. These will build directly on last year’s learning and focus on shared priorities, emerging challenges and system improvement.
We are a new team, but the direction is clear. Our role is to connect local insight with national action and support sustainable improvement that is grounded in practice.
Thank you to everyone who has engaged with us so far. The first year has been full and we’re really excited about what’s to come.
Taking part in an exchange can bring long‑lasting benefits for both learners and teachers. It supports the Curriculum for Wales by giving learners valuable experiences across local, national and international contexts. These experiences help learners work towards the four purposes by introducing them to new environments, widening their horizons and encouraging them to see the world from different viewpoints.
Paris trip showcases the power of international experiences for young people
Picture of pupils/staff from Canolfan Amanwy
In June 2025, a group of pupils enjoyed an unforgettable Taith learning exchange in Paris. For many, it was their first time travelling outside Wales, and the trip offered a rare opportunity to explore a new culture, build friendships, and develop important life skills. Pupils visited world‑famous landmarks and spent meaningful time with their partner school, creating memories that will stay with them long after returning home.
Adam Goodman, Manager at Canolfan Amanwy, who applied for the funding and organised the visit, said:
“The visit has shown our pupils what they are capable of and given them a sense of achievement. Pupils with Additional Learning Needs very often miss out on these types of activities and this opportunity has been invaluable on so many fronts. It was a truly once‑in‑a‑lifetime opportunity that brought tears of joy to all involved, especially the staff seeing the pupils’ expressions as we moved around Paris, seeing things they had only seen in books or on TV.”
How can you get involved in an international exchange?
Taith is Wales’ international learning exchange programme. It offers opportunities for people to learn, study and volunteer around the world. Taith projects and exchanges aim to inspire participants and increase aspirations.
Pathway 1 funding supports international learning exchanges by providing grants for participants travelling from Wales to other countries, as well as those coming to Wales.
The Pathway 1 funding call is open until 18 March 2026. Applicants will receive a decision within four months of the deadline. Taith will also run webinars explaining who can apply, what activities are eligible and how to prepare a strong application. Further guidance can be found here.
Schools in Wales are also able to apply for TuringScheme funding, which also allows education providers to apply for funding that helps their students take part in study or work placements abroad. The deadline for applications for the Turing Scheme is 16 March 2026
You can find more information on the Turing Scheme on DfE Sector Comms YouTube channel.
Across Wales, schools are exploring how generative artificial intelligence (AI) can support teaching, learning and school improvement. As this fast‑moving technology becomes more prominent in our daily lives, our national approach is focused on one clear priority: helping learners and practitioners use AI confidently, safely and ethically.
Work is happening across Wales to embed AI in a way that strengthens the education system while keeping learners’ wellbeing at the heart of everything we do.
A collaborative, sector-led approach
Our national strategy is built on collaboration. We are working side‑by‑side with those who understand the education system best. This includes:
Local authorities
School and practitioner networks
Young people, including voices from the Keeping Safe Online Youth Group
Estyn
Global technology and online safety partners
Regulatory bodies, such as the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and Ofcom
This collaborative approach ensures that the development and use of AI in education is grounded in safety, ethics and equity – principles that are central to our vision for all learners in Wales.
The Curriculum for Wales (CfW) aims to empower learners to become ethical, informed citizens who can think critically, use evidence, and navigate digital tools responsibly.
A key part of this is the Digital Competence Framework (DCF), which supports learners aged3 to 16 to develop the skills needed to use technology:
confidently
creatively
safely
The DCF is currently being reviewed, and we are actively considering how a refreshed DCF can support effective teaching and learning about AI.. This evolution reflects the world our young people are entering, one where understanding digital systems is as essential as reading and numeracy.
These professional learning courses are designed to support you and your school by building confidence with emerging technologies, deepening your understanding of AI, and strengthening your digital and computing pedagogy. Through practical, hands‑on, bilingual sessions and high‑quality resources, we help you develop the skills and knowledge needed to teach key curriculum areas effectively and support learner progression in the classroom.
Understanding AI in schools: findings from Estyn
Estyn recently conducted a thematic review on AI in education, the review explored how schools are beginning to use AI and the emerging impact on teaching and learning, administration and school improvement.
Key findings
Reducing workload: AI tools can save significant time in lesson planning, resource creation and report writing.
Supporting personalised learning: teachers found AI helpful for meeting diverse learner needs, including those with complex learning profiles.
Pedagogy matters: the most effective use of AI happened where schools integrated it with strong pedagogical principles.
Early stages of adoption: many schools are still experimenting with AI and need further guidance and structured professional learning.
Hwb: access to digital tools and AI enabled services
Schools have free access to a secure digital platform through Hwb, which now includes several cutting‑edge AI tools such as:
Microsoft Copilot Chat
Google Gemini
Notebook LM
AI‑enabled learning tools, including Adobe Express and Microsoft Learning Accelerators
As part of our International Learning Strategy, we have developed an exciting partnership with the Confucius Institute at Bangor University to deliver weekly Mandarin lessons to our Years 3–6 pupils.
Introducing Mandarin reflects the school’s commitment to providing meaningful international language learning designed to broaden pupils’ horizons and embed an early understanding of global citizenship. Learners are introduced not only to spoken Mandarin, but also to Chinese culture, traditions, and global perspectives as they develop as ambitious, capable learners who are curious about the world and confident in engaging with different cultures.
The partnership has also supported staff professional development, increasing confidence in the teaching of international languages. Working with the tutors our staff have observed effective strategies and pronunciation techniques that inform their own classroom practice, better equipping them to deliver enjoyable, inclusive, and effective language learning.
The greatest impact, however, has been on our learners. We secured Taith funding which meant our Year 6 pupils visited Singapore and allowed them to use their Mandarin in real-life contexts. Seeing them apply their learning beyond the classroom was a humbling moment and reinforced the purpose and value of languages to them. For many, it was their first experience of how languages can truly “take you places”.
Alongside Mandarin, we also deliver French to our Junior Classes, ensuring pupils experience more than one additional language before they move to secondary school. We are clear this introduction is designed to reinforce key literacy skills—listening, speaking, pattern recognition, and memory—while helping learners make connections between languages and understand that languages are diverse, valuable, and accessible to everyone.
Ultimately, we aim to embed a love of languages across the school rooted in the belief that learning another language opens minds, builds confidence, and empowers pupils to see themselves as active participants in a global community. We are incredibly proud of all they achieve.
The Staff Wellbeing Service continues to offer free Professional Supervision for school leaders and managers in Wales. Supervision has a professional focus and is totally confidential. It is time dedicated to your role as an education leader, and will help you to improve your wellbeing.
Since 2020 they have supported nearly 2,500 school and college leaders with 99% recommending the service to a colleague or friend. Subjects that are explored in supervision can include:
Dealing with emotionally challenging aspects of your role
Balancing a demanding career with a healthy home-life
Your professional identity and the personal cost of doing your job
Managing tricky work relationships
Reconnecting with what’s great about a career in education
Supervision makes a real difference to the lives and wellbeing of managers and leaders. Studies show that supervision is associated with job satisfaction, improved emotional wellbeing and less burnout (Dawson et al, 2013).
Discover why supervision is essential for school leaders and managers and what to expect from a session, in this Q&A with Supervisor, Toby Cooper. Learn how supervision protects staff wellbeing, strengthens decision-making, and helps transform school culture for the benefit of pupils, teachers, and the wider community.
