A happy New Year to All

Darllenwch y dudalen hon yn Gymraeg
Whether you teach, parent, support or have any other role around education, I wish you every success in 2017.

We hit the year running in education reform; bold reform that will place Wales amongst the top performers when it comes to giving our children the best education for a changing world. Alongside you, I want to propel this forward this year.

Teachers are at the heart of this. As I have said and will keep saying, I believe that supporting, developing and challenging our teachers to be as good as they can is at the heart of a great education. As the new curriculum for Wales is developed they will gain new freedom to teach in the way that works best for their pupils.

But of course reform raises questions in the minds of all of us, and I want more of the answers to be readily available throughout 2017.

To get the ball rolling, you can find ‘Your questions answered’ about curriculum reform below. It features questions raised by teaching unions, but will be updated throughout the year as others ask questions from different perspectives.

Implementing-the-new-curriculum-your-questions-answered

Some questions are tough, and not all answers are available just now, but honest responses are there for you to see.

There is a natural fit between this and developments with teaching standards, teacher professional learning and leadership. These closely linked reforms will combine to produce an exciting future for those who influence education as much as for the children and young people that benefit from it.

Let’s go forward together.

If you have a question, send it to CurriculumDesignandDevelopmentUnit@wales.gsi.gov.uk

– Kirsty Williams AM, Cabinet Secretary for Education