Jeremy Miles, Minister for Education and the Welsh Language, spoke with headteachers on 17th February to re-visit the importance of the new curriculum, describe practical support in the pipeline, and join a discussion with Owen Evans, HM Chief Inspector of Education and Training, Estyn.
The Minister’s speech included news about extra support for assessment and progression, a new commitment on professional learning, and trailed the creation of a new company to produce bilingual resources to support curriculum implementation. Read the full speech here.
Owen Evans described how Estyn’s inspectors will take a supportive role as schools introduce their new curriculum. He stressed that Estyn understands that ‘not one size fits all’ and that he wants to offer a ‘safe space’ for schools to innovate. Consistent with that, a new inspection framework will be piloted this academic year. Read the full speech here.
The film of the entire event, incorporating both speeches, and Q&A, can be seen here.
Also announced at the event was a batch of materials designed to help practitioners take next steps in curriculum planning and implementation, with links to resources.
the specific ‘planning and priorities’ resource is here. The full set of conference and curriculum background materials is here.
The Minister was also keen to share videos of Headteachers sharing their experiences, to help schools with their thinking. These explain the progress they’d made and how they had overcome challenges. See them below.