Darllenwch y dudalen hon yn Gymraeg
1. So what is Medr?
Medr is the new arms-length funder and regulator for tertiary education and research in Wales. We have oversight for further education, higher education, work-based learning and apprenticeships, adult education, research, and school sixth forms.
Wales the first place in the UK to have brought all those areas together in one place – we’re leading the way!
2. Why was Medr created?
Although Medr officially went ‘live’ on 1 August this year, the journey to get to this point began almost a decade ago, when the Welsh Government commissioned Professor Ellen Hazelkorn to undertake a review into the post-compulsory education and training system in Wales.
The review looked at gaps in provision across the tertiary sector and identified the need for better coherence and more joined-up thinking. It recommended the establishment of a new national body with responsibility for the regulation, oversight and co-ordination of the post-compulsory sector. We have explored systems with similar models (such as those in New Zealand and Norway), and we are confident that implementing this approach in Wales will lead to better strategic alignment across the tertiary sector.
The overarching goal is a system that delivers for learners and for Wales, and Medr has been created to enable that by facilitating clearer pathways for learners and encouraging collaborative working across the sector.
3. How are you making sure that learners’ interests are being represented? Will they have an opportunity to give their views about the education and training they receive?
One of the aims in our draft Strategic Plan (which we’re currently consulting on – you have until 25 October to get a response in!) is about focussing the sector around the needs of the learner and ensuring that they are involved in decision making. We recognise that giving learners the opportunity to share their views on their education and training is key to ensuring that the system delivers for them, and we are looking at how we can capture the learner voice across all parts of the sector.
We are currently in conversation with learners on our strategic direction, and we have a learner representative on our Board. At an institutional level, we are working to develop a learner engagement code for providers, which will ensure that learners are able to contribute to decision making that directly affects them.
4. What will you be doing to make sure post 16 learners with additional learning needs experience a quality education?
We want to ensure that learners find the best learning pathway for them – whatever and wherever that is. An important part of that is ensuring that barriers for learners with additional learning needs are removed whenever possible.
Alongside the work happening elsewhere in the sector, and in the Welsh Government, Medr has work to do to keep identifying and mitigating those barriers. Promoting equality of opportunity is one of our strategic duties as set out in legislation and a key focus for us in our draft Strategic Plan. I hope that responses to the consultation will identify ways we can improve our work around additional learning needs, and that by working in partnership with the sector we will continue to improve our understanding and support for learners with additional learning needs.
5. What does this change mean for school sixth forms?
On the face of it, there won’t be any significant immediate changes. School sixth forms will receive funding from Medr via their local authority, and Estyn will continue to have responsibility for quality and inspections.
Medr is taking over the Welsh Ministers’ existing powers in relation to sixth form organisation. We know that sixth forms are an integral part of the tertiary sector and a key part of the education journey for many learners. We want pathways to be clear, coherent, and impactful, so we are really glad that school sixth forms are in our remit, and we’re looking forward to working in partnership with the sector to ensure that provision across Wales is the best it can be.
6. What are your plans for making sure learners can carry on their post 16 education in the medium of Welsh?
We are working with the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol as the designated organisation under the Tertiary Education and Research Act to advise Medr on our statutory duty to promote and ensure sufficient provision of Welsh-medium tertiary education.
Our commitment to the Welsh language is reflected in our Strategic Plan; we will be developing a national plan for the Welsh language across the tertiary sector and working with Qualifications Wales and other stakeholders to ensure that there are routes available into Welsh-medium education and assessment.
7. What’s in your in box for this term?
Having launched on 1 August, we’re full of energy and are going full steam ahead this term! Our first Strategic Plan is a huge priority for us, and an important one to get right as we consider what we need to focus on over the next few years. We’ve worked hard to ensure that the draft Plan reflects the conversations we’ve had with our partners about the opportunities and challenges ahead, and we’re looking forward to gathering more views through the formal consultation.
As part of our consultation activity, we are engaging with learners and employers to gather their views in preparation for submission of a final draft of the Plan to Welsh Ministers in December.
8. When and how will we start to see the impact Medr is making?
Without getting ahead of ourselves, I think we’re already starting to see it in the way organisations and providers are thinking. We’ve been talking about this for a long time now – it’s been eight years since the Hazelkorn review into our tertiary system. In the conversations we’ve been having with the sector, we’ve heard people’s concerns about the challenges ahead, but we’ve also sensed real optimism about the possibilities for the future.
It may be a while before we start to see tangible impacts of Medr’s work. Our strategic duties are ambitious and we’ll be working hard to deliver them, but we don’t expect to see changes immediately. In our Strategic Plan we’ve outlined our founding commitments, which we hope to achieve in the next two years, and our growth commitments, to be achieved by the end of the Plan’s life in 2030.
From my point of view, one of the key measures of our impact will be conversations with learners to hear their reflections on their educational journey, and whether our system has equipped them with the skills and knowledge they need to lead a fulfilling life – whatever that looks like.
Find out more about Medr.
Have your say on our Strategic Plan