Through Hwb, all practitioners in maintained schools in Wales have access to a range of digital tools and resources.
No matter what your digital skill or knowledge level – Hwb has the resources and support available to help you make the most of digital technology.
Digital technologies can enhance learning experiences through the creation of innovative, interactive lesson activities and can enable teachers to adapt their teaching practice to suit individual learners needs.
Digifest
To help practitioners make the most of technology available, Hwb DigiFesttakes place on 2 September, a full day of inspirational virtual sessions designed for teachers.
Throughout the day, participants will find out about the range of digital tools and resources offered through Hwb with over 40 interactive sessions led by global partners such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, Britannia, J2E, Common Sense Media, Flip, and Minecraft.
Trystan Williams has recently started in his post as National ALN Implementation Lead (Welsh Language) and has been busy assessing the landscape of Welsh Language ALN provision across Wales.
With the Implementation of ALNET well and truly under way, Trystan’s focus is on the availability of Welsh Medium provisions.
What is your background in ALN?
I trained as a Welsh first language teacher and started my career as a Welsh teacher in Pembrokeshire.
I then moved to Cardiff where I started working with pupils with a higher level of need and became ALNCo and Assistant Headteacher in Welsh medium high schools in Cardiff.
I was an ALNCo for over a decade and worked as a Cluster Lead and IDP champion during the initial phases of Implementation of ALNET.
More recently I have been working to set up a Welsh medium Specialist Provision for pupils with Emotional Health and Wellbeing difficulties in Cardiff.
What do you aim to achieve?
Quite simply, I am trying to achieve parity and equity for Welsh medium learners and the education workforce.
When considering assessment or diagnostic tools for example, it is far better to assess learners accessing Welsh medium education in Welsh, especially when it comes to literacy and Speech and Language. Formal standardised assessments and diagnostic tools in Welsh are few and far between, and one of my key priorities is to ‘plug the gaps’ in relation to Welsh medium resources. This could involve looking to scale up existing resources, where suitable translating existing resources or exploring options to develop new resources.
I will be striving to gain a national overview of the Welsh Medium workforce and looking at ways to attract educators into the profession. In addition to this, I will be looking at Welsh medium staffing in specialist roles such as Specialist Teachers and Educational Psychology and finding ways to support the Welsh medium system effectively.
One key element of this is to embrace the high-quality work that is already happening in Wales and share this good practice with others. I will also ensure that any new resource comes with in depth training through videos etc to ensure that the Welsh medium colleagues are fully confident in the tools that they have to hand.
How will you achieve this?
I am currently visiting most local authorities and having conversations with different officers to see where Local authorities feel the need lies in their specific context. Hand in hand with LA’s, I will be visiting various school settings and getting input from Welsh Medium practitioners from across Wales. I will also be talking to those individuals who have already been involved in creating various assessments and interventions from Universities to Consortia.
I will also be working Local Authorities to support their work around Outcome 6 of the WESP and to look at the good practice around specialist settings. Supporting Local Authorities to meet their duty under ALNET to provide equitably for both Welsh and English medium learners.
Part of the role will also be to support the Post-16 implementation lead with his work to ensure that there is a clear Welsh Medium pathway for learners with ALN into further education where school is no longer an option.
I also have a great interest in how assistive technologies can support all learners in schools and will be looking at the availability of these technologies through the medium of Welsh.
Any final thoughts?
It is apparent from initial conversations that institutions across Wales have clear views on where they feel the need is for improved Welsh medium provision and they welcome the support and work to improve the offer for Welsh medium learners and staff.
I am keen to hear from as many practitioners as possible to leave ‘no stone unturned’ in pursuit of excellent ALP in Welsh.
If, as a practitioner, you know of any good practice, successful assessment tools or intervention, or believe a specific area needs to be addressed, please email me on trwilliams@carmarthenshire.gov.uk
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has launched a new partnership with the Welsh Government to support evidence-informed practice in Wales.
New Welsh-language versions of the Early Years and Teaching and Learning toolkits are now available on Hwb. They give schools and early years settings access to evidence from over 2,500 high-quality education studies, summarised to support the decision-making of time poor teachers and leaders.
The launch of the bilingual toolkits is part of a partnership to improve evidence use across the system in Wales to support its education equity strategy.
Together, the Toolkits cover 40 different approaches to teaching and learning that schools and early years settings might use. Approaches range from feedback, metacognition and self-regulation, to behaviour interventions, and repeating a year. Each approach is summarised in terms of:
Its average impact on attainment
The strength of the evidence supporting it
Its cost
The Toolkit does not make definitive claims as to what will work to improve outcomes in schools and settings. Rather, it provides a summary of the findings of academic research about which approaches might be promising and which approaches run the risk of harming the outcomes of children.
The Toolkit aims to make evidence accessible to teachers, written in plain language and free to access for everyone. For example, rather than needing to read the 155 research papers on delivering feedback in schools, teachers can quickly have access to a summary that gives an objective overview of the evidence and provide clear insights in how to deliver the approach.
Each strand includes an implementation section that offers guidance about the practical realities of introducing an approach. This aims to support school leaders to put new approaches to work in the classroom. The ‘behind the average’ section discusses the differential impacts of approaches for different ages or in different subjects. This gives schools more insight into the nuances of the evidence.
Providing the toolkits bilingually makes them accessible to many more teachers and leaders. The accompanying Welsh-language guide to the Toolkits gives more information on how teachers can mobilise this resource in their school planning.
The Cabinet Secretary for Education has confirmed that plans to change the school holidays will not happen this Senedd term, to give teachers and staff space and time to deliver other reforms.
In a statement yesterday she confirmed that changes to the school year will not take place in 2025 to 2026 and any decision on timing will be deferred to the next Senedd term.
That means that any future changes to the school year are unlikely to be introduced before 2028.
The consultation was the biggest Welsh Government education consultation on record, generating well over 16,000 responses, which sought views on changing the school calendar to spread school holidays out more evenly across the year.
Term dates for 2025 to 2026 will be published by local authorities shortly.
Following the success of the Attainment Champions pilot launched in January 2023, new schools are being recruited in a 12-month expansion of the scheme.
Attainment Champions are school leaders appointed based on their work to address the impact of poverty on educational attainment in their schools. They provide peer-to-peer support to other schools and help to inform Welsh Government policy around educational attainment.
Phase two of the Attainment Champions scheme will start in September with headteachers of new participating schools working collaboratively with an Attainment Champion in one of five networks with up to 3 schools in each network.
Each school will be provided with peer-to-peer support from within the network from teachers who have experience of supporting learners from lower-income households.
Interested schools should contact the National Academy for Educational Leadership (NAEL), who are delivering the scheme on behalf of the Welsh Government.
Information on how to apply and download the recruitment pack here.
Deadline for schools to apply: 24 June 2024.
The Attainment Champions appointed in 2023:
Janet Hayward OBE, Executive Headteacher of Cadoxton and Oak Field Primary Schools in Barry.
Heather Nicholas, Headteacher at Tonyrefail Community School
Jennifer Ford, Headteacher at Treorchy Comprehensive School in Rhondda Cynon Taff
Joe Cudd, executive headteacher Ysgol Pen Rhos and Ysgol Pentip in Llanelli.
Innes Robinson, Headteacher of Whitmore High School in Barry.
Stuart Davies, Headteacher at Cathays High School in Cardiff
Gethin Davies, headteacher of Ysgol y Bedol, Cwmaman in Carmarthenshire
Incidents of online abuse are ever evolving with ‘sextortion’ the latest issue to make the headlines.
The Keeping Safe Online area of Hwb has all the latest support and practical help for teachers on emerging, high priority issues and information on the current trends in online behaviour of children and young people.
Sextortion
Sextortion is financially motivated sexual extortion.
It is on the rise globally with reports of children and young people being forced into paying money or meeting another financial demand (such as purchasing a pre-paid gift card) after an offender has threatened to release nudes or semi-nudes of them.
It covers how a school can safely manage its own social media presence, with further guidance available here.
It provides information on how schools can understand and spot emerging social media related issues and harmful behaviours, such as powerful online influencers and misinformation.
It navigates schools through the Keeping Safe Online area of Hwb to find the right sources of support and the best ways to talk to children and young people about these issues.
Help for parents and carers
Resources are available for schools to share with parents and carers:
Leaflet: Supporting your child when they are online
Social media and gaming app guides: an overview of the most popular apps, such as TikTok, Snapchat and Call of Duty.
Video to direct parents and carers to the Keeping Safe Online area of Hwb
With the introduction of the Curriculum for Wales, schools and other educational settings across Wales are designing, using and refining their curriculum to ensure all children and young people are supported to reach their full potential.
Following National Network events held across Wales, case studies are now available on Hwb with schools showing how their curriculum is supporting equity, helping children progress in their learning and fulfil their potential.
The events gave practitioners an opportunity to share their experiences and gain valuable insights into approaches others are taking to ensure their curriculum supports equity and inclusion for all.
The case studies include information about approaches to additional learning provision, becoming a trauma informed school, overcoming economic disadvantage and more.
A directory of organisations from the events that can support schools and settings with equity and inclusion is also available on Hwb.
Welsh Immersion, Cardiff – provision to facilitate pupils wishing to transfer to Welsh medium education.
For more networking and information around equity and inclusion and the Curriculum for Wales, log in to Hwb and join the network (search Hwb networks for ‘Equity and Inclusion Tegwch a Chynwysoldeb’).
By registering on the National Network platform you can get the latest information about in-person and online conversations as well as access to materials related to National Network conversations.
By integrating cultural experiences into their new curriculum, Sully Primary School are inspiring pupils to find out more about the world around them and discover a love for languages.
With a diverse pupil population, the school has created an environment where language is a dynamic force for celebration, identity, and connection. Parents and cultural institutions are invited into the school to share their personal experiences, knowledge and language skills.
Through exposure to Welsh, Spanish, Mandarin, French, and Italian, a multi-language approach has been developed.
A new curriculum
The school developed a clear aim and vision of what they wanted from the new curriculum and how to achieve it.
Their vision was for pupils to receive an engaging language education, one that developed their curiosity of the world around them, not just being the passive recipients of language teaching.
Their curriculum has been designed to ensure International Languages are firmly positioned to connect with the other areas of learning and experience, with the four purposes as its cornerstones.
Putting theory into practice
They wanted recognition of their curriculum journey and aimed to become an International School with accreditation from the British Council. This itself gave a framework to plan within.
At the beginning of their journey, they were lucky to have a member of staff who was passionate about international studies and languages. With the backing of the senior leadership team, this person acted as a driver for change. Initially some staff were a little reluctant to give a full buy-in to this planned approach but time, strong guidance and obvious pupil interest gradually resulted in all staff being fully on board.
In the beginning, action plans were shared with stakeholders to gain and buy-in and support from all members of staff and also with the shared understanding of families and the governing body.
They quickly developed strong links with the Italian Embassy, The Confucius Institute and The British Council who have all been immensely supportive in helping Sully Primary School become an International School.
At the heart of their curriculum lies the translanguaging approach. Pupils are encouraged to explore linguistic connections and patterns through exposure to Welsh, Spanish, Mandarin, French, and Italian at different stages throughout their education. These languages were chosen after discussions with their secondary school MFL teachers, who advised to stay away from delivering on one language and instead encouraged us to develop a multi-language approach to foster a love of and a curiosity for languages.
Professional learning
It was very important to ensure staff were fully on board and confident enough with their own language skills and cultural knowledge. Funding from the British Council enabled staff to travel to countries including Spain, Italy and China.
Cultural visits across the globe assisted in creating a greater independent approach towards professional development with staff seeking to increase their own language skills.
A few members of staff requested refresher training in Welsh language. Another enrolled on a night school course with her husband to learn Italian and a few others started competing with each other using Duolingo.
Skills of the existing workforce were developed along with relationships with outside agencies who could bring expertise into the school, benefitting both children and staff. There are now members of staff who are comfortable in delivering basic Spanish, French and Italian sessions and peripatetic Italian and Chinese language teachers are used to deliver weekly language lessons across the school.
Language as a tool for connection and knowledge
Recognising the relationship between language and culture, cultural experiences are actively integrated into language education. ‘International Languages Week,’ enables pupils to immerse themselves in the exploration of a specific country, delving into its culture, language, and religion.
These weeks provide a platform for inviting parents into the school to share their personal backgrounds, cultural knowledge, and language skills. Embraced by the wider school community, these weeks culminate in a celebratory display, allowing children to showcase their newly acquired skills and knowledge to a wide audience.
Last year the school was selected to work with the British Council for the Cerdd Iaith project with pupils learning songs in a range of different languages. They worked with the writer and composer, Tim Riley, and the Welsh actor and singer Lily Beau. The positive impact of this project on pupils was clear. The weekly sessions left pupils feeling energised and excited, learning new words and phrases in different languages.
Involvement in the project culminated in a concert at the Wales Millennium Centre where pupils got to perform with a live orchestra alongside children from all over Wales.
Use of the Cerdd Iaith website continues with a weekly singing assembly for older children. The resources provided by Cerdd Iaith fit perfectly with the schools translanguaging-centric approach to the teaching of International Languages.
Education leaders and practitioners have been clear that they need national guidance to support trans and nonbinary children and young people to feel valued, included, and safe in their education.
We know teachers and schools are already working hard to support children and young people. Providing appropriate national guidance for schools in Wales to support trans, nonbinary and gender questioning children and young people in education is a Welsh Government commitment.
We have been working closely with school leaders, practitioners, learners and a wide range of stakeholders on the development of guidance for Wales.
A public consultation was planned for this academic year. However, we have decided to take more time to develop the guidance so that it’s informed by the best available evidence, including the findings of the Cass Review and the views of stakeholders, including learners themselves and parents.
We are committed to taking this guidance forward. All learners need to feel valued, included and safe and ensuring their wellbeing is our main priority.
Thanks to everyone, especially to the children and young people who have talked to us so far and helped develop this guidance.
Following a period of co-construction and consultation with practitioners, the Curriculum for Wales guidance has been updated to include ‘Continuing the Journey’, which outlines our expectations for ongoing curriculum design.
Whilst our expectations for curriculum design have not changed, we have, in response to practitioners, made the guidance shorter and easier to navigate and understand.
It has been split into 4 areas:
Purpose: what should our learners learn and why?
Progression: what should progress in that learning look like for each learner?
Assessment: how are we assessing to enable that progression?
Pedagogy: how does our daily practice support our curriculum?
Easy to access support is also now available on Hwb, including:
