Overall national education strategy and key objectives

Fifth Assembly, elected May 2016 

A new National Assembly for Wales was elected on 5 May 2016, for a term of five years. Following the election, the Labour Party and the single Liberal Democrat Assembly Member formed a new government, with the Liberal Democrat taking up the role of Minister for Education.

Legislative statement 2020/21 

The Welsh Government sets out its legislative plans in an annual legislative statement.

The legislative statement for 2020/21 was made in July 2020. The main measure in relation to education in the statement confirmed that the Welsh Government had introduced the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill which sets out in statute the principles, freedoms and structures for the new Curriculum for Wales, due to be rolled out in September 2022. It also confirmed that parts of the primary legislative programme had had to be withdrawn in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, including the tertiary education and research Bill.

Prosperity for All: National strategy 

In September 2017, the Welsh Government published a national strategy to deliver its key priorities for the rest of the Fifth Assembly term, building on the headline commitments made in its Programme for Government, Taking Wales Forward 2016–2021 (see below).

The strategy, Prosperity for All, sets out a vision and actions covering each of the key themes in the Programme for Government – Prosperous and Secure, Healthy and Active, Ambitious and Learning, United and Connected.

The objectives identified under ‘Ambitious and Learning’ include:

• Supporting young people to make the most of their potential – providing the best start in life for all, with support from birth, through education, and beyond, to ensure that everyone has the chance to fulfil their natural potential.
• Building ambition and encouraging learning for life – widening people’s horizons and lifting their aspirations by creating a dynamic, entrepreneurial culture and ensuring they have opportunities to grow and achieve more throughout their lives.
• Equipping everyone with the right skills for a changing world – enabling people to develop their skills in line with the rapid changes in the global economy, to keep Wales competitive and to secure employment in an uncertain world.

Action plan for education in Wales 2017-21 

Also in September 2017, the Minister for Education announced a new plan to raise standards in education. Education in Wales: Our national mission.Action plan 2017–21 sets out how the school system will move forward over the period.

The priorities in the plan include:

• reducing class sizes
• reforming teacher training
• strengthening support for learners with additional learning needs
• establishing a national approach to long-term career development for teachers
• establishing a National Academy for Educational Leadership
• reducing unnecessary bureaucracy for teachers
• investing in an upgrade of school buildings.

Programme for Government 2016-21 

In September 2016, the First Minister set out the Welsh Government’s five-year plan to drive improvement in the economy and public services. Taking Wales Forward 2016-2021 outlines the Government’s aims for Wales, set out under four key themes - ‘Prosperous and Secure, Healthy and Active, Ambitious and Learning, United and Connected’. Key priorities under the ‘Ambitious and Learning’ heading include:

• investing in improving school standards and in new and refurbished school and college buildings
• developing a new model for the employment and development of supply teachers
• reviewing the impact of current policy on surplus school places, with an emphasis on rural schools, to better take account of future growth trends
• continuing to develop a new curriculum with the aim of ensuring that young people gain the skills, knowledge and experiences needed to develop creativity and a broader understanding of the world
• supporting the roll-out of digital competence in schools
• reducing infant class sizes
• piloting a new model of Community Learning Centres to provide extended services, such as childcare, parenting support, family learning and community access to facilities
• offering an improved package of higher education student support, based on the recommendations of the Diamond Review of higher education funding and student finance arrangements.

OECD reviews of Welsh education reform since 2017 

In February 2017, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published The Welsh Education Reform Journey, presenting the findings of a rapid policy assessment it conducted at the invitation of the Welsh Government. The report identified progress in several policy areas since an earlier OECD review which reported in 2014. Progress included a shift in the Welsh approach to school improvement, away from a piecemeal and short-term policy orientation towards one guided by a long-term vision and involving key stakeholders.

Included in the 2017 report’s recommendations were that the Welsh Government should:

• continue to strengthen its workforce planning and monitoring to better match the present and future supply and demand for teachers, support staff, and school and system leaders throughout Wales
• ensure that its present and future leadership reform initiatives at various levels of the system – school, local authorities, regional consortia and central government – form part of a coherent national leadership strategy
• continue developing a national approach to professional learning across all career stages, building capacity for the implementation of the new curriculum. This includes a strong focus on building teachers’ formative assessment and differentiated teaching skills
• consider moving towards a national needs-based school funding formula.

The Minister for Education welcomed the report, stating:

'As the OECD recommends, our focus must be on making sure we continue to properly implement our vision for reform. I am committed to raising standards, reducing the attainment gap and delivering an education system that is a source of national pride and confidence.'

In October 2019, in presenting the summary of the feedback on the draft Curriculum for Wales 2022, the Minister also confirmed that she had commissioned a further OECD review. A delegation from OECD visited Wales in February 2020 to explore progress, and its updated assessment of curriculum realisation and related reforms, Achieving the New Curriculum for Wales will be published in October 2020.

Overview of the education reform process and drivers 

The education policy making and reform process is complex, bringing together political objectives with evidence and the views of experts and stakeholders.

Evidence and data 

Evidence-based policy making is embodied in the Civil Service code. All civil servants in the UK civil service are expected to carry out their role with a commitment to the core values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality. Objectivity is defined as basing advice and decisions on rigorous analysis of the evidence.

Evidence and data are increasingly important in the decision-making process.

Across UK government, the Government Social Research (GSR) Profession provides and procures social research to support the development, implementation, review and evaluation of policy.

The Welsh Government also regularly commissions research and evaluation and policy reviews by independent experts to inform and strengthen its policy making. The Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research, Data and Methods (WISERD) is an interdisciplinary social science research institute, designated by the Welsh Government as a national research centre. Education is one of its research areas.

Information from international surveys of student attainment provides comparative performance measures for school education. Wales took part in OECD PISA for the first time in 2006 and many of the current and recent changes within education in Wales are in response to disappointing results in the 2009 PISA cycle. Wales also participated in PISA in 2012, 2015 and 2018. The July 2017 edition of In Brief, the National Assembly’s Research Service blog includes an article on the effect that PISA and the OECD have had on Wales. The December 2019 edition provides an analysis of Wales’ performance in PISA 2018.

UK government resources 

Policy making in Wales may also be informed by resources provided by UK government departments, such as:

• HM Treasury’s Green Book advises on how publicly funded bodies should prepare and analyse proposed policies, programmes and projects to obtain the best public value and manage risks.
• Cabinet Office’s Open Policy Making toolkit provides tools and techniques to create more open and user-led policy.

Equality duty 

The public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010 requires public authorities to have due regard to a number of equality considerations when exercising their functions. An equality impact assessment may be used to demonstrate compliance with the law but is not mandatory.

Scrutiny and audit 

Statutory committees in the National Assembly for Wales provide an important means of scrutinising policy making.

• The Children, Young People and Education Committee holds the Welsh Government to account by examining legislation and scrutinising its expenditure, administration and policy matters in relation to the education, health and well-being of children and young people, including their social care.
• The Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee, plays a similar role with regard to the Welsh language; culture and the arts, while the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee scrutinises skills; employment; economic development; and research and development, including technology and science.

Audit functions are provided by the Wales Audit Office and the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee, both of which have roles in ensuring the efficient and effective use of resources in the discharge of public functions.

Accountability

The education system is also shaped by accountability and funding frameworks, including the inspection framework established by Estyn, the inspectorate. 

Article last reviewed September 2020.