Written Statement: New arrangements to ensure high quality professional learning for all education practitioners in Wales

Developing high quality teaching and leadership through guaranteed career-long professional learning and support for all staff is central to the realisation of our vision for education in Wales and is one of the five enabling objectives in ‘Our national mission: high standards and aspirations for all.’  As set out in the National Professional Learning Entitlement, which launched in 2022, I want to ensure that all practitioners across the whole of Wales have access to consistent and high-quality professional learning throughout their career. 

To deliver on this commitment, I am announcing new arrangements to quality assure professional learning in Wales. To lead this work, I am delighted to announce that Professor Ken Jones has been appointed as an independent expert chair for a new National Endorsement Panel.  Members of the National Endorsement Panel will include a range of key stakeholders including the Education Workforce Council, National Academy for Educational Leadership, Regional consortia and partnerships, Higher Education Institutions, as well as school leaders and practitioners. Recruitment of practitioner representatives will launch shortly, with the first meeting of the full panel held this term.

The National Endorsement Panel will have a key role in ensuring the quality of professional learning provision for all educational practitioners in Wales.  Panel members will be responsible for setting endorsement criteria and quality assuring professional learning submitted for endorsement against the criteria.  This process will ensure that only professional learning that is of the highest quality will be endorsed.  This new quality assurance approach will be aligned to the National approach to professional learning, as well as arrangements led by the National Academy for Educational Leadership to endorse professional learning provision for school leaders in Wales.

To ensure development opportunities for educational practitioners are easily accessible, we are launching a new professional learning area on Hwb.  This will provide a single point of access to high quality, professional learning resources. Work with a Practitioner Reference Group has ensured that this approach has been developed by practitioners, for practitioners.  Meeting the needs of the entire school workforce, learning opportunities will focus on national priorities for education, including the Curriculum for Wales, ALN reform, equity and the Welsh language. The area will launch in beta format initially, and feedback is welcomed to support the area’s ongoing development.

We have also recruited a new secondee with professional learning expertise to further support the realisation of the National Professional Learning Entitlement.  The secondee and practitioner group will work collaboratively with the new endorsement panel to ensure that only professional learning resources which have met the highest quality assurance requirements are made available on Hwb.   We are accelerating our journey to realise the aims of the National Professional Learning Entitlement for Welsh practitioners, to deliver high standards and aspirations for all learners across the whole of Wales.  I look forward to making further announcements on our progress.