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Education

Welsh Government launches new digital competence initiative

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Digital Competency: Minister launches initiative Wales on 5 June 2014.

Digital Competency: Minister launches initiative Wales on 5 June 2014.

THE WELSH Labour Government has announced its intent on pupils’ digital learning needs this week. A new framework that will introduce digital competence across the curriculum to help pupils of all ages widen and develop their digital skills will be available to schools by September 2016, Education Minister, Huw Lewis has announced.

The announcement, said a spokesperson ‘builds on the recommendations in the independent review of ICT in Wales, and Professor Graham Donaldson’s review of Curriculum and Assessment arrangements in Wales’, published earlier this year.

Speaking about the initiative, Mr Lewis said: “I will be asking our regional consortia to identify a small group of those schools and practitioners already leading the way on the digital agenda so they can help us to design and develop our new Digital Competence Framework, both by drawing on their own experiences and on international best practice.

“Through partnership working we have a real opportunity to build a world class approach to digital competence here in Wales and I will be asking these Digital Pioneer schools to work alongside businesses and educational leaders, including our National Digital Learning Council and employers such as Microsoft.”

Huw Lewis also went on to confirm that the new framework would be ‘rigorously quality assured by UK and international higher education institutions, and that Welsh Government would work closely with the British Council to develop new professional learning experiences, international opportunities to support teachers and practitioner focussed programmes to support the teaching and learning of digital competence’.

The Minister added: “Our new Digital Competence Framework will be very exciting but it will require us to think carefully about how we support our professionals to deliver in the classroom.

“This means better practitioner development, both through our New Deal for the profession and improved Initial Teacher Training, and working closely with partners such as the Open University to ensure we are utilising the wealth of existing skill and knowledge to help deliver the exciting vision of digital competence that Graham Donaldson has outlined.”

Shadow Education Minister for the Party of Wales Mid and West AM Simon Thomas commented: “Plaid Cymru has long called for digital competence to be an essential part of the National Curriculum. Our 2011 manifesto called for digital literacy to be a top priority along with literacy and numeracy and we have called for pupils to be equipped to become creators as well as users of digital technology.

“We welcomed Donaldson’s recommendation to make digital competence a cross-curriculum responsibility. The Welsh Government now needs to properly implement Donaldson’s proposals through investing in the necessary technology and ensuring that teaching professionals receive the right training.”

They went on to point out that Plaid Cymru Leader, Leanne Wood, had already called for ‘digital engineering’ to be taught in schools in a speech she was making to the Federation of Small Businesses Wales on 5 June 2014.

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Business

Kurtz addresses Employment and Skills Convention

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SENEDD Member Samuel Kurtz kicked off an Employment and Skills Convention at the Cardiff City Stadium recently, organised by the Learning and Skills Institute. The event sought to unite organisations, businesses, and training providers to discuss critical issues surrounding employment and skills development across Wales.

The convention featured a panel of distinguished speakers, including local Samuel Kurtz MS, who is the Shadow Minister for the Economy and Energy; Rhys Morris, Managing Director of The Busy Group; and Megan Hooper, Director for Employment and Skills at Serco. Together, they explored strategies for increasing employment and the positive impacts this can have on individuals, young people, and the broader community.

Following the event, Samuel Kurtz said: “It was a privilege to speak at this convention and to underscore the vital role of collaboration between government and the private sector in aligning skills and training with the evolving needs of our economy.

“By enhancing skills and creating jobs, we can foster a resilient workforce that will not only meet today’s demands but also drive essential green infrastructure projects, ensuring a prosperous future for young people in Wales.

“Welsh Government Ministers must acknowledge their role in addressing high levels of economic inactivity. Introducing employment targets is essential to support people in re-entering the workforce and contributing to Wales’ economic growth.”

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Education

Concern over ‘highest-ever’ school bullying rates

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RATES of bullying in Welsh schools have reached record levels, with more than one in three children and young people reporting being bullied, the Senedd heard.

Gareth Davies raised concerns about a 6% increase in bullying between 2021 and 2023, according to a survey of more than 130,000 pupils in 200 secondary schools.

The Conservatives’ shadow mental health minister told the Senedd: “These results are higher than ever previously reported in the survey, which is deeply troubling.”

He said the latest survey showed regression on “just about every metric of pupil wellbeing”, including growing social isolation and a rise in behavioural issues.

Mr Davies, who worked in the NHS in north Wales for more than a decade, pointed to a 2021 legal duty to have regard to the mental health of children and young people.

He said: “The mental health of pupils has declined and reports of bullying in schools have only increased, so the Welsh Government have failed in that duty, unfortunately.”

Plaid Cymru’s Cefin Campbell called for an update to 2019 anti-bullying guidance for school governing bodies following a commitment from the Welsh Government eight months ago.

The shadow education secretary focused on the impact of poverty, warning the high cost of school uniforms can cause stress and lead to bullying.

Mr Campbell, a former lecturer, expressed concerns about penalties, such as detention, for pupils over non-compliance with uniform policies.

Raising a report on “horrific” experiences of racism in Welsh schools, he said one pupil was told a classmate did not want to sit next to them due to the colour of their skin.

“That’s entirely unacceptable in our schools,” said Mr Campbell.

Labour’s Carolyn Thomas warned children’s mental health is at an all-time low, pointing to smartphones and social media as major contributing factors.

She said: “They can be used to bully, manipulate and control, sending young people into an isolated world of despair, not thinking they can get out of it or go to somebody for help.”

The North Wales politician highlighted a petition calling for a ban on phones in schools.

Rhys ab Owen, an independent who represents South Wales Central, stressed that bullying can impact people for decades to come after school.

“But it’s an issue that doesn’t affect learners equally,” he said. “In Cardiff, around a third of learners come from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

“And I was staggered to read a survey from 2020, which said that 61.5% of learners had expressed stereotypes over skin colour, religion and nationality.”

In a statement on November 12 to mark anti-bullying week, Lynne Neagle accepted that bullying continues to be an issue in Welsh schools.

Pledging to prioritise the problem, Wales’ education secretary said new statutory anti-bullying guidance will be published for consultation after Christmas.

Ms Neagle pointed to concerning trends, including 42% of girls scoring high or very high in a questionnaire on psychological problems compared with 27% of boys.

She told the Senedd: “I wouldn’t want to be a teenager growing up today.”

Ms Neagle stated the Welsh Government provided more than £800,000 this year for one of the biggest surveys of children and young people in the UK.

She said: “The link between bullying and mental health is well known. At its most extreme, young people have taken their own lives as a result of being bullied. This is a tragedy for the young life lost, for their family and friends and for whole communities.”

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Education

Planning for a greener future at Pembroke Dock Community School

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LEARNERS at Pembroke Dock Community School are being inspired to think of a future in renewable energy as they found out more about how the energy sector is changing in Pembrokeshire.

The whole school focused on the topic and discovered more about wind turbines, energy testing areas, combating climate change, solar power, and more, in a number of engaging and practical workshops.

Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum and the Darwin Centre brought the subject to life and learners enjoyed getting involved in researching and testing their work.

Some groups designed and built model floating platforms for offshore wind turbines as well as model turbines, children learnt all about how renewable energy is generated and used in modern life, as well as storage energy, while others went on a visit to Dragon LNG in Waterston to see a solar power farm.

Science, maths, problem solving and key thinking skills were all incorporated into the projects.
Pembroke Dock Community School Headteacher Michele Thomas said: “The work of the school this term has been inspired by the exciting opportunities in net-zero careers in Pembrokeshire, as Wales heads towards being net-zero by 2050.  

“We want our learners to be knowledgeable about renewable energy across many levels, and to experience what it would be like to be a scientist or an engineer in the field. We have also strived to empower our learners to take social action on matters that are important to them and their lives, as well as on local decisions that impact on the global population. 

“The staff have been hugely creative in their curriculum design, which has in turn engaged and inspired all of the learners right across all school.”

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