SCHOOLS in Carmarthenshire have been recognised for improving careers education as a national rollout of a new award scheme moves a step closer.

The Careers Wales Quality Award (CWQA), which has been piloted since September 2023, has involved 66 schools and education settings across Wales. These include primary and secondary schools, special schools, pupil referral units and EOTAS provisions.

Among those taking part are Ysgol Glan-y-Mor, Ysgol Bro Dinefwr, Ysgol Gynradd Llandybie and Burry Port Community Primary School.

Early feedback from the pilot suggests schools have strengthened leadership and planning around careers education, improved engagement with parents and employers, and increased pupils’ involvement in shaping their own learning. Teachers have also reported greater confidence in delivering careers-related lessons.

The scheme focuses on careers and work-related experiences for learners aged three to 16, aligned with the Curriculum for Wales.

Registration has now opened for schools across Wales to join the programme from September 2026.

The award is split into three stages — leadership, development and impact — designed to help schools build a structured approach to careers education and demonstrate its impact on pupils.

A national rollout will also introduce Bronze, Silver and Gold levels, aimed at recognising progress while allowing flexibility for different schools.

Mark Owen, Head of Stakeholder Services at Careers Wales, said the pilot had helped shape the scheme ahead of its wider launch.

He said: “High-quality careers and work-related experiences play an essential role in helping learners understand their options and develop the confidence and skills they need for the future.

“We’re encouraged by the positive impact we’re already seeing and look forward to welcoming more schools to take part.”

Samuel Kurtz warns decisions must be based on “watertight” evidence

STEPASIDE School in Kilgetty is facing uncertainty after concerns were raised that it could be under threat of closure.

South Pembrokeshire MS Samuel Kurtz has publicly questioned the data being used to assess the school’s future, warning that any decision must be based on “reliable and robust criteria.”

The local Senedd Member said he had been contacted with concerns that some of the figures used to determine whether the school should remain open “may not be entirely accurate.”

In a statement shared online, Kurtz said: “Stepaside School in Kilgetty is under threat, but should it be?

“Concerns have been raised with me that some of the data used to decide whether the school should remain open may not be entirely accurate.

“I have therefore challenged the Welsh Government to provide reassurance that the local authority is using reliable and robust criteria.

“Decisions of this importance must not be taken unless the evidence is absolutely watertight.”

The intervention follows comments made by Kurtz in the Senedd, where he highlighted that the school serves a growing local community and has maintained a stable pupil population of around 100 over the past five years.

He also pointed out that the school supports a high number of pupils with Additional Learning Needs and operates from a relatively modern building in good condition.

Kurtz questioned how Pembrokeshire County Council is calculating surplus places and whether any potential closure would comply with Welsh Government policies, including the Rural Schools Code.

Responding on behalf of the Welsh Government, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip Jane Hutt said that school organisation decisions are led by local authorities within a framework of national guidance.

She added that any proposals would emerge “in the coming weeks and months.”

No formal proposal to close Stepaside School has yet been confirmed.

However, the comments are likely to raise concern among parents and residents in the Kilgetty area, particularly amid wider debates about the future of smaller and rural schools across Wales.

56-year-old admitted making threats and using offensive language in business dispute

A MILFORD HAVEN roofer has been fined after making an abusive and threatening phone call to a rival company.

Haverfordwest magistrates heard that on Sunday (Feb 2), John Fitzgerald, 56, made a single phone call to a competing roofing business.

“During the course of the phone call, threats were made to the other company’s boss,” said Crown Prosecutor Nia James.

“The reason for the threats was that the defendant believes this other company is taking business away from him. The lady who took the call felt alarmed and distressed as he used foul language towards her.”

The court heard the victim contacted police following the incident but chose not to provide a victim impact statement and did not seek a restraining order.

“When he was spoken to by officers he said he’d been a d***,” added Nia James.

“He said he’d had a couple of beers and was getting wound up, as he was fed up with them nicking his work. But it was just one phone call.”

Representing Fitzgerald, Fenn Richards said he accepted his wrongdoing.

“He accepts wrongdoing as he’d had a few too many drinks, he made the phone call, and people were winding him up,” she said.

“The defendant has been in the roofing trade since he was 14, and he believed this person had set up a new business and was taking business away from him. But he didn’t mean any harm by it.”

Fitzgerald, of Elm Lane, Milford Haven, was fined £80 and ordered to pay £85 court costs and a £32 surcharge.