Shadow Secretary: “Significant questions remain.”

ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT Education minister, Huw Lewis, announced this week that his government would be accepting the Donaldson report recommendations in full. Donaldson’s ‘Successful Futures’ proposed radical change in the Welsh curriculum, and after a consultation period with the public and academic bodies, the Welsh Curriculum is now set for a complete overhaul.

Speaking about the changes Mr Lewis said: “Successful Futures provides the foundations for an ambitious, engaging 21st Century curriculum shaped by the very latest international thinking. Together, we now embark on the next stage of the journey. I was heartened by how the people of Wales engaged with the Great Debate that followed the publication of Successful Futures. They understand how crucial this moment is for the future of education in Wales and there is enormous appetite for change. That’s why, after consulting with them, I am accepting Professor Donaldson’s recommendations in full. The teaching profession must now play a central role in delivering the new curriculum. Pioneer Schools will be asked to work closely with a range of partners but they will lead on the design and development of the new curriculum.”

He went on to state that the curriculum that embraces four key purposes, supporting children and young people to be:

• Ambitious, capable learners ready to learn throughout their lives;
• Enterprising, creative contributors, ready to play a full part in life and work;
• Ethical, informed citizens of Wales and the world; and
• Healthy, confident individuals, ready to lead fulfilling lives as valued members of society.

He was keen to express what these changes would mean to the profession, saying: “I appreciate we are asking much of our teachers, lecturers, leaders and support staff. But I know the commitment exists within the workforce to deliver the very best for our young people and we will support them on this challenging, exciting journey. Our New Deal for the Education Workforce provides teachers with the opportunity to access high quality professional learning at every stage of their career. It has been developed with the requirements of the new curriculum in mind so it enables us to prepare the workforce for the changes that lie ahead. It’s crucial too, that we ensure new teachers are fully equipped to deliver the new curriculum. Professor Furlong’s report clearly and convincingly articulated the implications of the new curriculum on initial teacher training and I’m delighted he has agreed to support Professor Donaldson on the Independent Advisory Group.”

The Minister finished by saying: “Change on this scale is too important to rush but the process will evolve with purpose and momentum. We have a clear blueprint but I am not setting a timetable for implementation. We will take views from the Independent Advisory Group and others, as part of our continuing Great Debate and I will report back in the autumn.”

Commenting on his report’s acceptance, Professor Donaldson said: “I’m delighted the Minister plans to take forward the recommendations of Successful Futures but it is only one stage in a very long and important process. What we’ve done is to make clear what our aspirations are and set some sign posts for how we should move forward. The critical thing is to turn those aspirations into reality and that depends on everyone across Wales engaging in that process. We need to ensure the way in which the review was conducted, with a strong sense of inclusion and ownership of the direction we want to go in, is maintained.”

However, Welsh Conservative Shadow Education Minister, Angela Burns AM, added a note of caution, stating: “An overhaul of Welsh education is long overdue – but significant questions remain over its implementation.Those reforms will inevitably mean increased workloads for teachers. Given the amount of hours lost to stress-related illness, it’s absolutely crucial that appropriately training and re-skilling staff is top of the agenda. Labour has held the reins of Welsh education for 16 years – and standards have fallen dramatically. There are too many young people beginning secondary school unable to read and write properly – and too few who are sufficiently literate and numerate when they leave full-time education. I now hope to work with the minister on a system of implementation that keeps disruption to both pupils and staff to a minimum.”

Plaid Cymru’s Mid and West AM Simon Thomas said of the radical overhaul: “Plaid Cymru welcomed Donaldson’s recommendations for a more agile and flexible curriculum that sets out objectives rather than overly-prescribing content. While welcoming that the Minister has accepted Donaldson’s review in full it is disappointing that this was announced on the BBC rather than to Assembly Members in the Senedd. The Party of Wales has called for a simple and understandable curriculum that allows teachers to deliver the objectives set out by the government. We have called for more freedom for teachers to be flexible and to challenge pupils in the classroom. A less prescriptive curriculum allows teachers more freedom and gives them more responsibility. We therefore need to build the capacity of the education workforce. It is hoped that, following recent recommendations on teacher training, the Welsh Government will professionalise the education workforce and trust the education professionals to improve education standards.”

The Shadow Education Minister, was keen to extol the virtues of a skills-based curriculum, adding: “Schools need to enable young people to develop the skills they need in a competitive global economy and also the skills they need for life. We have long called for digital literacy to be given equal status to literacy and numeracy and for pupils to learn how to create as well as use technology. We welcome the recognition that young people need to be equipped to become lifelong learners and that, as well as being well-qualified when they leave school. They should have an understanding of citizenship, wellbeing and health. We have called for citizenship to be taught in schools; for the development of pupils’ social and emotional skills; and for ensuring that all pupils receive good-quality physical education that is relevant to their needs and interests.”