Victim says teachers should not be turned into “security guards” after Ammanford attack

A TEACHER who was stabbed multiple times by a pupil at a Carmarthenshire school has criticised proposals to introduce weapon scanners in classrooms, warning they risk shifting responsibility onto already overstretched staff.

Liz Hopkin was attacked by a teenage student at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman, Ammanford, on Wednesday (Apr 24, 2024), in an incident that shocked communities across Wales.

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales, Ms Hopkin said she does not believe scanners are “the answer” to preventing violence in schools and warned they could undermine relationships between teachers and pupils.

She said the focus should instead be on preventing young people from bringing weapons to school in the first place.

“This isn’t about preventing people bringing knives into school in the first place. This is just about detection,” she said.

“If by the time you’ve got the knife in school, you’ve missed so many opportunities prior to that to stopping that knife coming in in the first place.”

Ms Hopkin also warned that introducing scanning responsibilities could place teachers in unsafe and inappropriate situations.

“To stop putting the responsibility onto schools — we already have enough responsibility with less and less and less resources,” she said.

“You’re adding the role of security guard to teachers who are trying to build relationships with young people.”

Despite suffering serious injuries in the attack, she said she still did not believe scanners were the right approach.

“In my own head, as somebody who’s been right at that point where I’ve been stabbed — I was stabbed five times and feared that I would die — I still don’t think it’s a good idea,” she said.

The Welsh Government told the BBC that its work around weapons in schools forms part of a wider strategy to improve behaviour, with a strong emphasis on prevention rather than enforcement.

Officials said any decision to use scanners would be made by individual local authorities, and there is no expectation that teachers or school staff should carry out security duties.

Some councils have already trialled handheld scanners. Cardiff Council has supplied them to schools, but they are only used when there is a clear concern a pupil may be carrying a weapon.

The stabbing at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman led to renewed debate about school safety across Wales, including behaviour management, pupil support services, and funding pressures facing education.

Ms Hopkin added: “I would never ever suggest that anybody put themselves at risk to check. That’s not our role.”

(Image: BBC)

Fully funded research opportunity aims to widen access for disadvantaged students

SWANSEA UNIVERSITY has been selected to host a prestigious artificial intelligence research programme supported by Google DeepMind, offering fully funded opportunities to undergraduate students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The Research Ready AI Programme will run from June 8 to July 31, 2026, providing participants with hands-on experience in areas including machine learning, robotics, natural language processing and data science.

Students will also benefit from industry engagement, mentoring from leading researchers, and the opportunity to present their work at a final research conference.

The initiative is designed to widen participation in the rapidly growing AI sector by supporting students who may not otherwise have access to research opportunities.

Participants will receive a weekly stipend, free accommodation and travel costs, ensuring financial barriers do not prevent involvement.

Training will include sessions delivered by a Turing Fellow alongside academic experts, giving students insight into cutting-edge research and career pathways in artificial intelligence.

An online information webinar will take place on Tuesday (Feb 25), with applications closing on March 15.

Organisers say the programme aims to build confidence, skills and networks among students who are traditionally under-represented in AI and technology careers.

Swansea University was chosen to host the programme following a competitive selection process, reflecting its growing reputation in computational research and innovation.

ESTYN’S Chief Inspector has praised examples of strong practice across Wales’ education system but warned that weaknesses in literacy, teaching quality and leadership are still holding too many learners back.

The findings are set out in the education watchdog’s Annual Report, published today, which draws on inspection evidence from schools, colleges, training providers and wider education services during the 2024–2025 academic year.

While the report highlights encouraging developments — including improvements linked to curriculum reform and new national education bodies — it concludes that the system has not yet worked cohesively enough to ensure consistently high-quality teaching and learning across Wales.

Inspectors identified positive examples, including schools adopting structured approaches to reading, providers building strong professional learning cultures, and local authorities expanding Welsh-medium specialist provision.

However, long-standing challenges remain. These include inconsistencies in leadership and self-evaluation, recruitment difficulties, uneven access to high-quality professional development for teachers, and weaknesses in core skills such as reading, mathematics and digital competence.

Owen Evans, Chief Inspector, said: “This year’s report certainly points to grounds for optimism. Ongoing reform to the curriculum, the new School Improvement Programme, the establishment of Adnodd and Dysgu, and the first fully operational year of Medr provide opportunities to strengthen coherence across the system.

“We are, however, acutely aware of the increasing pressures on providers, including financial constraints, growing numbers of learners educated other than at school and rising demand for specialist provision. Concerns around literacy levels and teaching quality across Wales remain and without a sharper and more sustained focus in these areas, too many learners will continue to fall short of their potential.”

The report reviews inspection and thematic findings from the past academic year across eighteen sectors, including schools, non-maintained nursery settings, further education colleges, apprenticeships, initial teacher education, Welsh-language immersion provision and youth work.

It also examines how well education providers are addressing key challenges facing learners in Wales. Priority themes this year include developing humanities teaching, supporting pupils from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, strengthening independent thinking skills, improving literacy and numeracy across the curriculum, and the impact of leadership on teaching quality.

Mr Evans added: “I would like to thank all settings, providers, staff and learners who continue to demonstrate dedication and commitment despite significant pressures. Estyn remains committed to providing rigorous, constructive and fair independent scrutiny.

“I’m proud to include the innovation and strong practice we have seen across Wales and am optimistic that we can build on these strong foundations. However, decisive action is needed to address systemic weaknesses. We will continue to play our part by highlighting best practice, challenging underperformance and supporting improvement — for learners, for Wales.”

Alongside best-practice case studies, this year’s report is accompanied by a series of podcasts featuring education professionals and learners discussing themes such as apprenticeships and developing independent thinking.