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Education

Conservative calls for academies and free schools rejected by Senedd

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THE SENEDD has rejected calls to introduce free schools and academies after a report found major challenges in Wales’ education system.

Tom Giffard led a Conservative debate on educational attainment, warning that Wales is consistently at the bottom of UK-wide league tables.

The party’s new shadow education secretary pointed to an Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) report on education in Wales which found low outcomes and high levels of inequality.

Mr Giffard told the Senedd the IFS report highlights the pitfalls of the Welsh Government putting all its eggs in the basket of a skills-based approach.

Criticising a failure to measure skills inequalities and pupil progress, he stressed that Wales’ lower performance is due to policy and approach rather than funding or the pandemic.

He said: “It seems the Welsh Government relies on Pisa results to tell the story but then, when those same results are all too disappointing, they are dismissed in equal measure.”

Mr Giffard, who previously worked in a primary school, said declines in Pisa results can be observed in almost every country that has adopted a skills-based approach.

Raising concerns about disappointing Pisa results, the South Wales West MS pointed out that Wales saw the lowest scores in the UK for every subject.

Heledd Fychan, Plaid Cymru’s shadow education secretary, warned that Wales’ schools are understaffed and facing difficult decisions due to budgets being at breaking point.

She criticised implementation of the Welsh Government’s additional learning needs (ALN) reforms, saying schools cannot realise the aims without the budget to bring them to life.

Ms Fychan said Plaid Cymru agreed with much of the Tory motion but her party would not support calls for free schools and academies.

Sam Rowlands described the IFS report as damning, warning that the Welsh Government’s education reforms have been disastrous and have widened inequality.

The Tory MS claimed the reforms are systematically holding back disadvantaged children, saying: “The most remarkable fact is that the performance of disadvantaged children in England is either above or similar to the average for all children in Wales.”

Mr Rowlands added: “The poorest in England’s schools are doing the same or better than the Welsh average, thanks to ambition, the academies and free schools.”

Samuel Kurtz, a fellow Tory, said free schools and academies have driven up standards in England as he argued a Wales roll-out provides an opportunity to improve outcomes.

James Evans, the Conservative MS for Brecon and Radnorshire, highlighted the party’s pledge to get 5,000 more teachers into Wales’ classrooms.

Buffy Williams, the newly elected chair of the Senedd’s education committee, said Wales is undergoing a profound transformation propelled by ALN and curriculum reforms.

The Labour MS for Rhondda stressed the importance of listening to teachers and allowing ample time for the reforms to take root in classrooms across Wales.

Altaf Hussain recounted a conversation he had this week with a headteacher at one of the largest schools in his South Wales West region.

The Conservative said: “The major improvements they have been delivering to attainment and addressing behavioural issues are all at risk because of cuts to funding.

“Vital work undertaken to improve the lives of young people with additional needs could be halted because they cannot afford to continue employing the support workers.”

Lynne Neagle recognised the scale and seriousness of work still ahead to improve Wales’ education system, stressing: “I am not, in any way, complacent about that task.”

Wales’ newly appointed education secretary, who takes over from Jeremy Miles, said sustained improvement in attainment will be among her top priorities.

She told the chamber: “My early focus has been to listen closely to schools and where it is clear that schools seek more scaffolding.”

Ms Neagle said the Welsh Government will work with trade unions and employers to reduce workload and eliminate unnecessary red tape.

The Conservative motion was voted down, 14-35, following the debate on April 24. The motion as amended by the Welsh Government was agreed, 26-23.

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Education

Guide: Dissertation vs. Thesis: Differences and Similarities

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Students may confuse the terminology of different academic papers. However, the terms that are confused the most often are thesis and dissertation. These types of papers are similar indeed because they are written upon graduation and are pretty lengthy compared to ordinary home assignments. You may need to know the difference between these two terms to decide whether you want to pursue some degree or not.

However, the students should also differentiate between these two terms if they want to know how to find dissertation writing services. You can visit the link Thesis Vs Dissertation: What is The Difference? where you will learn the main difference between the two papers and will be able to order dissertation writing services for you right away. The link will lead you to the Dissertation Team website which is a quite reputable dissertation writing services near you and offers help with both, thesis and dissertation.

Dissertation vs. Thesis: Differences and Similarities

Many students find dissertations and theses similar because they may not have enough background information on two of these scholarly papers. Students who still study at schools or colleges may not delve deep into the terminology and think that thesis and dissertations are almost the same. While there is a piece of truth in it because all of these research papers are extensively long and require much time to complete they are still different. 

The difference starts with the period when the students write each of these research papers. Students submit a thesis paper when they graduate from their master’s degree. Nevertheless, to get the PHD degree the students need to submit that dissertation successfully. This is the main similarity you should know about these two types of paper. We will provide you with more details below.

What Do You Understand by Dissertation and Thesis?

To know how to choose dissertation writing services you should first know the terminology. Thesis and dissertation are the research papers written by the students at the end of the course or before graduation. They are written to show the student’s expertise in the topic and the overall field they are studying. Students need to include their unique research dissertation and thesis. 

Firstly, they need to research the current literature on the topic and analyze it. By analyzing the literature, the students should compile it in the specific section and connect it to their research topic. The literature review should also show the gaps which should be filled in.

Secondly, the students need to have their unique methodology and conduct the research using one of the methods: quantitative or qualitative. Based on the research method they should either interview a sample of people or use numerical data they gather to analyze some issue. 

As you can see, writing such extensive research papers is not easy. However, each of them has unique features and differences which we will discuss below.

Dissertation vs. Thesis: The Real Difference

As we have already mentioned there is a huge difference between thesis and dissertation and there are many factors contributing to how to hire dissertation writer for specific services. Let’s consider them all:

  1. Extend of research: To write a thesis successfully the students need to know how to analyze and gather the literature. In contrast when writing a dissertation the students need to provide new series and scientific concepts to the field.
  2. Length: the thesis usually does not exceed 100 pages. On the other hand, dissertations can be of different scopes and can even reach up to 400 pages.
  3. Country: the meaning of the thesis and dissertation is different in Europe and the USA. For instance, in Europe, it is possible to get a PhD by writing a thesis. At the same time, a thesis is just one step to getting a PhD in the USA.

Therefore you should also know the unique policies of education institutions and different countries to effectively differentiate between these types of research papers.

Dissertation vs. Thesis: Similarities

Students are confused about these types of projects for a reason. Now let’s discuss the similarities of thesis and dissertation and the person who is dissertation writer knows:

  1. The students need to write both of these types of papers in order to graduate from different programs 
  2. To write both of the papers the students need to complete a comprehensive research 
  3. Two of the papers should be written with adherence to the specific structure and use of the academic language 
  4. Professors require minimum plagiarism for both of these types of graduate projects

As you can see, you should have great research and writing skills inherent to proffesional dissertation writer to be independent from the type of paper you work on.

Where to Find Examples of Dissertation and Thesis

A good place to find examples of dissertations and learn how to write a dissertation faster is to visit professional writing websites. You can go to the sample page and look at how they have written a dissertation or thesis and to learn what is this dissertation writing services. Besides, you would also have the possibility to order help with your dissertation if you do not want to write this paper on your own. You can order help at the cheap dissertation writing services for you if you like the writing style of the writers on this platform and wish them to help you.

You can also find examples by simply searching online and looking at the papers submitted by the other students. Your professor can also provide you with examples of dissertations written by students in the previous year. 

https://app.originality.ai/share/qpytxvm8bfsz2wlu

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Education

Relationships and Sexuality Education curriculum discussed at County Hall

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A CALL for Pembrokeshire County Council to provide assurance that RSE education in the county was “both age appropriate and does not constitute grooming” was heard at County Hall last week.

In late 2022 a legal challenge against the teaching of young children about gender identity and sex in primary schools across Wales was lost.

Campaigners had launched a judicial review in the High Court against the Welsh Government’s new Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) curriculum.

The curriculum was launched that September, seeing the mandatory teaching of relationships and sexuality education to children from the age of seven.

In a submitted question heard at the May 9 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, member of the public Valerie Sutherland had asked: “Given the legal challenge to the RSE curriculum by concerned parents against Welsh Government, can you confirm the council’s safeguarding team are happy that the RSE education provided is both age appropriate and does not constitute grooming?

“Secondly, given that a number of parents are unhappy about the content of the new curriculum and the loss of their right to withdraw children from classes, particularly in light of the Cass Review, how are you ensuring that parents’ values are respected and that trust in schools is not eroded?”

Responding, Cabinet Member for Education and Welsh Language Cllr Guy Woodham said: “The safeguarding and education team has been actively involved in develop age-appropriate content for schools,” adding: “In faith schools work has been done with each diocese for RSE”.

“Each school has developed a plan for RSE and shared it with parents and learners at their school, parents have been provided with information by their school on how to raise their concerns about the RSE curriculum following the decision to make RSE mandatory for all learners.

“Schools are working with families through the challenges that this brings; each school community has provided sessions for parents on the curriculum, parents are being informed and they have the opportunity to discuss this with the school.”

Cllr Woodham advised parents to raise concerns through the schools’ complaints policy should they have any concerns.

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Education

Senedd told of families’ struggles with new ALN system

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FAR TOO many children and young people are unable to access support under Wales’ new additional learning needs system, leaving families at breaking point, the Senedd heard.

Jack Sargeant led a debate on a 15,000-name petition, submitted by Victoria Lightbown, raising concerns about implementation of the additional learning needs (ALN) system.

He said the ALN reforms have triggered more petitions in recent months than any other subject aside from 20mph, with five being considered by the petitions committee.

Mr Sargeant raised Estyn’s concerns about inconsistent application of reforms under the ALN Act, which is replacing the previous special educational needs (SEN) system.

The Labour MS, who chairs the petitions committee, said he has heard harrowing stories of parents having to fight against a system that sometimes feels inflexible and unsympathetic.

Buffy Williams, the newly elected chair of the Senedd’s education committee, said there is enthusiasm for the reform’s core principles but too much inconsistency on the ground.

She cautioned that a new category of pupils, with lower level additional needs, is emerging.

“They were on schools’ old SEN registers,” said the Labour backbencher.

“But for various reasons – which include funding, workload and perhaps the flexibility offered by the new curriculum – they are not being recognised as having ALN.”

Ms Williams, who represents Rhondda, said 32% fewer children were recorded as having SEN or ALN in the 2022/23 school year compared with 2020/21.

She raised concerns from the president of the education tribunal about “universal provision” being wrongly used as a reason not to give a child an individual development plan.

Saying the Act needs time to bed in, Ms Williams added that schools’ ALN co-ordinators need more dedicated non-teaching time to do their roles justice.

Sam Rowlands, for the Conservatives, raised concerns about far too many children falling through the gaps amid a massive overhaul of the system.

Mr Rowlands, the former Conwy Council leader, who represents North Wales in the Senedd, said parents also report issues with accountability.

Heledd Fychan, Plaid Cymru’s shadow education secretary, warned that too many children and young people are unable to access the support they need.

She told the chamber she was moved to tears by stories of families at breaking point.

Ms Fychan recalled one parent telling her how they contemplated suicide due to the strain of constantly trying to fight for the support their child deserves.

“This is the level of concern in our community – support is desperately needed,” she said.

The South Wales Central MS raised concerns about “incredible” inconsistencies for learners who need additional support in Welsh.

She warned that disabled and neurodivergent children are being excluded from many of the things that make school fun, from school trips to Christmas concerts.

Peredur Owen Griffiths, her Plaid Cymru colleague, highlighted a sense of frustration and anger among parents stemming from dismay at substandard provision.

He quoted a letter from Blaenau Gwent Council to parents which warned schools “can no longer afford to recruit the required number of staff to support our most vulnerable learners”.

Hefin David, whose daughter is autistic, reflected on his own family’s experiences.

He said: “One of the things that happens when you have a child with additional learning needs, or ALN in your family, is that it isn’t a moment of revelation – it’s a slow discovery.”

The Labour MS for Caerphilly stressed the importance of educational and clinical support, warning that all too often the two are disconnected.

Dr David likened the system to a pinball machine that passes parents from pillar to post.

He said his daughter is clearly diagnosable and in the right place in the system, but: “The problem you’ve got is where the children have more grey-area diagnoses….

“It’s much harder for them to find their place in the system as well, and I know others have had that experience. That’s where we really need to pick up.”

Vikki Howells, a fellow Labour backbencher, stressed that the transition to the new ALN system is not yet complete, with phased implementation allowing lessons to be learned.

She said casework in her Cynon Valley constituency shows ALN must be a priority.

Ms Howells, a former teacher and assistant head of sixth form at Caerphilly’s St Cenydd Comprehensive, highlighted a Welsh Government announcement of a further £20m for ALN.

Mabon ap Gwynfor, the Plaid Cymru MS for Dwyfor Meirionnydd, called for educational support to be based more on need rather than a diagnosis.

The shadow health secretary raised examples of children aged six not getting a diagnosis until they are 12 or 13, leading to a delay in support at school.

Lynne Neagle, Wales’ new education secretary, said ALN reform was always going to be an ambitious, systemic programme of change and it remains early days.

Vowing action to improve implementation, she told the chamber her priorities are twofold: improving oversight and increasing consistency.

Responding to the debate on May 8, she said the Welsh Government has protected more than £50m this year for ALN reforms.

Ms Neagle said there are examples of excellent practice in Wales’ schools, with the sector embedding a new person-centred approach while running the SEN system in parallel.

But she recognised the challenges, telling MSs: “We do hear too often that the families of children with ALN have to fight for the right support and education – and this must change.”

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