MS, Cabinet Secretary for
Education: I want to support practitioners in Wales to be
lifelong professional learners who enhance their own practice to
motivate and inspire the children and young people in their
schools.
Recent reports on the implementation of the Curriculum for Wales
and our Additional Learning Needs reforms have been clear that
our practitioners need more time to plan, to work collaboratively
and to undertake professional learning. The recent Estyn annual
report also referred to the quality of teaching and assessment.
In 2019 we introduced this additional INSET to support
practitioners to prepare for the new curriculum. Since then, our
education system has faced significant challenges, not least the
disruption and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on our
learners. I know that school leaders are calling for more time to
work with their staff and clusters and we have seen first-hand
how they have used the additional INSET to plan, collaborate and
enable our practitioners to develop their practice in order to
impact positively on our learners.
Today, I want to share my intention to lay regulations to
continue to provide a sixth INSET day for the 2025/26 academic
year. I am announcing this today at our headteachers conference
so that local authorities and schools across Wales have time to
plan purposefully.
During the summer and autumn terms we will undertake a
comprehensive evaluation of INSET, including discussion with
parents, carers, learners, and practitioners, to better
understand the impact of INSET on the education of our children
and young people and in providing supportive conditions for our
practitioners. This work will inform our longer-term Strategic
Education Workforce Plan.
