MS, Cabinet Secretary for
Education: Today, I am pleased to publish the Strategic Education
Workforce Plan for Schools, setting out a system‑wide
programme of action to strengthen and support the school
workforce.
The Plan outlines a shared vision for developing a confident,
resilient and well‑supported profession, responding directly to
feedback from practitioners, trade unions, local authorities and
partners, as well as the Children, Young People and Education
Committee's recent report on teacher recruitment and retention.
Having recently attended the International Summit on the Teaching
Profession in Estonia, hosted by the OECD, the Government of
Estonia, the Estonian Education Personnel Union and Education
International, I am confident that the Plan is forward thinking
and aligned with international effective practice. During the
Summit, held between 9 -11 March, I engaged in
open conversations with education ministers, union leaders and
education leaders on the most effective ways to enhance the
teaching profession to unlock the potential of all
learners.
Teaching assistants play a vital role in supporting teaching and
learning in our schools and settings. I've previously outlined my
concerns about their pay and conditions. I am therefore very glad
to share that we are making progress in this area and have agreed
with our social partners to move all current Level 1 teaching
assistants to Level 2 and not to use Level 1 teaching
assistant roles for the employment of teaching assistants from
September 2026 onwards. This is the first step towards the
long-term goal of pursuing fairer pay and conditions for all
teaching assistants. I'm also pleased to note that preparatory
work has already started on proposals to establish a School
Support Staff Negotiating Body.
Supporting strong and effective leadership in our schools has
never been more important. In September 2025, I wrote to directors of
education to remind them of their duties under the School
Teachers' Pay and Conditions (Wales) Document (STPC(W)D) and of
the importance of ensuring leaders have time away from work on
weekends and over school holidays. I reiterate this and expect it
to be part of local authorities' and schools' planning for the
remainder of this academic year and beyond. I have asked
officials to work with our social partners to prepare detailed
proposals, for consideration after the Senedd election, for
making changes to the STPC(W)D to further protect leaders'
uninterrupted leave from the 2026/27 academic year onwards. This
work will build on the report of the Independent Welsh
Pay Review Body, which I am publishing today.
I am also pleased to report that together with our social
partners, we have established a task and finish group to develop
proposals for covering teacher absence. This is a complex area
and we need to work with our local authorities to develop a
sustainable approach with the aim of ensuring continuity for
learners.
I am also publishing our response to two recent consultations
which impact the school workforce. There was an overwhelmingly
positive response to the proposal to make the additional INSET
day, that has been provided since 2019, permanent. I have
therefore asked officials to prepare regulations so that this
change can be made ahead of academic year starting in September
2026, subject to a final Ministerial decision after the Senedd
election.
Respondents also supported revisions to the professional
standards for assisting teaching, teaching and leadership, which
will support practitioners to identify their development needs.
This in turn will help to inform school improvement planning and
Dysgu's professional learning offer.
Dysgu has today published its first Strategic Vision, marking a
significant milestone for the organisation, which will play a
central role in delivering key actions from the Strategic
Education Workforce Plan for Schools. I would like to thank Dysgu
staff and Board members for their work over the past few months
to establish the organisation and to progress some of our key
professional learning priorities. I am also publishing the
2026-27 funding letter for Dysgu. I know that their first
priority will be to ensure that the delivery of support is simple
and streamlined, developed in partnership with both local
authorities and schools, and focused on our priorities and those
most in need. To facilitate this, management of eight Curriculum
for Wales support programme grants in relation to literacy and
numeracy will transfer to Dysgu from 1 April 2026.
Delivering the Strategic Education Workforce Plan for Schools
will require sustained collaboration across the whole system. I
am grateful to our partners—local authorities, education
workforce unions, Estyn, the Education Workforce Council, Dysgu,
universities and third sector organisations—whose insight and
leadership have shaped this plan and will be vital in its
implementation.
Above all, the success of this plan will be how it enables
practitioners to meet the needs of learners in our schools and
settings. By working together, we can build a workforce that is
confident, valued and prepared for the future; a workforce
equipped to support every learner to reach their potential; and a
profession that is one of the most vibrant and respected in
Wales.
We are fortunate to have an exceptional workforce in our schools
and settings, and I am looking forward to recognising their work
at the Celebrating Wales' Teachers event in the Senedd this
evening.
