Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru | National Assembly for Wales
Y Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl Ifanc ac Addysg | Children, Young People and Education Committee
Ymchwiliad i Addysg a Dysgu Proffesiynol Athrawon | Inquiry into Teachers' Professional Learning and Education
TT 20
Ymateb gan : Cymdeithas Genedlaethol Prifathrawon Cymru
Response from : National Association of Head Teachers Cymru
NAHT welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence to the Children, Young People and Education committee.
NAHT represents more than 29,000 school leaders in early years, primary, secondary and special schools, making us the largest association for school leaders in the UK.
We represent, advise and train school leaders in Wales, England and Northern Ireland. We use our voice at the highest levels of government to influence policy for the benefit of leaders and learners everywhere.
Our new section, NAHT Edge, supports, develops and represents middle leaders in schools.
The invitation to submit evidence to the National Assembly for WalesÕ Children, Young People and Education Committee concerning the inquiry on teachersÕ professional learning and education requested information, in particular, concerning the readiness of the workforce to implement the new curriculum. As requested, NAHT Cymru will focus specifically on evidence concerning:
¥Arrangements for continuing professional development for the current workforce;
¥The role of initial teacher education;
¥The sufficiency of the future workforce.
Arrangements for continuing professional development for the current workforce
Professional development within schools is often dictated by a number of factors.
These can be viewed as influences being driven at a number of levels:
Another area that places a demand on CPD requirements for the workforce could be described as the Ôbusiness as usualÕ professional development. Fundamental, regular development areas such as Safeguarding and Child Protection training, Health and Safety training, First Aid training, Performance Management and activities such as assessment standardisation / moderation occur on an ongoing, often annual, basis and each requires resource in terms of time, staff commitment and cost - borne by school training grants and / or budgets.
Schools utilise a number of approaches in order to undertake CPD for staff including weekly twilight sessions, closure in-service training days, specific internal school-day activities (e.g. joint learning observations such as those incorporated into excellence in teaching approaches), external events within clusters and utilising external provider training. The pressures upon such arrangements include balancing the training requirements of all staff against the finite time opportunities, prioritising the needs of the wider school against National Policy and external demands, financial pressures Ð e.g. organising effective supply cover and training events and materials Ð and, most importantly, maintaining high quality teaching and learning for pupils whilst enabling staff to develop professionally. This can be particularly challenging in smaller schools.
There are also ÔfreeÕ training events organised by National Government, Regional Consortia and Local Authorities, however, there still remains a cost to the school if the events take place during the school day as supply cover is required for the pupils still in class. In some circumstances, schools have had to ensure attendance at such essential CPD events, for example, training for staff required to deliver the Foundation Phase baseline. However, such essential training may have been organised a significant period of time after the start of the financial year, with no additional resource provided to the school to cover supply costs. Many schools are only able to commit very limited training budgets for the year in their school development plans and so there is no ÔspareÕ resource for such additional activity which means that the cost for enabling staff to attend the unanticipated training must be borne by the school budget and not the training grant (which is committed or spent).
At this point, it is also worth noting the challenges that remain with the administration of the Education Improvement Grant (EIG).
The grants that fall under the Education Grant are:
The flexibility provided by Welsh Government in 2015 in the use of the EIG, enabled schools to use the grant wherever the greatest need was evidenced. This was broadly welcomed and allowed schools to focus upon pupil outcomes and was also in recognition of the financial pressures that ring-fencing elements of the individual grants might cause.
During the announcement of the Education Improvement Grant in 2015-2016, the Welsh Government stated that the total grant allocation across all regions would be reduced by 10%.
Under the terms and conditions, authorities are expected to delegate a minimum of 80% of the funding out to schools. Administration costs are limited to a maximum of 1.5% of the grant total. This is at a time when schools are being required to undertake almost unprecedented levels of reform, for which training and professional learning are essential.
In addition, and most notably, the EIG is distributed to schools on a pupil number basis. This approach does not recognise that much of the EIG, and the School Effectiveness Grant in particular (and to some extent, the Welsh in Education Grant), is utilised by schools as a staff training fund. The pupil number allocation method means that schools that require higher staff to pupil ratios (Early Years, schools with Additional Learning Needs resource bases, schools with higher numbers of pupils requiring significant support and Special Schools, especially) are significantly disadvantaged. As a result of the pupil number methodology for allocation, staff training resource is, therefore, not evenly distributed across the workforce.
As acknowledged by Welsh Government on a number of occasions, the current level of reform underway in education in Wales is the most significant and far reaching for probably 70 years. Educational professionals in Wales, and particularly school leaders, have shown an appetite to shape and lead on many of the changes proposed Ð many of which have been welcomed and long overdue. However, in order to deliver the desired reform and the outcomes our children and young people need and deserve, there needs to be a greater emphasis on joining-up various strands.
For the purpose of this paper, we will look at three areas frequently noted by NAHT Cymru members as substantial and significant Ð curriculum / assessment reform under ÔSuccessful FuturesÕ, the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Bill (ALNET Bill) and school budgets / funding arrangements.
The fundamental principles within ÔSuccessful FuturesÕ and the articulated recommendations are welcomed by school leaders. In our evidence to the National Assembly for WalesÕ Children, Young People and Education Committee in relation to Professor DonaldsonÕs review, we stated,
ÔNAHT Cymru and our members were heavily involved in the evidence that fed into Professor Graham DonaldsonÕs review and in the shaping of the recommendations in Successful Futures.
Indeed, following the announcement of the acceptance of all 68 recommendations in late June 2015, NAHT Cymru stated,
ÒÔSuccessful FuturesÕ provides permission for the profession to take the lead and is the blueprint that should now shape the work of all interested parties - schools, Local Authorities, Regional Consortia, Estyn and the Welsh Government.
ÒNAHT Cymru are also pleased that there have been more realistic timescales indicated by the Minister. Lessons have to be learnt from less successful implementation of past initiatives. ItÕs not about getting a new curriculum and assessment in place by a short term, specific date or time. ItÕs actually more about getting it right, at the right time and keeping the needs of all learners at the heart of all we do.Ó
The examples of developments emerging from individual pioneer schools have appeared exciting and innovative and the schools and staff within them have made use of the time and space provided in order to begin devising outstanding practice.Õ
However, in order to ensure that the changes required are to be realised Wales-wide, resources, both in terms of time and finance, will be significant.
Within the recommendations, the focus for assessment has been made clear. Assessment for learning is to be the main driver. Assessment for learning, involving the child / young person actively in accurately assessing where they have reached thus far in their learning, identifying the next steps for progress and equipping them to take the next steps, requires a person-led approach not necessarily supported by the current National Curriculum and traditional teaching methods.
This cultural shift required to deliver this approach needs significant professional learning input for many members of the educational workforce and, again, that will require resources in terms of time and finance. This differentiated, Ôneeds of the learnerÕ led approach leads neatly onto the second area of focus.
The ALNET Bill is an ambitious and significant change from current arrangements for pupils with Special Educational Needs in Wales. Successful implementation will require a number of fundamental elements including genuine multi-agency working, clarity around ALN responsibilities and significant, workforce-wide professional development. In fact, NAHT Cymru believe that the timetable for roll out of the ALNET Bill depends upon much of the above being achieved prior to requiring educational settings to work under the new arrangements.
In focusing only upon the training requirements of staff, it is clear that the Ôneeds of the learnerÕ approach suggested in the delivery of ÔSuccessful FuturesÕ dovetails, to a great extent, into the equipping of the workforce to deliver the ALNET Bill and wider ALN Transformation Programme.
Finally, in focusing on school budgets / funding arrangements across Wales (whilst keeping in mind the evidence submitted concerning the administration of the EIG) a number of fundamental issues arise.
NAHT Cymru have collated figures concerning the age-weighted pupil units (AWPUs) currently incorporated within Section 52 budgets - this being purely delegated or devolved budgets to schools at the beginning of the financial year and does not include any money held centrally by the local authority and spent on behalf of schools.
When looking at specific age cohorts, the variations are stark and particularly significant since AWPUs make up 70% of the funding distributed to schools.
For example, data gathered by NAHT Cymru via a freedom of information request generated comparative figures from 21 of the 22 Local Authorities for 2015-2016.
The following table illustrates the variations:
|
21 out of 22 Local Authorities Ð Funding per pupil in £s |
|||
Highest |
Lowest |
Difference |
Mid-point |
|
3-4 |
3985.00 |
2050.70 |
1934.3 |
3017.85 |
4-5 |
4956.82 |
2000.54 |
2956.28 |
3478.68 |
5-6 |
3541.51 |
1755.49 |
1786.02 |
2648.50 |
6-7 |
3553.35 |
1755.49 |
1797.864 |
2654.42 |
7-8 |
3937.80 |
1699.00 |
2238.8 |
2818.40 |
8-9 |
3700.27 |
1699.00 |
2001.27 |
2699.64 |
9-10 |
3706.93 |
1699.00 |
2007.93 |
2702.97 |
10-11 |
3806.82 |
1807.17 |