Speaking about plans to abolish the school consortia, and remodel school improvement, Emma Forrest, NEU’s assistant general secretary with responsibility for Wales, said:
“Our members will be pleased to see that the new model of school improvement will have reducing workload and increasing funding going to schools at its heart. NEU Cymru has long called for more funding for schools.
“But we absolutely can’t have a situation where schools have less support from local authorities in terms of critical areas such as additional learning needs support, and where there is a vacuum filled by individual ideas of what good school improvement looks like.
“Professional learning will be critical, and it is welcome that the consortia will remain in place to support this until August. The new model must support professional learning and time and space outside the classroom in order for teachers and leaders to participate and contribute – without increasing workload.
“We will be looking at the detail closely, and hope the next phase will involve more extensive work with the trade unions, as the voice of those working in schools and within the consortia themselves is critical, so that we don’t lose any current good practice as we create a new model.”
ENDS
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The National Education Union is an amalgamation of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and National Union of Teachers (NUT), formed on 1 September 2017. Please see the below contact details for assistance:
Mary van den Heuvel – NEU Senior Wales Policy Officer - 07436 549 606
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- The National Education Union stands up for the future of education. It brings together the voices of teachers, lecturers, support staff and leaders working in maintained and independent schools and colleges to form the largest education union in Wales.
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