The Welsh Assembly Government launched a strategic plan for education, lifelong learning, and skills in Wales until 2010.
Source: The Learning Country: Vision into Action, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Strategy | Strategy (Welsh)
Date: 2006-Oct
The Welsh Assembly Government announced that it would scrap A-levels from September 2007, and roll out the international baccalaureate qualification for all students in post-16 education.
Source: Press release 18 October 2006, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: WAG press release | NASUWT press release | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Oct
A report said that the number of graduates in the working population in Wales had risen considerably over the previous decade. There continued to be a graduate 'premium', with graduates in Wales earning on average around 46 per cent more per year than individuals with lower qualifications.
Source: Claire Tyers, Helen Connor, Peter Bates, Emma Pollard and Will Hunt, Welsh Graduates and their Jobs: Employment and employability in Wales, Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (029 2076 1861)
Date: 2006-Aug
The education inspectorate in Wales said that many schools and local education authorities needed to improve the implementation of anti-bullying policies.
Source: Tackling Bullying in Schools: A survey of effective practice, HM Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales (029 2044 6446)
Links: Report | HMCIETW press release
Date: 2006-Jun
An independent review (chaired by Heather Graham) made recommendations designed to improve support for part-time higher education in Wales.
Source: Independent Review of Part-Time Higher Education Study in Wales, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Report | Summary | PSI press release
Date: 2006-Jun
A committee of Welsh Assembly members said that schools in Wales were facing a "funding fog" because of an over-complicated finance system.
Source: Report on School Funding Arrangements in Wales, Committee on School Funding/National Assembly for Wales (029 2089 8618)
Links: Report | NAW press release | WLGA press release | BBC report | Childlink report
Date: 2006-Jun
An article examined the scope and limits of the policy autonomy devolved to the Welsh Assembly Government, by reference to a case study of early childhood education and care.
Source: Daniel Wincott, 'Devolution and the welfare state: lessons from early childhood education and care policy in Wales', Environment and Planning C, Volume 24 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Apr
An article said that devolution had created the circumstances in which education policies in Wales had become increasingly distinct from those in England: but the impacts of Wales's new policy system might turn out to be more restricted than needed to be the case.
Source: Gareth Rees, 'Democratic devolution and education policy in Wales: the emergence of a national system?', Contemporary Wales, Volume 17 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Apr
The education inspectorate in Wales said that young people did not yet have access to a full range of vocational education and training courses. The choices being offered in many schools were still limited; there were tensions between post-16 education and training providers; and there were too few links between the courses being offered and local job markets.
Source: Current Qualifications and the 14-19 Learning Pathways Initiative, HM Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales (029 2044 6446)
Links: Report | HMCIETW press release
Date: 2006-Apr
An audit report said that the Welsh Assembly Government s new system for providing grants to local education authorities, to help with training, support, and development activities for teachers, was more streamlined and easier to understand than the scheme it replaced: but there remained challenges to be tackled.
Source: Administration of Grants for Education Support and Training (GEST) and the Better Schools Fund, Wales Audit Office (029 2026 0260)
Links: Report | WAO press release
Date: 2006-Feb
A survey found that almost 1 in 5 adults in Wales said that they struggled with basic maths.
Source: Welsh Omnibus Survey 2006, Basic Skills Agency (0870 600 2400)
Links: Summary | BSA press release
Date: 2006-Jan
The education inspectorate in Wales highlighted improving standards in many areas of education and training, particularly when compared with the previous inspection cycle. In primary schools, 76 per cent of lessons inspected achieved the top two grades, compared with 46 per cent five years previously.
Source: Annual Report 2004-2005, HM Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales (029 2044 6446)
Links: Report | HMCIETW press release | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Jan