OVER 80 teachers from across Wales attended the Head of Sixth Form Conference Wales organised by the University of Wales Trinity Saint David at the Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea.
The conference is an annual event that brings together members from Wales’s regional Sixth Form consortia to initiate collaboration, discussion, debate and critical engagement on Post 16 policy and provision.
As part of this year’s conference, a range of speakers were also invite to address a number of relevant topics and issues facing Heads of Sixth Form. These speakers included Philip Blaker, Chief Executive of Qualifications Wales; Charmaine Valente from the Student Loans Company (SLC); Catherine Evans, Assistant Director of Estyn; and James Durant from UCAS.
“The Heads of Sixth Form Wales Consortium is a professional delegation of likeminded professionals committed to ensuring that Post 16 students are best equipped to undertake their studies, plan futures conducive to their needs, interests and ambitions, and develop as young people,” says Jon Jones, the Chair of the South West Wales Heads of Sixth Form Consortium.
“To this end, the Consortium has been in existence since 2010, starting as a regional support network in West Wales, and since that time it has grown exponentially to include 120 member schools to date across the country; clear evidence of its value to Post 16 leaders and HE advisers and of the positive impact it has had on learners across Wales.
“It’s been a pleasure to welcome colleagues from across Wales in the knowledge that what we do makes a difference to young minds and futures and we does this in what I firmly believe is the most transformational phase of our students’ education,” he adds.
Following a welcome by UWTSD’s Professor Ian Walsh, Dean of Faulty of Art and Design, Philip Blaker from Qualifications Wales addressed the changes to qualifications in Wales. Charmaine Valente, Funding Information Partners Account Manager at the SLC talked the delegates through student finance packages; tuition fees, maintenance and the impact of the Diamond Review for Welsh students.
Catherine Evans introduced Estyn’s new inspection framework while James Durant from UCAS was on hand to advise regarding the UCAS process.
“The University of Wales Trinity Saint David took great pleasure in hosting the Heads of Sixth Form Summer Conference (Wales) 2017, in Swansea this year,” says Melanie Jones, Executive School Liaison Officer at UWTSD who organised the Conference.
“The Head of Sixth Form Consortium provides a forum to support and inspire both post-16 teachers and advisers in Wales, providing tailored training, CPD and networking opportunities.
“The conference was been arranged in response to the regular dialogues that we have with teacher and advisers and the feedback we’ve had from this year’s event has been very positive, proving the need for need for this type of forum.”
