EDUCATION THROUGH RURAL WORKING (ERW) and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) have come together to develop a joint vision for building capacity and resilience in schools across the region.
Both ERW and UWTSD have, as part of their vision, a commitment to creating the best climate possible for pupils, teachers, support staff and school leaders to thrive. Their joint vision aims to remove barriers to progress through collaboration in the three main areas of:
- Developing leadership and capacity in schools
- Initial teacher education
- Research and evaluation
The two organisations have a track record of working together and this partnership has been extended to include all schools in the region, many of which now engage with ERW and UWTSD in a range of programmes.
Current activities include a planned programme for aspiring and middle leaders, academic validation for ERW’s Aspiring Headteachers course though the University, school-led and designed modular graduate, postgraduate and masters’ programmes; teaching programmes for good and outstanding teachers; ERW Leaders of Learning and Expert Teachers supporting teacher training programmes at the University, as well as developing joint criteria for Professional Learning Schools, which includes identifying funding for schools to engage, share, design, and implement new ways of supporting initial teacher education in partnership with the University.
The University has already made a public commitment to further the strategic priorities of the Welsh Government through its Education Pledge – “A New Opportunity to Lead” – which was published in response to several high profile policy reports on the future of education in Wales, including the Donaldson Review of Curriculum and Assessment Arrangements in Wales, the Education Minister’s “New Deal” for teachers in Wales and Professor John Furlong’s Teaching Tomorrow’s Teachers report.
Professor Medwin Hughes, Vice-Chancellor of UWTSD, said: “Following the publication of UWTSD’s Education Pledge, we have been working closely with such partners as ERW on developing activities and programmes to create confident, reflective learning communities. Through such initiatives we will lead systematic change in partnership with the teaching profession to support a self –improving educational system”.
Betsan O’Connor Managing Director of ERW said: “ERW, as a partnership of Local Authorities is glad to develop further our collaboration with UWTSD. We are working together to fulfil joint aims and objectives and support schools to develop expertise across the curriculum.”
Current initiatives between ERW and the University include the development of good and outstanding teachers programme; collaboration with the University’s Wales Institute for Physical Literacy; developing sector leading expertise in triple literacy as well as working together on the Arts Council for Wales and Welsh Government “Creative Learning through the Arts – action plan for Wales, as lead organisation for the Mid and West Wales region. Dr Dylan E. Jones, Dean of the Faculty of Education and Communities added,
“This is an excellent move to enrich the offer available to learners of all kinds through effective coconstruction between Higher Education, Consortia and Schools. It is only through close cooperation of this kind that we will drive the whole system development that is crucial to the future education of our young people.”
The partnership has already identified future initiatives include developing further programmes in response the Education Minister’s New Deal and career pathways; building regional capacity for action learning through New Deal Pioneer Schools; commissioning academic research to support the evaluation of support and intervention in schools; providing opportunities to support Schools Governors in their role in challenging and supporting schools as well as working together to ensure that initial teacher education and training programmes are of consistently high quality, future-focussed and experienced as a genuine partnership between schools and the university.
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