In 2020-21, we carried out a review of the Professional standards for FE teachers and work-based learning practitioners in Wales.
Commissioned by the Welsh Government, the aim of the project was to develop new practical tools to help practitioners engage with the standards.
What we did
Our aim was to ensure the professional standards provide practitioners with an accessible and practical framework that guides them in developing fulfilling careers and maintaining a high level of professionalism .
Our evidence-led approach involved:
- conducting a paper-based review of the existing standards and how practitioners engage with them
- looking at how other countries and sectors approach professional standards, and the sort of practical resources they use to help professionals in engaging with them
- listening to the views and experiences of practitioners, employers and other key stakeholders, and working with them to develop new resources.
We carried out extensive engagement with the sector throughout the review.
- We issued questionnaires to all registered FE teachers, WBL practitioners, employers and key stakeholders. This resulted in over 440 responses.
- We interviewed key organisations including trade unions, Colegau Cymru, NTfW and Estyn.
- We held a series of focus groups with FE and WBL practitioners.
After considering the evidence, we worked with a group of FE and WBL practitioners to develop a set of draft resources designed to support engagement with the standards. We submitted these to the Welsh Government in March 2021, along with a summary of our research findings and recommendations for the next stage of this work.
What’s next?
A pilot of the draft resources will take place with a small number of providers in 2021-22 to help us understand their impact in practice. It will also enable us to make any changes needed to ensure they fully support practitioners to engage with the standards.
We'll continue to work with the Welsh Government to develop the resources further. This will involve
- identifying good practice to incorporate in the resources
- developing case studies showing the standards in practice.
We are also considering ways to develop standards for support staff and leaders in FE and WBL, as well as for the adult learning sector.
Get in touch
If you have any questions about this work, please