The Education Workforce Council (EWC) has, for the first time, published two of its key corporate videos in British Sign Language (BSL).

The two videos provide key information about:

• the EWC and its role in registering and regulating the education workforce across Wales
• the Code of Professional Conduct and Practice, a key document for those registered with the EWC.

By offering these in BSL, the independent, professional regulator aims to better engage with the Deaf community and those who use BSL as their primary language.

This initiative builds upon the commitments outlined in the EWC’s Strategic Equality Plan (SEP), to deliver accessible services for registrants and stakeholders.

Launching the videos, Chief Executive, Hayden Llewellyn said “We have made great strides over the last few years in making our communications more accessible, including a full redesign of our website, with accessibility at its core. Publishing these videos in BSL marks yet another important milestone for us as an organisation, and highlights the importance we place on fostering a culture of inclusion.

“But, whilst it is a step in the right direction, we know there is still more to do. Accessibility is an ongoing priority, and we are dedicated to improving further with the help of our registrants and stakeholders.”

Both videos are available to view now via the EWC’s YouTube channel.

To provide feedback on these videos, as well as other EWC services, visit the website.

We wanted to let our audiences know that we have made the decision to discontinue our presence on X (formerly Twitter) effective immediately.

This decision has been under consideration for some time and was not taken lightly. Over the last year, X has changed considerably making it increasingly difficult for us to align our presence there with the values and principles we uphold as an organisation.

Social media is an extremely valuable tool for communicating and engaging with our registrants and wider stakeholders. Whilst we will no longer be active on X, we remain dedicated to fostering meaningful engagement through other channels, including Facebook and LinkedIn.

Flintshire Youth Service and Vale of Glamorgan Youth Service have become the latest organisations to be formally recognised for the quality of their provision, receiving the bronze and gold Quality Mark for Youth Work (QMYW) in Wales.

The QMYW (which is funded by Welsh Government and administered by the Education Workforce Council (EWC)), is a national award which demonstrates an organisation's excellence. To receive the accreditation, they must self-assess against a set of quality standards and pass an external assessment.

In achieving the bronze QMYW, Flintshire demonstrated that they have established the essential foundations for high-quality youth work. This includes engaging with young people to shape their provision, a strong understanding of the needs of those they support, and robust policies, procedures, and guidance to ensure a safe and effective approach.

In achieving the gold QMYW, Vale of Glamorgan demonstrated exceptional partnership working, effective use of management information, and innovative resourcefulness in meeting the needs of young people. The award also recognises and celebrates the achievements of young people, as well as the profound impact youth work, and youth workers, have made on their personal journeys.

Tara Reddy, Quality Mark Development Officer with the EWC said “Huge congratulation to both organisations on these excellent achievements.

“For Flintshire, this is their very first QMYW. The first step can often be the hardest, and I’m delighted that all of their hard work has been formally recognised.

“For the Vale of Glamorgan, reaching gold, having already achieved bronze and silver, is an outstanding accomplishment. It goes to show how the QMYW is helping organisations right across Wales continually grow and improve the services they offer our young people.”

Speaking after the presentation of their award, Martin Dacey, Lead Officer for Social Inclusion and Wellbeing at Vale of Glamorgan said: “This is an outstanding achievement and is recognition of all the excellent work that Rhys and the Youth Service undertake with our young people. We are so proud of their achievements. Diolch yn fawr to all of our incredible staff!”

For more information about the QMYW, including how your organisation can gain accreditation, or how you can become an assessor, visit the EWC’s website.

The Education Workforce Council (EWC) has joined other organisations across Wales in taking part in the Defnyddia dy Gymraeg (Use your Welsh) campaign.

The campaign, spearheaded by the Welsh Language Commissioner, is a call to action for organisations and individuals to embrace and use the Welsh language in their daily interactions at home, at work, when socialising, and when using services.

Bethan Holliday-Stacey, Director of Professional Development, Accreditation and Policy at the EWC said “As a fully bilingual organisation operating in Wales, we know just how important the Welsh language is to our culture. That’s why we are firmly committed to embedding and promoting its use in every aspect of our work.

“Not only are all of our services and resources available in Welsh and English, but we also proactively work to promote careers to Welsh speakers, actively working to help increase the number of those practicing through the medium of Welsh.

“This dedication applies to our role as an employer too. We want our working environment to be inclusive, and one that celebrates the linguistic diversity of our staff. We are proud to say that 36% of our workforce speak Welsh, and encourage everyone to use whatever Welsh they have during the working day”.

As a public sector organisation, the EWC is required to comply with a number of Welsh language standards. You can read the latest annual monitoring report on the website which provides information on their compliance and outlines how have implemented the standards.

For more information on the bilingual services the EWC offers, visit the website.