The Education Workforce Council (EWC) has today (5 September 2023) published its latest data on the education workforce in Wales.

The independent, professional regulator’s Annual Education Workforce Statistics for Wales 2023 provides its most comprehensive set of data to date, covering over 88,000 registered practitioners across schools, further education (FE), work-based learning, and youth work in Wales.

The data is derived from the EWC’s Register of Education Practitioners and provides valuable insights into the make-up of the education workforce such as age, ethnicity, and gender, as well as qualifications and subjects.

In this year’s report, all categories saw an increase in registrant numbers. However, of particular note was the increase in registered school teachers (1.6%), and the significant increase in registered school learning support workers (16%).

For the first time this year, the EWC also reported on the area of retention in each of the registrant groups.

EWC Chief Executive, Hayden Llewellyn said “We understand that retention in the education workforce professions is of particular interest to our colleagues and we are pleased to be able to share the findings from our comprehensive set of data.

“Although our data shows varying levels of retention across the registrant groups, it is positive to see that retention in the school teacher category remains healthy with over 75% still registered after five years.

“We are hopeful that this new data, along with our other data sets, will continue to drive the discussion and policy position around important education workforce topics including recruitment, retention, and work load.”

Further key findings, along with the full Annual Education Workforce Statistics for Wales 2023, are available to read via the EWC website.

The Education Workforce Council (EWC) has confirmed its stance on racism by signing Race Council Cymru’s Zero Racism Wales pledge.

Joining over 1,500 organisations and individuals in signing the pledge, the EWC commits to:

• take a stand against racism and promote a more inclusive and equal society for all
• not tolerate racial prejudice, discrimination, harassment, victimisation, abuse, or violence against any individual
• stand in solidarity, come together, and say no to racism, in all its forms
• promote good race relations between people from diverse ethnic backgrounds
• promote equal and fair opportunities for people from diverse ethnic backgrounds to attain promotion
• eliminate unlawful race discrimination, harassment, victimisation and abuse

As the independent, professional regulator for the education workforce in Wales, and an employer, equality, diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our work and organisational culture. This includes adopting and endorsing an anti-racist approach.

Over the past few years, the organisation has held several events focussing on moving from a non-racist to an anti-racist Wales, as well as publishing a good practice guide on tackling racism in education settings.

The guide, which received formal endorsement from Show Racism the Red Card (SRtRC) and BAMEed Wales, aims to support all registrants to understand how their behaviours and practice can help to create inclusive and welcoming environments for learners and young people.

Speaking after signing the pledge, EWC Chief Executive, Hayden Llewellyn said “As an organisation, we are committed to promoting inclusivity and equality within the sector and, as an employer, to practicing fairness and diversity.

“In signing this pledge, along with the objectives set out in our Strategic Equality Plan, we continue to embed anti-racism both inside our organisation, and across the wider education workforce in Wales.”

For more information about the EWC’s ongoing work towards equality, diversity, and inclusion, visit the website.

The Education Workforce Council (EWC) has provided feedback to Welsh Government’s consultation on proposals for a Welsh Language Education Bill.

The consultation offered the public and key stakeholders the opportunity to have their say on Welsh Government’s proposals for a Bill which aims to take steps to enable all pupils in Wales to become confident Welsh speakers through the statutory education system.

In its response, the EWC largely welcomed the proposals, and citing data from the Register of Education Practitioners and the most recent Education Workforce Survey (2021) noted:

• that to achieve the target of a million Welsh speakers by 2050, a significant increase in the Welsh language capacity of the school workforce would be necessary (acknowledging the work already underway, led by Welsh Government and involving a wide range of stakeholders)
• that in addition to recruiting new Welsh speaking teachers, an enhanced programme of professional learning would also be required to develop the Welsh language skills of the existing workforce
• that it would be important to understand the implications of the policy in relation to workload and as such, the EWC asks this is taken into account at all stages of the policy making process.

The EWC is already leading the development and implementation of a strategic approach to the recruitment and promotion of careers in education in Wales (on behalf of Welsh Government). One of the priorities set for this work is contributing to increasing recruitment of Welsh-medium educators. The organisation has also been identified within the Welsh in Education Workforce Plan as having a number of roles to play in this area.

You can read the EWC’s consultation response in full on the EWC website.

The Education Workforce Council (EWC) has published its Annual Report and Accounts for the year ending 31 March 2023.

The report, which was laid before the Senedd on 9 August 2023, sets out how the EWC has performed against its strategic objectives, and includes detailed and audited accounts for the 2022-23 financial year.

Highlights from this year’s report include:

• effective delivery of our core function to regulate in the public interest with over 88,000 individuals on our Register of Education Practitioners
• publication of our revised  Code of Professional Conduct and Practice which sets out the standards expected of those registered with us and is intended to guide their judgements and decisions
• releasing of a range of resources to support registrants comply with the Code including good practice guides and professional development events
• delivery of over 340 support sessions and presentations to stakeholders
• continued growth of the Educators Wales brand, website, and advocacy service to support recruitment and retention priorities in Wales
• receiving the highest audit opinion of substantial assurance with no recommendations for all five internal audit reviews completed in 2022-23

Following the publication, Hayden Llewellyn, Chief Executive of the EWC said “I am pleased to be able to share our achievements from over the last 12 months with you all.

“The education sector in Wales continues to evolve and grow, bringing with it new opportunities and challenges. This Annual Report and Accounts demonstrates how, through being a trusted independent, professional regulator, we are able to support the workforce to deliver the highest standards of professionalism”.

The Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 were published alongside the Welsh Language Standards Monitoring Report 2022-23 and Annual Equality Report 2022-23 .

Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23

Overview: Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23