Breaking News From The New Welsh Education Minister !
The Easter break was a nice…Break, from it all. However, we are all back to work now, and with this has come some chaos from the Welsh Government Education Minister. Why? I am sure you can guess it. It’s all about PAYDAY!
It would seem that the Welsh Government’s Education Minister Lynne Neagle had got a majority of Headteachers up in arms due to her response of the independent review that covered teacher working hours, pay, and conditions!
Welsh Education Minister Lynne Neagle’s response sent the education sector up in arms. She made the statement that she would only implement the recommendations made in the independent review if they were considered to be ‘cost neutral’.
There was a fairly extensive report that was given by the Independent Welsh Pay Review Body, it did not suggest a figure for pay, aside from making a recommendation of £61,000 for headteachers. So, at least there’s some good news there? However, the article published by Wales Online that covered the initial news did state that there was a total of 26 recommendations made and there was included cost implications.
Some of these implications included things such as a maximum number of teaching hours per week and the proposal of developing a reduction plan for teacher workloads.
Why Is Everyone Annoyed?
However, unions are not happy. They say that issues in schools have become much more pressing. Pupil absences and behaviour is on a downward spiral, extra workloads for staff is caused by reforms… Let’s not forget the industries funding crisis and the pandemic!
So, it is really no surprise that unions are unhappy, especially when the report wanted to reduce teacher worktime. There was an original goal to fully adhere to the Working Time Regulations 1998 and that the Welsh Education system would have no detriment in comparison to England working hours. It is actually incredible that these factors are even still in question!
Luckily if you choose to work with an agency, such as us, at BEST, we do our BEST to look after you! But, can we expect an overall sector improvement with an outlook like we have had from the Welsh Education Minister.
The Future Of Education
The harsh truth is that there will always be financial pressures when we want to improve education quality. Our education sector needs to be prepared to make these sacrifices so that the future of education is brighter. This does mean that the Welsh Government needs to be capable of this, but they’re struggling too. According to the Education Minister:
“An important aspect of considering their impact and delivery will be affordability in the difficult financial situation faced by Welsh Government”.
It is these financial pressures faced by the Welsh Government and education sector, that are preventing changes. So, How can we work towards these changes in a positive manner? Its hard, and with school budgets already stretched to the maximum, it is becoming harder to fix these issues cheaply.
Where do we go from here?