MS, Cabinet Secretary for
Education: The Welsh Government welcomes the recent report by the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) on pathways and transitions in secondary education
(‘What Shapes Pathways and Transitions? A Comparative Perspective
on Learners' Trajectories through Upper Secondary Education in
Wales). The report is the culmination of a two-year partnership
between Welsh Government and the OECD, which has included both
the development of this comparative research and peer-learning
discussions with the other OECD nations. It emphasises our
ongoing commitment to Welsh education policy being informed by
evidence and the best practice that exists internationally, in
order to improve outcomes for our learners.
Our work with the OECD and member countries has already been used
to inform and improve our policy on 14-16 learning. The 14-16
learner entitlement – the learning that all learners in year 10
and 11 will benefit from under the Curriculum for Wales – was
informed by the OECD's findings. Similarly, the OECD's work made
clear to me the importance of post-16 planning and high-quality
careers education for 14 to 16 year old learners in Wales, given
the significance of the transition learners undertake at 16
following the end of compulsory school education. Post-16
planning is therefore included as a distinct component of the
learner entitlement, so that all learners have time to consider
and be supported with planning their post-16 pathways, to ensure
they are able to participate successfully in post-16 education.
I now want this work to be used to help guide our improvements to
16 to 19 education, building on the opportunities provided by the
establishment of Medr last year. As a starting point, we will
work with partners to refresh the guidance on local curricula for
16 to 19 year old students. This guidance will continue to
emphasise the importance of students having access to a wide
range of courses of study – both academic and vocational – and
the role of schools, further education colleges, local
authorities and Medr in delivering that. But I also want to
explore with partners how the wider 16 to 19 learning experience
can be enhanced, supporting our priority of increasing
participation in further and higher education, and ensuring that
the strengths of Curriculum for Wales continue to benefit
learners as they move onto more specialised post-16 pathways.
I will keep members informed as the work progresses.
