Welsh Government DYSG eNewsletter: 18 May 2017 (Issue 495)

18 May 2017 • Issue 495

 
 
 
 
 
 

WELSH EDUCATION NEWS

NDLA9090

National Digital Learning Event 2017 – Meet Kellie

Register now for the the National Digital Learning Event! Kellie Williams will be one of the presenters at the digital marketplace where she will be offering practical examples of how to address the Digital Competence Framework. Read Kellie’s blog post on her views on the Framework and why you should attend the event.

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The Great Get Together 

Friday 16 – Sunday 18 June 2017

Inspired by MP Jo Cox, who was tragically murdered last year, The Great Get Together aims to bring together communities, neighbours, pupils and friends to share and celebrate all that we hold in common. Read the Cabinet Secretary for Education's letter to schools, here

PTAC9090

Professional Teaching awards videos now available 

Categories included:

  • Headteacher of the year.
  • Award for promoting pupil wellbeing and inclusion in school.
  • Award for supporting teachers and learners.
  • Whole school award for promoting relationships with parents and the community.

National reading and Numeracy tests

Welsh National Tests Data Collection

The final deadline for uploading data is 7 June, or by the date set by your local authority/consortium.

Headteacher's Declaration

The declaration for 2017 must be signed and submitted to the relevant consortium by the 14 June.

National Reading & Numeracy Tests Diagnostic Support Tools

The diagnostic support tools for the national reading and numeracy tests are now available. These tools will support teachers’ analysis of the national test results for their pupils and will map performance to the National Literacy and Numeracy Framework. 

MORE WELSH EDUCATION NEWS

Reporting on the National Literacy and Numeracy Framework is changing

With immediate effect schools are only expected to produce an annual narrative report for parents/carers based on the LNF in:

  • English, Welsh and maths at Key stages 2 and 3
  • Language, Literacy and Communication Skills and Mathematical Development in the Foundation Phase.

This change will be for all schools.

Parents and Carers' Guides: How was school today? – secondary

Every year we have provided guides for parents and carers of children at the end of their first year in Foundation Phase, learners at the end of Years 2 and 6 in primary school and those at the end of Year 9 in secondary school.

Parental engagement research has shown that an increasing number of parents and carers access information to support their children online. As a consequence we will be looking to reduce the number of hard copies of this publication in the future.

If your school would still like to receive bilingual hard copies, and/or community language versions, of this year’s updated guidance, please go to the Learning Wales page and complete our request form no later than Thursday 25 May 2017.

Additional Learning Needs Consultation

We want your views

on how best to implement the new system to support learners with additional learning needs. Closes 9 June 2017.

Looked after children must have same educational opportunities as their peers – Kirsty Williams

“There has been a six percentage point improvement in the GCSE results of children growing up in care” - Education Secretary Kirsty Williams (Weds 10th May).

Hay Festival - Teaching materials

his year for the first time, with support from Welsh Government, the Hay Festival will live stream its Schools Programme to every school in Wales. Join the festival live on www.hayfestival.com/livestream - 25 May for primary schools and 26 May for secondary schools. There are teaching resources available to use before, during and after the festival. 

Regulations on sharing student information

We want your views on the Education (Student Information) (Wales) Regulations 2017 and Education (Destination Information) (Prescribed Activities) (Wales) Regulations 2017.

Learning Wales user testing

This short questionnaire will test how well the site is organised and help us make our documents easier to find. As part of ongoing improvements we may send out further questionnaires through Dysg. Your input is greatly appreciated!

Welsh-medium resources for schools and colleges – needs identification 2017

Teachers and practitioners are invited to help identify new Welsh-medium resources.

App of the Week

Spend 5 minutes a day learning #Cymraeg with Duolingo for free. 

dates for your diary

National Academy for Educational Leadership Roadshows

The National Academy for Educational Leadership is being established to enable high-quality leadership development across the system. We are inviting Headteachers and other leaders to upcoming roadshows across Wales. These will provide a valuable opportunity for you to help shape the focus of the Academy.

    Celebrating Cultural Diversity

    21 May 2017 is the UN World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. There are many ways you could celebrate at school, so find out more and let us know how you school celebrated by posting your activites on Twitter #celebratingculturaldiversity.

    Restart a Heart Day - 16 October 2017

    On European Resucitation Council Restart a Heart Day, Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust are inviting all secondary schools in Wales to apply to have volunteer facilitators to come into their school to teach life saving CPR. Find out more and register before the end of May!

    post-16 updates

    Apprenticeship Awards Cymru

    Friday 20 October 2017 at the Celtic Manor, Newport

    Application forms for the Apprenticeship Awards Cymru are now available. The Awards celebrate the achievements of learners, employers and work-based learning practitioners who have excelled in contributing to the Welsh Government's Apprenticeship Programme. The closing date for applications is 12pm on 23 June 2017.

    hwb/hwb resources

    HwbMeet Brecon – 13 June

    Have you booked your place at the Brecon HwbMeet yet? 

    Aled Williams will be speaking about how incorporating Hwb tools has allowed him to integrate the Digital Competence Framework into his teaching at our Brecon HwbMeet.

    Let's explore Wales!

    This website tells you about 81 of the most important places in the history of Wales, from castles and abbeys to waterfalls and canals. The map provides information on all these places, with educational interactive activities for each place.

    Mathematics Glossary of Terms

    A resource containing corresponding Mathematics terms in English and Welsh for Key Stage 3 and 4 learners.

    Celc – the arts, literacy and numeracy toolkit

    A brand new toolkit which helps teachers and artists work together to develop pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills through the expressive arts demonstrating how the creative arts can provide stimulating and rich opportunities to help teachers. 

    other news

    Introducing GCSE Welsh Second Language

    Following the ‘Introducing GCSE Welsh Second Language’ events that took place in January 2017, we’ve produced an overview of common queries and observations raised during the events, together with the panel’s responses.

    Qualifications Wales publishes its Regulatory Framework and Approach

    Qualifications Wales published its Regulatory Framework and Approach on 10 May 2017. This document summarises their current framework and approach to the regulation of qualifications in Wales and outlines its plans for developing this further. 

    Last chance to register for Estyn peer inspector training

    Registration closes Friday 26 May

    All peer inspectors must attend Estyn’s summer training to be eligible to inspect under the new framework from September.

    Contact events@estyn.gov.uk or 02920 446510 to secure an invitation if one has not been received.

    Training is available in south, south-west, mid and north Wales on a choice of dates in June or July, although some capacity is now limited.

    ColegauCymru/Colleges Wales’ Blog

    Read the blog about the visit of representatives from further education colleges and work based learning providers to Catalonia during last week.  The purpose of the visit to learn from post-16 establishments on how they teach through the medium of Catalan and Spanish in a bilingual country, and how they introduce other languages to the young people.

    Greater Expectations

    This is a publication created by Fostering Network and aims to support foster carers on how to help the children in their care raise their academic aspirations and succeed at school.

     
     

    ABOUT DYSG

    Dysg is the official education e-newsletter from Welsh Government. Dysg aims to provide updates and developments on education and training sectors in Wales.

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