Written question WQ84006

The Education Workforce Council’s (EWC) independent Teacher Education Accreditation Board continues to scrutinise and monitor our new initial teacher education (ITE) programmes so they continue to be demanding, credible and professionally appropriate to attract high calibre applicants. This process also includes monitoring and challenging the ITE Partnerships with regards to their recruitment strategies and performance.

Now in their second year, I am continuing to support the new ‘alternative’ ITE programmes, the part-time PGCE and salaried PGCE. These ITE programmes attract whole new cohorts of ambitious student teachers who have previously been unable to enter the profession via a full-time ITE programme.

Our Teach in Wales recruitment campaign is also continuing to attract more people into teaching. Primarily a digital campaign, it is targeting undergraduates in and from Wales, career changers, teaching assistants and people with Welsh language skills. My officials are currently working on expanding the campaign in partnership with stakeholders.

The Educators Wales web portal launched this year and, managed on behalf of Welsh Government by the EWC, continues to be developed. As well as strengthening recruitment, it is also a place to advertise all teaching vacancies in Wales and support teacher retention and career development opportunities so teachers are supported throughout their career once they have qualified.

Incentives to attract those most needed in the teaching workforce are available. In October, I was pleased to announce a new Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic incentive. This coincided with the publication of the Initial Teacher Education Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic recruitment plan, which focuses on what can be done to support increasing recruitment onto ITE programmes.