What is ED

Mike Day (cabinet member for Education in Swansea). The topic of this lecture was educational policy.

Educational policy was described as 'guidelines for actions to achieve goals and objectives. Specific aims to be achieved and desired end results. It reflects on political opinions, traditions and values, and socio-economic objectives. It's over a long time scale and discusses fundamental choices'.

 

What is education for?

• Create a workforce
• Transmit values and beliefs
• Keep people off the streets
• Tool for social mobility
• Produce 'rounded' individuals

Major questions

• What should be the school compulsory age?
• Should school be free?
• Should it be selective?
• SEN? Include in mainstream? Seperate?

Why is it needed?

• Guides opertionl decisions and actions
• Teacher in the classroom, what to do?
• Guidelines or straight jacket?

Who should develop it?

• Politicians - elected to represent people. They hold the 'purse strings' and are not subject experts.
• Practicioners - Know how it works in practice, from a different perspective but unable to take the wider view.
• Should be a meeting of minds (Between the two)

Where is it developed?

• UK Level (Westminster) - Determines compulsory school age, teachers pay and conditions, responsbility of LEA's, parents and schools.

• WAG - Welsh medium, foundation phase, schools, no SAT's or free tuition fees and pupil deprivation grant.

• LEA - Organise and determine size and number of schools we have. Advice and guidnce to schools adn identifies where and how many children (of compulsory age) are missing education within their area

• School and Governing body - Uniforms, start and school finish times, child protection, SEN equal opportunities, school improvement plans, personal and social education.

• Where do regional groups fit in? - 4 introduced from this September. SWAMWAC, Focus on school improvement, standards, learner and wellbeing.

How is it developed?

• Policy borrowing - searches internationl examples of unique, transferrable 'best practice'

• Policy learning - development of tailored national policies rather than policies taken off the peg, they also learn from the countries history.

• QEd Policy 2020

Raise standards of acievement and attainment

Quality of the learning environment

Make best use of human, physical and financial resources

Stakeholder engagement copeness and partnership

Coherance (Consistency with wider educational strategies and support of other council strategies)

Flexibility (Appropriate use of resources)

Objectivity (Use of robust assessment framework)

Cost effectiveness

Resourced

What is Ed

Olive Hopker

This lecture was taken by Olive Hopker, who is the Head of Planning and Development in Swansea Metropolitan University. The topic of the lecture was about Collaboration-V-Competition in education. Some of the aspects that were spoken about are as followed:

Ministerial statements
Employment and Governance Structure in Wales
Collabortion and Competition Issues
Regional Planning and the role of HEFCW (Higher Education Funding Council for Wales)
Benefits and limitations for HEI (Higher Education Institute)

We were also examples of government statements, mostly from Leighton Andrews,which was beneficial for Schools / Further Education Sector and Higher Education.