Adnodd funding and remit: 2026 to 2030

Owain Gethin Davies
Chair Adnodd

Annwyl Gethin

I am writing to set out the remit for Adnodd. This letter replaces your previous remit. It is intended to remain in place for the whole term of Government, to be replaced once the Government sets out its strategic agenda after the 2030 Senedd ordinary general election.

In issuing this letter I am mindful that Adnodd operates in the context of the same national priorities as Dysgu, and that these wholly owned subsidiary companies, fully accountable to Welsh Ministers, will need to collaborate to plan the support our education system needs.

Strategic context

The Programme for Government, published on 22 September 2026, sets out this Government’s strategic agenda. This includes:

• publishing and implementing a Literacy and Numeracy Plan and raising standards by establishing national targets, including a baseline assessment for learners entering school, and supporting our workforce to develop individual targets for all learners
• reviewing curriculum and assessment arrangements to simplify and clarify expectations for schools and settings 
• developing a coordinated framework bringing together schools, health and social care, and youth services to address behaviour, attendance, wellbeing and educational inequality
• strengthening the long-term sustainability of the Additional Learning Needs system by working in partnership, including with health partners, to strengthen system clarity, capacity and workforce confidence to deliver inclusive education in Welsh or English, so that children and young people receive the right support at the right time to meet their needs
• growing the proportion of children and young people receiving Welsh-medium education and supporting an increase in the number of teachers able to teach through the medium of Welsh
• working with our education workforce and social partners to make teaching an attractive, respected and rewarding career; and improving recruitment and retention by reducing workload, providing more flexibility for planning, preparation and assessment and supporting high-quality professional development for all teachers, leaders and teaching assistants
• strengthening safeguarding leadership and governance across education by ensuring learners and educators can recognise and report grooming, providing comprehensive digital safety and media literacy education, and ensuring safeguarding and educational standards are consistently upheld and independently scrutinised

I am committed to securing sustained improvement in literacy and numeracy for our learners over this Senedd term. These foundational skills are crucial for learning, for work and for life and are central to our purpose as a Government. Our Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Plan sets out key areas of system-wide support for Adnodd, alongside Dysgu and other national partners, to take forward in conjunction with my officials. I am keen for Adnodd to develop and target its commissioned resources as a whole in a way that supports this aim of securing sustained improvement in literacy and numeracy.

Adnodd and Dysgu have key and complementary roles in supporting our delivery on these priorities:

• Adnodd leads and coordinates the provision of high-quality bilingual teaching, learning and assessment resources, including support for learners with ALN and early years development. Adnodd’s work provides essential support to the realisation of the Curriculum for Wales, to learner progression and to the achievement of approved qualifications across the 3 to 19 continuum.
• By providing high-quality professional learning within coherent career pathways, and providing support to strengthen leadership, Dysgu can ensure our practitioners are reflective, enquiring and collaborative.

Adnodd’s provision, alongside Dysgu’s, should aim to improve standards in teaching, learning, and assessment, and advance equity and inclusion by removing barriers to engaging and progression in learning. Adnodd should support practitioners to design and deliver engaging learning experiences that support learner progression and realise the ambitions of the Curriculum for Wales. This coherent national offer of accessible and relevant resources will help manage practitioner workload, support their well-being and inspire their practice.

Adnodd is also key to implementing our vision for collaborative school improvement. Consistent, high-quality, national education resources, alongside professional learning from Dysgu and support from local authorities and other partners, should equip schools – as learning organisations – to work collaboratively to raise standards and improve outcomes for all learners across Wales.

Adnodd’s work should also take account of the Equality Act 2010 and the Anti-racism Wales Action Plan, the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018, the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021, the Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Act 2022, the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Act 2025 and the Cymraeg 2050 strategy, the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, and British Sign Language (Wales) Act 2026.

Objectives

Adnodd’s work will need to achieve the objectives specified within its Articles of Association, published on the Companies House website.

These relate to commissioning, producing and promoting bilingual education resources and supporting materials. The Articles of Association also specify that Adnodd may undertake any action that the Welsh Government deems necessary or desirable to further their objectives.

Strategic Priorities

The Annex to this letter sets out the strategic priorities which should steer Adnodd’s work for 2026 to 2030. The requirements identified in Adnodd’s 2026 to 2027 Funding Letter remain in place.

Scope of provision

Adnodd’s resources and supporting materials should support teaching, learning, learner progression and assessment across all Curriculum for Wales education settings including all maintained schools, PRUs, education other than at school provision, and non-maintained nursery settings from the early years onwards. As necessary, Adnodd may also support the development of education resources for 0 to 3-year-olds, learner self-study, and preparation for approved qualifications.

Adnodd should aim to maximise access to provision, ensuring opportunities for engagement across the education workforce and wider community of resource users. The support should be equitably available and accessible in Welsh and English. The Welsh-language provision should be responsive to the requirements of the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Act 2025, and Adnodd should work in close partnership with the National Institute for Learning Welsh (Athrofa) from its establishment on 1 August 2027 to support effective implementation of the Act.

Adnodd is not required to develop dedicated resources for the youth work sector but should aim to promote access by youth workers and leaders to existing resources as appropriate.

As part of specific programmes, bespoke provision for other groups may be specified in Adnodd annual Funding Letters.

Partner roles

Adnodd and Dysgu are key organisations in our Welsh education system alongside other partners, including schools, settings, local authorities, diocesan authorities, Estyn and the Welsh Government. Delivery of this Remit will require effective collaboration between Adnodd, Dysgu and all partners. Their respective roles are outlined in the School Improvement Guidance.

Adnodd and Dysgu are responsible for leading and coordinating the design and delivery of nationally consistent, high-quality support for teaching and learning. I expect both organisations to work together to ensure complementary provision and to maximise impact. This includes creating, developing and sharing appropriate teaching, learning and assessment resources to support Dysgu’s professional learning offer in a coherent and timely manner.

I expect Adnodd and Dysgu to collaborate with our Education Improvement Team and other organisations, especially local authorities and Estyn, to identify system needs and to design and deliver provision to meet the needs of practitioners. I expect partner organisations to complement and align with the national provision, and not to duplicate or diverge from it.

Through these complementary roles, Adnodd, Dysgu and their partners should work together to ensure a coherent, high-quality national support system that improves practice and outcomes for all learners.

Organisational plans

In line with the Framework Document in place between the Welsh Government and Adnodd, you are required to submit for agreement within three months of receiving this Remit Letter updated plans setting out how you will achieve your strategic objectives.

Adnodd is required to produce a strategic corporate plan, developed within the policy framework set by the Welsh Government, in the context of the Well-being goals, to cover the 2026 to 2030 period and provide a clear long-term approach to delivery. This should be submitted alongside the business plan.

Adnodd may also wish to consider whether any changes to operational planning is required in response to this letter. Operational plans are normally formulated in response to annual Funding Letters for Welsh Government agreement each year.

Funding

Adnodd’s 2026 to 2027 Funding Letter provides a resource budget of £4,974,194. Funding Letters may be updated in year, for example to provide funding for additional requirements.

Funding for 2027 to 2028, 2028 to 2029, and 2029 to 2030 will be subject to Welsh Government budget processes and decisions by Senedd Cymru. This means that: 

• additional funding may be provided for additional requirements, to be specified in future Funding Letters
• funding may reduce if activities are no longer required, or activities can be reduced in scope or reach; activities may need to be paused or delivered in a phased way 
• funding may not be provided for all activities included in the Annex 
• adnodd may be asked to identify efficiency savings in its operations and delivery

Any funding changes will be discussed between Adnodd and my officials in the first instance and well in advance of the financial years to which they relate.

Yours sincerely

Anna Brychan AS/MS

Gweinidog y Cabinet dros Addysg a’r Gymraeg
Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
 

Adnodd: strategic priorities for 2026 to 2030

1. Ensure that relevant, high-quality teaching and learning resources are available in both Welsh and English at the same time, to support early years literacy and numeracy, the Curriculum for Wales and approved qualifications 

• Early years: supporting the delivery of priorities for early years and foundation learning by ensuring access to high-quality, developmentally appropriate resources.
• Curriculum design: ensuring access to flexible, practical resources that can be used directly for school curriculum design and classroom planning, with commissioning supporting learner progression and assessment.
• Literacy and numeracy: developing learning, teaching and assessment resources (alongside professional learning) as a key element to the successful implementation of the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Plan, including materials that support practitioners in embedding literacy and numeracy across the curriculum and supporting progression in learning.
• Welsh language: working with partners, including Dysgu and the Athrofa, on resources and materials to support Welsh language skills development - in-line with the Code describing Welsh language ability.
• Additional learning needs: maintaining a strategic focus on coordinating, developing and improving resources that support learners with ALN, ensuring provision reflects the diverse needs across Welsh- and English-medium settings.
• Equity and well-being: maintaining an ongoing focus on the provision of teaching and learning materials that meet the needs of practitioners and learners, including on diversity, gender, health and well-being (including mental health), rights, disabilities, anti-racism and ethnicity.
• Humanities: building further resources to support the teaching and learning of Welsh histories, alongside wider societal issues.
• Science and technology: working with partners to enhance access to primary and secondary science, computation and digital competence resources.
• Expressive arts: responding to opportunities to enhance teaching and learning resources that support the development of the expressive arts.
• Knowledge and skills integral to the four purposes: supporting learners to develop creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving, personal effectiveness, and planning and organising.

2. Maintain a quality assurance framework, ensuring that resources are in line with the ethos and core principles of the Curriculum for Wales

• System needs: engaging with key stakeholders, including Dysgu, local authorities, Estyn, Qualifications Wales, the Athrofa, Cwlwm partners and learners, to maintain understanding of user needs for resource commissioning and provision.
• Maintain and continuously improve a quality assurance framework for reviewing, creating and updating high-quality bilingual teaching and learning resources, informed by your engagement with stakeholders.
• Lead on co-constructing and communicating guidance on standards and expectations for the development of bilingual teaching and learning resources development.
• Engage with organisations funded through the Curriculum for Wales grant support programme to ensure teaching and learning resources developed as part of that support are fit for purpose.
• Ensure that resource creators are required and supported to engage with and apply the ethos and principles of the Curriculum for Wales.

3. Advance the effective promotion, awareness and use of resources

• Engage with the Welsh Government’s communications and policy teams and other key partners to support the effective communication and promotion of resources being made available to the sector.
• Work with Welsh Government digital learning officials to support the ongoing development of the Hwb platform as the go-to service for practitioners looking for support, resources and inspiration.
• Develop and implement your engagement and communications strategic plan as part of your business operations.
• Maintain an appropriate commissioning model, based on co-construction, that:
  • reflects and meets the needs of the education sector, key stakeholders and learners
  • secures value for money
  • makes best use of the available expertise, knowledge and skills
  • adopts an innovative approach to the types, formats and design of resources, making best use of new technologies, evidence and tools
  • aligns with and capitalises on existing relationships and approaches across the education sector

4. Develop and invest in skills and capacity in creating, sharing and publishing educational resources in Wales

• Build on the success of your Collaboration and Innovation fund to support, encourage and fund innovative approaches and ideas that will grow the range of content creators in Wales.
• Through your commissioning approach and your work with partner organisations, continue to develop relationships with publishers, developers and content creators to help support sustainable planning and investment in skills and capacity in Wales.
• Continue to act as a strategic enabler by nurturing partnerships and harnessing expertise, innovation and ideas from beyond the education sector for the benefit and enjoyment of learners and practitioners.

5. Maintain and continue to develop Adnodd’s corporate capability and organisational systems

• Operate robust governance, including a high-performing Board and a sufficiently resourced and skilled executive function.
• Meet all legal, financial and regulatory obligations, maintaining a comprehensive suite of organisational policies, controls and assurance frameworks.
• Develop and sustain a high-performing organisation through professional learning and development, staff well-being and equality, diversity and inclusion practices, embedding a culture of continuous improvement.
• Fulfil the requirements set out within the Welsh Government Framework Agreement and work constructively and transparently with the Welsh Government and other key stakeholders.