Lynne Neagle MS, Cabinet Secretary for Education
Today, I am pleased to publish the Strategic Education Workforce Plan for Schools, setting out a system‑wide programme of action to strengthen and support the school workforce.
The Plan outlines a shared vision for developing a confident, resilient and well‑supported profession, responding directly to feedback from practitioners, trade unions, local authorities and partners, as well as the Children, Young People and Education Committee’s recent report on teacher recruitment and retention.
Having recently attended the International Summit on the Teaching Profession in Estonia, hosted by the OECD, the Government of Estonia, the Estonian Education Personnel Union and Education International, I am confident that the Plan is forward thinking and aligned with international effective practice. During the Summit, held between 9 -11 March, I engaged in open conversations with education ministers, union leaders and education leaders on the most effective ways to enhance the teaching profession to unlock the potential of all learners.
Teaching assistants play a vital role in supporting teaching and learning in our schools and settings. I’ve previously outlined my concerns about their pay and conditions. I am therefore very glad to share that we are making progress in this area and have agreed with our social partners to move all current Level 1 teaching assistants to Level 2 and not to use Level 1 teaching assistant roles for the employment of teaching assistants from September 2026 onwards. This is the first step towards the long-term goal of pursuing fairer pay and conditions for all teaching assistants. I’m also pleased to note that preparatory work has already started on proposals to establish a School Support Staff Negotiating Body.
Supporting strong and effective leadership in our schools has never been more important. In September 2025, I wrote to directors of education to remind them of their duties under the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions (Wales) Document (STPC(W)D) and of the importance of ensuring leaders have time away from work on weekends and over school holidays. I reiterate this and expect it to be part of local authorities’ and schools’ planning for the remainder of this academic year and beyond. I have asked officials to work with our social partners to prepare detailed proposals, for consideration after the Senedd election, for making changes to the STPC(W)D to further protect leaders’ uninterrupted leave from the 2026/27 academic year onwards. This work will build on the report of the Independent Welsh Pay Review Body, which I am publishing today.
I am also pleased to report that together with our social partners, we have established a task and finish group to develop proposals for covering teacher absence. This is a complex area and we need to work with our local authorities to develop a sustainable approach with the aim of ensuring continuity for learners.
I am also publishing our response to two recent consultations which impact the school workforce. There was an overwhelmingly positive response to the proposal to make the additional INSET day, that has been provided since 2019, permanent. I have therefore asked officials to prepare regulations so that this change can be made ahead of academic year starting in September 2026, subject to a final Ministerial decision after the Senedd election.
Respondents also supported revisions to the professional standards for assisting teaching, teaching and leadership, which will support practitioners to identify their development needs. This in turn will help to inform school improvement planning and Dysgu’s professional learning offer.
Dysgu has today published its first Strategic Vision, marking a significant milestone for the organisation, which will play a central role in delivering key actions from the Strategic Education Workforce Plan for Schools. I would like to thank Dysgu staff and Board members for their work over the past few months to establish the organisation and to progress some of our key professional learning priorities. I am also publishing the 2026-27 funding letter for Dysgu. I know that their first priority will be to ensure that the delivery of support is simple and streamlined, developed in partnership with both local authorities and schools, and focused on our priorities and those most in need. To facilitate this, management of eight Curriculum for Wales support programme grants in relation to literacy and numeracy will transfer to Dysgu from 1 April 2026.
Delivering the Strategic Education Workforce Plan for Schools will require sustained collaboration across the whole system. I am grateful to our partners—local authorities, education workforce unions, Estyn, the Education Workforce Council, Dysgu, universities and third sector organisations—whose insight and leadership have shaped this plan and will be vital in its implementation.
Above all, the success of this plan will be how it enables practitioners to meet the needs of learners in our schools and settings. By working together, we can build a workforce that is confident, valued and prepared for the future; a workforce equipped to support every learner to reach their potential; and a profession that is one of the most vibrant and respected in Wales.
We are fortunate to have an exceptional workforce in our schools and settings, and I am looking forward to recognising their work at the Celebrating Wales’ Teachers event in the Senedd this evening.