Chair: David Hopkins
Vice Chair: Gwynne Jones
Convenor: Tony Lynch
ICT Group
Chair Hugh Knight
Vice Chair Gwynne Jones
Convenor: Martin Williams
The use of ICT is central to the Welsh Assembly Government agenda for raising standards in schools. ICT support services within LEAs contribute significantly to the delivery of corporate priorities and their Community Strategies. Whilst the services themselves are non-statutory, ICT support underpins delivery of the statutory National Curriculum as well as the management and statutory reporting requirements placed upon educational institutions and the LEA. ICT is a tool that is at the heart of teaching, learning and school management. It is an essential tool in the provision of services to the public, young people and the local community.
The ADEW ICT Group seeks to be influential in respect of:
- Raising standards for all learners in Wales through ICT, especially with reference to
- The Learning Content
- The infrastructure supporting learning
- The Management of learning opportunities
- National Policy Construction, in co-operation with WAG, providing a forum for
- discussion between LEAs and WAG
- nominating LEA personnel for working groups, consultative bodies, etc.
- interaction with other bodies, such as NAACE, SOCITM, ELWA, DYSG, Careers Wales, SIMS User Groups, etc..
- sharing performance data
- influencing funding and procurement priorities
- checking the realism of government initiatives and targets.
- Providing a feedback mechanism to ADEW in relation to all ICT-related issues
- Sustaining the possibility of cross-LEA co-operation, where mutually beneficial, especially in the areas of research and development of ICT issues.
The Group’s outcomes include:
- Influencing WAG on the key areas of ICT Policy, E-Learning and Funding for Sustainability
- Co-operation in the arena of raising standards through improved learning and teaching by using new learning technologies, including NGfL Cymru
- Data sharing especially Benchmarking/Further Development of P.I.s, in relation to the quality of support services and their impact on standards
Three working groups have been established - each addressing one of the three areas for initial focus
Wales Regional Professional Development Network
Chair Alison Jenner
The Wales Regional Professional Development Network for the International Dimension in Education was set up by the Association of Directors of Education in Wales to help teachers address the international dimension in schools. WRPDN works in association with the British Council, Education and Training Group providing guidance for teachers and organising national training events on global citizenship, sustainable development, global issues and links with schools in other countries.
Courses it has organised have included:
- Education for global citizenship
- Using ICT in international curriculum projects
- Enhancing foreign language learning through links and exchanges
- Raising pupils achievement in primary schools through international curriculum projects.
Courses are open to teachers throughout Wales and offer excellent opportunities to share good practice and create networks.
The WRPDN also offers advice on accreditation for international dimension work through the British Council International Schools Award.
The Virtual Staff College (VSC)
Chair Mike Keating
Vice Chair David Hopkins
Convenor: Bleddyn Hopkins
The VSC’s mission is to promote the professional development and competence of all staff working in education and children’s services management in local authorities and through this increase the capacity of LAs to respond to change.
The College is “virtual” in that it does not generally itself provide professional development programmes but instead works through other organisations to deliver seminars, courses, activities and other tools to meet the needs of public service professionals.
The Virtual Staff College is funded through annual subscriptions from Local Authorities supplemented by grants from agencies such as the DfES, the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG), Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED) and from income sources for commissioned work.
The VSC’s mission is premised on the belief that an organisation’s most valuable assets are its staff, and well planned, high quality continuous professional development is essential to promote the skills necessary to discharge education and children’s services managers’ formidable responsibilities, provide career enhancement and foster career development. The VSC also takes as a fundamental principle that continuous professional development is normally best provided from within the community which it serves. It seeks to achieve this by:
- Identifying professional development needs;
- Developing relevant programmes of professional development;
- Quality assuring provision;
- Providing information and guidance;
- Promoting professional development.
In a process of continuous improvement, based on best practice from within Wales, other parts of the UK, and through its diverse international links elsewhere.
Data Practitioners Forum
Chair Helen James
Convenor: Anne Williams
The Data Practitioners Forum is organised by the Local Government Data Unit and aims to provide practitioners with the opportunity to share experience, good practice and arrive at common views, which can influence the direction of future data management in Education. Forums are held once each term, with representatives from all 22 authorities, plus ESIS and Cynnal, attending at least one meeting.
The forum gives practitioners the opportunity to be brought up to date on any current developments affecting education and a chance to look ahead at potential developments, becoming a platform to discuss any issues that may arise. A regular agenda item is to discuss the sharing of good practice to the benefit of other authorities.
Presenters are invited from various government agencies, including the Assembly, ELWa, and the Data Unit itself.
To date topics have included:
- Information Management Strategy
- PLASC
- Post 16 Data Collection
- UPNs
- All Wales Data Collection
- Performance Management framework
- CDAT
- Representatives from the Audit Commission and the Information Commission for Wales
Lively discussion frequently follows a presentation and it also gives LEA representatives a chance to feed back to government agencies the technical difficulties behind decisions.
Governor Support Group
Chair Karl Napieralla
Convenor: Jane Lancastle
The remit of the ADEW Governor Support Group is to work through an organisation that can help to share good practice and to develop collaborative working. The intention is that such working will lead to a number of improvements in the following:
- Information sharing
- Nationwide approaches to managing Governor Support issues
- Quality Assurance, particularly on Governor Training
- Links with other Governor Support Agencies such as Governors’ Wales and the All Wales Centre of Excellence for Governor Training
- To provide a link to other ADEW groups
- To develop the relationship with officers of the Welsh Assembly Government that is both supportive and informative.
- Producing agreed policy/good practice documentation.
The ADEW Governor Support Group meets on a termly basis, although communication between the various Authorities is encouraged, particularly through the use of electronic communication. The group also holds a two-day conference, which has particularly focused on the Group Development Plan that has been nurtured over a number of years.
The Development Plan requires greater concentration than can be offered at termly meetings and it has been the practice of the ADEW group to split into regional sub groups for the purpose of targeting specific issues within the Development Plan.
Throughout its existence, the Governor Support Group has measured its success on the level of communication and collaborative working between Support Officers.
Arts & Music Group (CAGAC)
Chair Philip Emanuel
Convenor:
For more information contact: Pierre Bernhard-Grout