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This document has been laid before the Welsh Parliament jointly by the Auditor General for Wales and the Cabinet Secretary for Education in accordance with Schedule 1 of the Education (Wales) Act 2014.

Performance report

Foreword from the Chairperson

I am pleased to introduce the Education Workforce Council’s (EWC) Annual Report and Accounts for the first time during my tenure as Chairperson, following my election in May 2023. This publication sets out our key achievements and financial profile for the operational year 2023-24.

I am delighted to report that the EWC has once again been successful in discharging all of its statutory functions under the Education (Wales) Act 2014, doing so in a cost-effective manner. I would like to thank all of our staff, Council members, and panellists for their hard work and dedication in helping us to achieve this.

As the independent, professional regulator for the education workforce in Wales, we are clear that first and foremost, our role is to safeguard learners and to uphold public trust and confidence in our education practitioners in Wales. In keeping with this significant responsibility, the EWC now maintains the largest public register in Wales and the widest register of education practitioners in the world, comprising over 90,000 registrants in 11 registration categories.

In addition to our regulatory role, we have other complementary functions within legislation, in particular to promote careers in the education professions and to provide advice to government and others on relevant matters. You can read more about this work within the body of this report.

As an organisation that is independent from government, our core work is funded solely by the annual registration fees paid by our registrants. EWC fees continue to be amongst the lowest of any regulated profession in the world and have remained unchanged since our inception in 2015, meaning that in real terms they have actually fallen.

In response to Welsh Government’s decision not to provide a subsidy towards registrants’ fees for 2024-25, the EWC Council made a determination to use its financial reserves to keep fees unchanged for 2024-25. The EWC must remain financially stable, however we were concerned about the impact a fee increase at short notice would have on our registrants.

Throughout the last year, we have continued to maintain our usual high levels of engagement and interaction with our registrants, stakeholders, and the public, both formally and informally. Should you wish to speak to us about our work, do get in touch, our team will be happy to help.

On behalf of the EWC, I thank you for your interest in, and support for our work.

Eithne Hughes
Chairperson, EWC