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The views of the authors are their own.

How Quality Youth Work has contributed to youth homelessness prevention – Nick Hudd

Back in 2019, Public Health Wales (PHW) published a document titled Voices of those with lived experiences of homelessness and adversity in Wales: informing prevention and response . In one of the sections of the document, Preventing homelessness...

Why quality is vital to international learning

In our latest blog, Howard Williamson, Professor of European Youth Policy at the University of South Wales, and previous rapporteur-genéral for all three European Youth Work Conventions held between 2010 and 2020, provides his insight into...

Youth work and wellbeing - Tim Opie and Darrel Williams

Youth work and well-being In their latest blog for the EWC, Tim and Darrel discuss how youth work fosters positive, trusting relationships which can provide the basis for improving well-being, via the underpinning five pillars of youth work -...

Paul Glaze - Good youth work practice and why it’s important to share it

Paul Glaze - Good youth work practice and why it’s important to share it Youth work services policy and practice in Wales It’s an exciting time (and place to be) for the youth work services sector in Wales. The sector delivers an enormous range of...

Donna Ali - Representation Matters: Introducing a new network for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Teaching Assistants

Donna Ali - Representation Matters: Introducing a new network for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Teaching Assistants Donna Ali, CEO and founder of BE.Xcellence, writes about the need for more diversity in our school workforce and a new network...

Sharron Lusher - Setting pay and conditions for school teachers in Wales: how does it all work?

Sharron Lusher - Setting pay and conditions for school teachers in Wales: how does it all work? The Independent Welsh Pay Review Body (IWPRB) was established in March 2019 as an independent body with the responsibility for making recommendations to...

Keith Towler - Recognising excellence in youth work through the Quality Mark

Keith Towler - Recognising excellence in youth work through the Quality Mark Chair of the Interim Youth Work Board, Keith Towler shines a light on the value of the Quality Mark for Youth Work in Wales, and outlines how it can benefit youth work...

David Williams - What does youth work look like in Wales?

David Williams - What does youth work look like in Wales? When speaking with families, friends and others outside the youth work profession I have often been asked "what is it that you do exactly?" For those of us working in, or connected to the...

Mark Ford - Why it’s time to ‘Talk Pedagogy’

Mark Ford - Why it’s time to ‘Talk Pedagogy’ Professional Advisor on Pedagogy, Mark Ford reflects on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and argues that now is the perfect time to ‘Talk Pedagogy’. In his book ‘In Search of Deeper Learning’, Jal Mehta...

American trained teacher leading the way in Wales

American trained teacher leading the way in Wales Katie Davies is a bit different to other school teachers in Wales. Katie teaches Geography and Health & Social Care at Eastern High in Cardiff, but she was actually born and bred in the USA and...

Susan Davis & Chantelle Haughton - Ethnic Minority recruitment to ITE and the teaching profession in Wales: an opportunity to have your say.

Susan Davis & Chantelle Haughton - Ethnic Minority recruitment to ITE and the teaching profession in Wales: an opportunity to have your say. In January 2021, our multi-ethnic team at Cardiff Metropolitan University launched an important research...

Anthony Priest - Mental health, wellbeing and Covid-19: free support for schools in Wales

Anthony Priest - Mental health, wellbeing and Covid-19: free support for schools in Wales As the Covid-19 crisis continues in to 2021, the education workforce has shown an unwavering determination to ensure students are able keep learning, while...

Nick Hudd - 'Blended learning', not 'blended teaching'

Nick Hudd - 'Blended learning', not 'blended teaching' The Covid 19 virus appears to have acted as an antecedent to the increased use of the term ‘blended learning’. The educational sector, whose stakeholders I have previously argued are at very...

Jacqueline Cassidy: Children’s Mental Health Week 1 - 7 February 2021

Children’s Mental Health Week 1 - 7 February 2021 Place2Be's Director for Wales, Jacqueline Cassidy, shares her views at the start of this years' Children's Mental Health Week A lot can happen in a year! When we celebrated Children’s Mental Health...

Dr Howard Williamson - From the local to the global: Is youth work coming of age in Wales?

Dr Howard Williamson - From the local to the global: Is youth work coming of age in Wales? I became an accidental youth worker as a teenager, when they built a community centre in the corner of ‘our’ park. We had a self-organised Thursday evening...

Professor Mick Waters - Blended Learning: what’s in the mix?

Professor Mick Waters - Blended Learning: what’s in the mix? Digital technology, a resource that has held promise since computers entered classrooms in the 1980s, suddenly took a big step forward as schools (along with the rest of society) tried to...

Teachers’ professional learning and development

Teachers’ professional learning and development We are at a point of unprecedented opportunity. For teachers, for teacher education, and for schools, reform is a given. And the changes are comprehensive and radical. Will you choose to be part of...

Just landed: new standards visualisation tool for the PLP

Just landed: new standards visualisation tool for the PLP Until now, the Professional Learning Passport has given you, as an education practitioner, the space to reflect on your practice and learning in the context of your professional standards....

Keith Towler - Youth Work continues to support young people in overcoming the challenges of COVID-19

Keith Towler - Youth Work continues to support young people in overcoming the challenges of COVID-19 The First Minister recently announced a number of changes , including the re-opening of community centres this week. The First Minister’s Written...

Aled Roberts - A million Welsh speakers: the role of the education sector

Aled Roberts - A million Welsh speakers: the role of the education sector The Welsh Government has set two ambitious targets by 2050, namely to reach a million Welsh speakers, and to double the percentage of the population who use Welsh daily. The...

Nia Brodrick - Improving mental health provision in the FE sector in Wales

Nia Brodrick - Improving mental health provision in the FE sector in Wales Mental health continues to be a rising concern for the further education (FE) sector in Wales. In April 2018, the Mind Over Matter Report published by the National Assembly...

Sophie Howells - Looking after your mental health during the coronavirus crisis

Sophie Howells - Looking after your mental health during the coronavirus crisis As the COVID-19 crisis continues, the determination of the workforce to ensure students can keep learning is demonstrated on a daily basis. In these unprecedented...

Professor Mick Waters: Planning to get learning going again

Professor Mick Waters: Planning to get learning going again When the government closed our schools, the natural concerns were about examinations and pupils not losing out. There was less voiced concern about what else children might be losing in an...

Keith Towler: Youth work in Wales rises to the challenges of the lockdown

Keith Towler: Youth work in Wales rises to the challenges of the lockdown We are now plunged into a public health crisis where the dependency we have on one another is central to our ability to ‘flatten the curve’, ease the pressure on our...

Parentkind asks: what are parents’ worries about the impact of coronavirus?

Parentkind asks: what are parents’ worries about the impact of coronavirus? When schools closed in Wales, England and Northern Ireland to help slow the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19), many parents felt a range of emotions. There was initial...

Making education everyone’s business is key to boosting Wales’ productivity

Promoting engagement between business and the education sector isn’t just a nice thing to do, it’s an absolute priority if we want to realise the full potential of the Welsh economy. With businesses telling us every day that access to people and...

Philip Blaker - Testing the Future

Philip Blaker - Testing the Future The Curriculum for Wales is an opportunity to think differently about education. As Qualifications Wales launches its first public consultation on qualifications to support the curriculum, Chief Executive Philip...

The PLP a passport to the future...

The PLP a passport to the future..... EWC Council member Berni Tyler gives an employer’s take on the value and usefulness of the PLP At ISA training it’s currently appraisal time and one of the areas my team always have an excuse for is the...