We welcome the publication of the Senedd Children, Young People and Education Committee’s (CYPE) report on teacher recruitment and retention in Wales, which highlights the significant challenges facing the education workforce. We would also like the thank the Committee for its extensive work in gathering evidence from across the sector.

We provided a significant amount of evidence to the inquiry, drawing on our data, regulatory insight, and engagement with registrants across Wales. This covered a wide range of themes, including initial teacher education; recruitment and retention; leadership and career progression; workload; wellbeing; behaviour; workforce diversity; and professional learning.

We recognise the serious impact the issues raised in the report can have on the education workforce and the quality of teaching and learning in Wales, and that addressing them will require a collective, system-wide approach, involving a range of partners.

As the independent professional regulator, our role is to help safeguard learners and maintain public trust in the education workforce. We will continue to contribute evidence and insight to inform national discussions on how best to support a safe, respected, and sustainable profession. This will include working collaboratively with Welsh Government to support the implementation of any recommendations that are taken forward, and fall within our remit.

More information on the evidence we submitted as part of the inquiry can be found on our website.

Recruitment has opened for new members to our Council.

We regulate a large and diverse workforce serving learners and young people, parents/guardians, and communities across Wales. To carry out this role effectively and in the public interest, it is important that our Council benefits from a broad range of perspectives, experiences, and ways of thinking.

A diverse Council helps strengthen decision-making, challenge assumptions, and maintain public confidence in the fairness and integrity of regulation. For this reason, we are keen to see applications from people with a diverse range of professional backgrounds and lived experiences, including those who may not traditionally have considered a public appointment.

The role calls for independent thinking, constructive contribution to strategic discussions, integrity, and a strong commitment to equality, inclusion, and the Welsh language.

What’s involved?

• A commitment of up to 12 days per year
• A mix of online meetings and some in-person meetings in Cardiff
• The role is unpaid, but travel and subsistence is reimbursed

Council members act as individuals, not as representatives of organisations, and are supported through a full induction process.

Appointments are made by Welsh Ministers through a fair and regulated public appointments process.

The closing date for applications is 18 February 2026 at 16:00. To find out more and apply, visit the Welsh Government Public Appointments website.

We have published our Biodiversity and Resilience of Ecosystems Duty Report, covering the period 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2025.

The report sets out how we have met our responsibilities under the Environment (Wales) Act 2016. The Act requires public bodies to report every three years on the actions they have taken to maintain and enhance biodiversity and promote resilient ecosystems.

Over the reporting period, we’ve made excellent progress, including promoting environmental awareness among our registrants, reducing travel-related emissions, enhancing recycling, and supporting practical conservation activities.

Publishing the report, EWC Chief Executive, Lisa Winstone said “Biodiversity and resilient ecosystems are essential to the wellbeing of current and future generations in Wales.

“While we recognise the increasing pressures facing biodiversity in Wales, we remain committed to playing our part as a responsible public body and to strengthening our approach further over the coming years.”

The report is available to read in full via our governance and compliance webpage.

Taking place online on Wednesday 21 January 2026, 16:00–17:30, Professionally Speaking 2026 will feature Professor Kelly Mackintosh of Swansea University as the keynote speaker. The session will explore one of the most pressing challenges facing the education workforce today, learner behaviour, and the potential role physical activity can play in supporting positive behaviour and wellbeing.

Across schools, colleges, and other learning settings, behaviour remains a topic that consistently tests educators’ resilience and creativity. Low-level disruption, emotional regulation, disengagement, and the growing pressures on learner wellbeing have all been widely reported.

Professor Mackintosh, an expert in physical activity for health, will explore how integrating movement, from active learning and short activity breaks to more structured physical education, can make a measurable difference to behaviour and engagement.

The 90-minute session will feature a keynote presentation followed by a live Q&A, giving attendees the opportunity to share their own experiences and put questions directly to Professor Mackintosh.

Professionally Speaking has become a highlight of the EWC’s annual calendar, offering a space for education practitioners to come together, reflect on key issues, and draw on the latest thinking shaping the sector.

Launching registration, EWC Chief Executive Lisa Winstone said “We know behaviour and wellbeing are at the heart of many current challenges in education. This event will provide valuable perspectives on how physical activity can play a part in creating more positive learning environments.”

Open and free to all 91,000+ registered education professionals across Wales, Professionally Speaking 2026 promises an engaging and thought-provoking discussion that blends research insight with practical, real-world relevance.

Don’t miss out. Secure your free ticket now.