UCU Wales

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• News from UCU Wales
• Post-16 education and UCU in Wales
• Further education in Wales
• Higher education in Wales
• UCU Cymru documents

News from UCU Wales

Please click here for the latest FE Wales pay news

Read more on the UCU Wales news page.

Post-16 education and UCU in Wales

The Welsh Government and its executive determine how much funding colleges receive each year. Because of changes to the HE funding mechanism the funding follows the student and therefore universities are very dependent on the student numbers allocated by the Higher Education Funding Council in their fee planning policy. Both funding mechanisms have to be funded by the budget available to the Welsh Government.

Education policy is a devolved matter and UCU Cymru spends a significant amount of time and energy ensuring that all politicians are aware of the issues which affect UCU members in both sectors in Wales.

Every college of further education and every university has a branch of UCU with branch officers who are trained to provide advice on the policies and procedures operated by your employer.

Further education in Wales

See our FE Wales pay page for the latest pay news.

Joint agreement on starting salaries for lecturers and business support staff

A new agreement has been reached which recognises the need to award appropriate starting salary scale points for newly appointed or promoted staff which recognises experience and qualifications: Wales FE joint agreement on starting salaries for lecturers and business support staff, Jul 16 [412kb]

Education Workforce Council

The new professional body for the education workforce, including FE lecturers, came into force on 1 April 2015. Information on the aims and purposes of the EWC can be found here: UCU Wales branch officer briefing on the Education Workforce Council Wales, Jan 19 [116kb]

Wales national contract

All colleges must implement the national contract by 1 September 2016. The implementation agreement [86kb] sets out the requirements in relation to staff working in colleges. See the FE agreements in Wales page for further information.

See also: Campaign to improve the national workload agreement

National pay scales in Wales

All lecturing staff should be paid on the rates laid out in the following pay scales:

• part time hourly pay rates
• lecturer grades
• management spine

available from the Wales FE pay scales page.

Junior apprenticeships

Key findings of a Wales joint trade union survey relating to junior apprenticeships, including UCU's policy position: Junior apprenticeships in Welsh further education

Key member information:

• FE pay in Wales
• FE agreements in Wales

Higher education in Wales

The main policy focus of UCU Cymru is to ensure that higher education is high on the agenda of the Welsh government and that strategic developments are beneficial to staff and the universities.
 
The minister for education and skills announced in November 2013 that he had asked Professor Ian Diamond, vice chancellor of Aberdeen University to chair a review of higher education funding and student finance arrangements in Wales. An interim report  was published in December 2015, and the final report in September 2016.
 
The Welsh Government issued a consultation on their proposals in response the final report in November 2016.  You can read the  UCU Wales submission to the consultation here [194kb].
 
Further details can be found on the Welsh government website or contact Bethan Winter.

Key member information:

• HE pay and salaries
• Working in HE

HE governance

UCU Wales has made HE governance a priority area of work, believing that the current system of governance in HEIs in Wales is not fit for purpose: Higher education governance in Wales

Initial teacher training

Following publication of the Furlong report into initial teacher training and education (ITT) in Wales, UCU Wales are concerned that the reforms to ITT are moving rapidly ahead and from our point of view, with very little expert practitioner input. We have put together a pack of the available information that we have so far:

Review of ITT in Wales: UCU Cymru consultation response, Mar 13 [277kb]

We are aware that the minister for education and skills is keen that ITT providers should 'raise their game'. However we are not yet aware what the criteria for programme accreditation will be. Currently there is a task and finish group looking at accreditation criteria, but do not know if any practitioners are included in this group.
 
We also know that a stakeholder group (see list in briefing pack) has been formed, to develop the 'approach to implementing the recommendations of Successful Futures and Teaching Tomorrow's Teachers'; however the 12 representative education trade unions have been informed that they can only have three places in the group on a rota basis. This in our opinion is not acceptable as it would mean that each union would only attend one in four meetings and practitioners would not be and influential part of the reforms; contrary to the recommendations of Donaldson. The joint trade unions have written to the minister expressing their concern over this issue (also in pack).

Update: the minister has agreed to invite all 12 of the education trade unions to participate in the strategic stakeholder group: Wales ITT stakeholder group: minister agrees union invite, 25 Nov 15 [268kb]
 
The bidding process for ITT provision will begin in September 2016 with programme roll out scheduled for September 2018.

UCU Wales is setting up an initial teacher training network to discuss proposals. If you would like to become part of the group or if you would like further information please contact Lisa Edwards, who is also happy to come out and talk to members in ITT departments in Wales.

UCU Cymru documents

Guidance for branches in Wales:

• The UCU Wales organising report and strategy 2019/20 was agreed by UCU Wales Council on 7 June 2019 - we would ask that you include organising on the agenda of your next branch officers/exec/committee meeting to discuss and take action on the matters outlined in the organising strategy: Organising report and strategy 2019/20 [288kb]
• The UCU Wales support document 2019/20 was agreed by UCU Wales Council on 7 June 2019 - the purpose of this document is to explain and clarify the roles and remit of the staff in the Wales office in supporting branch officers to give advice and represent members in their institutions. It is intended to help branch officers understand the competing workloads of staff in the Wales office and help them get the support needed in their roles within the institution: Wales office branch support document 2019/20 [289kb]
• UCU Wales EWC interim suspension orders consultation response, Dec 18 [126kb]
• UCU Wales branch support pack: organising and campaigning for the professional team, Jun 14 [319kb]
  UCU Wales branch support pack: organising and campaigning for the professional team, Jun 14 [131kb]
• UCU Wales: domestic abuse policy negotiating pack, Jun 14 [513kb]

Recent consultation responses include:

• UCU Wales response to the consultation on the revised Code of Professional Conduct and Practice for Registrants with the Education Workforce Council (EWC) [128kb]
• UCU Wales reponse to the 'Tertiary Education and Research Commission for Wales' consultation, Jul 18 [515kb]
• Review of Systems for Monitoring and Improving the Effectiveness of Post-compulsory Education in Wales
  In September 2017 Kirsty Williams, Cabinet Secretary for Education, appointed Professor Harvey Weingarten (President and CEO of the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario) to undertake a review of systems for monitoring and improving the effectiveness of post-compulsory education in Wales. The review will contribute to the development of monitoring and support systems as part of wider approach to long term reforms, including the creation of a new Tertiary and Education and Research Commission for Wales. UCU Wales have submitted the following contribution:
  UCU Wales submission to the Weingarten Review of post-compulsory education in Wales, Feb 18 [213kb]
• UCU Wales reformed PCET system consultation response, Dec 17 [333kb]
• UCU Wales CYPEC educational outcomes inquiry response, Dec 17 [96kb]
• FE standards consultation - UCU Wales response, Jul 17 [205kb]
• Consistent measures for post 16 learning in Wales consultation - UCU Wales response, Apr 17 [274kb]
• Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Bill - UCU Wales response, Mar 17 [165kb]
• Joint Wales union response to the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Bill, Mar 17 [308kb]
• Wales student support funding consultation response, Feb 17 [194kb]
• Inquiry into teachers' professional learning and education response - UCU Wales response, Jan 17 [161kb]
• Draft criteria for the accreditation of ITE programmes and proposal for EWC to accredit ITE - UCU Wales response, Nov 16 [206kb]
• Draft higher education strategy to 2026 - UCU Wales response, Nov 16 [282kb]

Other reports:

• Opening Doors, Opening Minds - quality improvement at The College Merthyr Tydfil, Aug 17 [814kb]
  Exploring and evaluating the implementation of a teacher learning and development framework to support quality improvement at The College Merthyr Tydfil.

Click here to see all UCU Wales documents.