Achieving the New Curriculum for Wales

Annex B. Schedule of the OECD visits to Wales

The present report elaborates on over six years of interactions and visits between the OECD and Wales (between 2014 and 2020), which included visits in tens of schools across the country and repeated discussions with many more through participation in various workshops and advisory groups. As a result, findings from previous school visits especially were used to set the context in which the analysis of this report is grounded.

Table A B.1. First fact-finding visit to Wales (12-15 September 2019)

Date	Activity/Representatives
Thursday 12 September 2019	Thematic sessions on major policies from the Welsh education reform
Friday 13 September 2019
Morning	School visits:
	St. Julian’s Primary School, Newport
	Stanwell High School, Penarth
Afternoon	ARC Summit:
	Formal welcome, Kirsty Williams AM, Minister for Education (Wales)
	Andy Hargreaves: Rethinking responsibility for educational improvement: setting the scene for the summit
	Three presentations by Iceland, Nova Scotia and Scotland on the strengths and weaknesses of their current assessment system as it applies in the classroom

Table A B.2. Second fact-finding visit to Wales (6-11 October 2019)

Date	Activity/Representatives
Monday 7 October 2019	Meetings with:
08:30-09:30	Professor David Egan, Cardiff Metropolitan University
10:00-11:00	Professor Graham Donaldson, expert advisor to the Welsh Government (telephone call)
11:30-12:30	Oliver Stacey, Senior Qualifications Manager, Qualifications Wales
14:00-15:00	Diane Hebb, Director of engagement and participation, Arts Council of Wales
15:00-16:00	Professor John Furlong OBE, University of Oxford (telephone call)
16:00-17:00	Kevin Palmer, Deputy Director Pedagogy, Leadership and Professional Learning, Welsh Government
17:30-18:30	Professor Alma Harris, University of Bath
Tuesday 8 October 2019	Meetings with:
09:00-10:00	Kirsty Williams AM, Minister for Education (Wales)
10:00-10:30	Tom Woodward, Special Advisor to the Welsh Minister for Education
10:30-11:00	Dewi Knight, Specialist Advisor for Education Reform
11:30-12:30	Professor Mick Waters, expert advisor to the Welsh Government
13:30-14:30	Huw Foster Evans, Chief Executive, National Academy for Educational Leadership Wales (NAEL)
14:30-15:30	Leigh Hughes, CCR Employment and Skills Board
16:00-17:00	Professor David Egan, Cardiff Metropolitan University; Gareth Evans, University of Wales Trinity Saint David; Gwilym Sion ap Gruffudd and colleagues, Bangor University
17:00-18:00	Karen Evans, Chair of the Association of Directors of Education Wales [ADEW] (telephone call)
Wednesday 9 October 2019
09:00-11:30	Visit to Cardiff High School including meetings with head teacher and senior leadership, teachers, parents, students
	Meetings with:
12:00-13:00	Estyn: Meilyr Rowlands, Chief Inspector; Jassa Scott and Claire Morgan, Strategic Directors
13:30-14:30	Ruth Thackray Curriculum for Wales Senior Lead, GwE Consortium Ysgol Creuddyn School, GwE, by video conference, including discussions with head teacher, three teachers and two students
14:30-15:30	Rob Williams, Policy Director, National Association of Head Teachers Cymru (NAHT)
15:30-16:30	Hayden Llewellyn, Chief Executive, Education Workforce Council
17:00-18:00	Deputy Directors, Welsh Education Directorate
Thursday 10 October 2019
10:00-12:00	Visit to Jubilee School, Newport, including meetings with head teacher and senior leadership, teachers, parents, students
	Meetings with:
13:30-14:30	Strategic Education Group: Professor Dylan E. Jones, Faculty Dean of Education and Communities, University of Wales Trinity Saint David; Elizabeth Thomas, Diocesan Director of Education Policy, the Church in Wales
15:00-16:00	Regional Consortia Managing Directors: EAS, ERW, CSC
16:00-16:30	Lowri Jones, Head of Strategic Communications and Marketing (Education), Welsh Government
Friday 11 October 2019
09:00-10:00	Video conference with Ysgol Cwm Brombil Comprehensive School, ERW, including discussions with head teacher, three teachers, one parent, four students
	Meetings with:
10:00-11:00	Llorenc O’Prey, Senior Consultant, Wavehill Social and Economic Research (telephone call)
11:00-12:00	Preliminary findings presentation to Steve Davis, Director of Education, Welsh Government
12:00-13:00	Professional Learning leads from EAS, ERW and CSC

Table A B.3. Additional telephone interviews

Date	Representatives
Monday 5 August 2019	Mel Godfrey, Deputy Director, Education Business Planning and Governance and Jo Crawford, Deputy Programme Manager, Welsh Government
Tuesday 6 August 2019	Sara James, Head of School Research, Welsh Government
Wednesday, 4 September 2019	Claire Bennett, Deputy Director Curriculum, Welsh Government
Wednesday, 16 October 2019	Regional consortium, Professional Learning lead person, GwE
Thursday, 17 October 2019	Regional consortium Additional Learning Needs (ALN) Lead person, EAS
Friday 18 October 2019	Sir Alasdair Macdonald, Government Advisor on Education
	Contacted with no response: Lee Cummins, Association of Schools and College Leaders (ASCL)
Monday 3 February 2020	Dilwyn Roberts-Young, General Secretary, and Rebecca Williams, Policy Lead, UCAC Cymru (Wales’ National Union of Teachers)