Teaching (Hansard, 27 February 1990)

§ Mr. Barry Jones
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will convene a meeting of teacher unions in Wales to discuss with them resignations from the teaching profession in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Wyn Roberts
We are always prepared to consider requests from the teachers' unions for meetings to discuss issues of concern to them. We have had no such request.

§ Mr. Barry Jones
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will make a statement on stress in the teaching profession in Wales;
(2) what is his assessment of the impact upon teachers of the demands of the Education Reform Act in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Wyn Roberts
There is widespread support in the teaching profession for the changes introduced by the Education Reform Act and notably for the introduction of a national curriculum and local management of schools. We are well aware that this support is tempered by concerns about the demands placed on teachers by the pace of these changes. We have instigated a number of measures to help teachers and provide them with support.
We are providing grant support to LEAs in Wales in 1990–91 of £3.9 million specifically for in-service training 102W to support the teaching and assessment of the national curriculum; and a further £4.5 million, under the education support grant scheme, on projects directly related to the introduction of national curriculum core subjects. We are also providing about £0.5 million of funding for the Curriculum Council for Wales to develop through its teacher support groups practical help and advice for teachers in implementing the national curriculum.
The Secretary of State for Education and Science and my right hon. Friend are currently considering advice from the School Examinations and Assessment Council about the administration of assessment of the national curriculum at key stage 1 (five to seven-year-old pupils). In considering our response we are particularly concerned that the systems should be practicable for teachers and not excessively demanding. The assessment arrangements will be developed in the light of practical pilot studies in schools in Wales.
Our officials have been working with local education authorities to develop a co-operative approach to information requirements; we intend to ensure that the demands on schools are kept to the minimum necessary and that all agencies ensure that requests for information are not duplicated.