Vacancy -- Deputy Chair - Initial School Teacher Training Committee

Background

The Education Workforce Council (EWC) was established by the Education (Wales) Act 2014. Under the Act, the principal aims of the EWC are to:

• contribute to improving the standards of teaching and the quality of learning in Wales;

• maintain and improve standards of professional conduct amongst teachers and others who support teaching and learning in Wales;

• safeguard the interests of learners, parents and the public, and maintain public trust and confidence in the education workforce.

The EWC is independent of government.

The EWC’s powers were extended in February 2017 to allow it to:

• accredit courses or programmes of initial school teacher education (ITE);

• monitor the compliance of accredited courses or programmes of ITE with Welsh Government published criteria;

• withdraw the accreditation of courses or programmes of ITE;

• charge fees in connection with providing the service.

In discharging these additional statutory duties, the EWC is required to establish the Board. This was a specific recommendation from Professor John Furlong’s report to the Welsh Government: Teaching Tomorrow’s Teachers Options for the future of ITE in Wales in March 2015, which set out a number of recommendations in order to raise the quality of ITE in Wales. Currently providers rather than programmes are accredited in Wales.

Boards Role

Any ITE partnership seeking to run an ITE programme that leads to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in Wales from September 2019 must first ensure that it has been accredited by the EWC, through the Board. It is anticipated that the newly formed Board will assess around 25 programmes between 1st January and 30th June 2018 and a small number of appeals thereafter. Accreditation is to be awarded for up to a 5 year period. Following the initial decisions, work will be at a “maintenance” level until preparations for reaccreditation begin in 2022.

The Board “pool” shall be made up of a Chair, 2 deputies and up to 10 others. Any ITE programme submission will be considered by a subset of members drawn from the pool. To ensure consistency, this will always include the Chair or 1 deputy. The quorum, in Welsh Government Regulations for an assessment is 3 members.

• To deputise for the Chair in relation to the above, as required

• To assist EWC officers in appointing and training ITE Accreditation Committee members

• To lead the assessment of ITE programme submissions and appeals, including documentation reviews, site visits, Committee meetings and report writing

• To liaise with key stakeholders, including ITE partnerships, EWC officers and Council members, Welsh Government officials and Estyn

The Welsh Government acknowledges the importance of developing and growing bilingual capabilities in public appointments in Wales, and welcomes applications from candidates who demonstrate their capability to work in both English and Welsh.  The following list of language requirements represents an objective assessment by the recruiting body of the Welsh language skills required to undertake the duties of this particular post.

Knowledge and experience

• Extensive experience at a senior level in one or more of the following: initial teacher education, schools, the inspection of schools, higher education, quality assurance, professional regulation
• Extensive experience as a Chair / deputy of a Committee or Board

Aptitudes and skills

• Ability to act as an effective Committee or Board Chair / deputy and member, with the ability to commend the respect of others
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Excellent problem solving skills
• Ability to work to tight timescales

Personal attributes

• Well-developed inter-personal skills
• Objectivity and diplomacy
• Commitment to excellence & quality

Equal opportunities

• Understand the regulatory frameworks in Wales, including the Public Sector Equality Duty and the Welsh Language Standards

Essential Criteria

• The successful candidate must have extensive experience at a senior level in one or more of the following: initial teacher education, schools, the inspection of schools, higher education, quality assurance, professional regulation
• The successful candidate must demonstrate understanding of the education system and reforms in Wales – the challenges facing, and opportunities available and ensure ITE is firmly rooted in wider education reforms
• The successful candidate must understand the regulatory frameworks in Wales, including the Public Sector Equality Duty and the Welsh Language Standards
• Objectivity and diplomacy
• Commitment to excellence & quality
• Ability to work to tight timescales

24/04/2017, 23:55

The closing date for this position has been extended to Monday 24 April 2017.

Please note that appointments to the Committee are being made based on written applications only. Interviews are not being held.

For further information regarding the selection process, please contact:

The Corporate Shared Service Centre
Tel: 029 2082 5454
Email: sharedservicehelpdesk@wales.gsi.gov.uk

For further information regarding the role of the Board and the role of Chair please contact Gemma Nye, Workforce Strategy Unit:

Tel: 02920 801331
Email: ITEducationAddysgGA@wales.gsi.gov.uk

If you need any further assistance in applying for this role, please contact the Welsh Government’s Corporate Shared Service Centre Helpdesk on 029 2082 5454 or SharedServiceHelpdesk@wales.gsi.gov.uk

For further information about Public Appointments in Wales, please visit www.gov.wales/publicappointments

To apply for this role, click on the ‘Apply’ button below. The first time you apply for a post, you will need to complete a registration form for the Welsh Government’s online application system.  You will only need to register once, and you will be able to keep yourself updated on the progress of your application, and any other applications you make, via your registered account.

Once you’ve registered, you’ll be able to access the application form.  To apply you will need to submit two supporting documents. The first, a document outlining how your knowledge, skills and experiences meet the criteria for the role as outlined in the information for candidates.  This document should be no more than 2 sides of A4.  Your application may be rejected if you exceed this limit.  The second document is a full, up to date CV.  The two documents should be uploaded to the ‘Reasons for applying’ section of the online application form.

In your application, you will also be asked to provide details of any activities which have helped you to develop skills that would be useful in a public appointment role, and list the organisations for which you undertook these activities.  We also need to know about any political activity that you’ve undertaken over the last 5 years. 

It is recommended that you register for an account and access the application form as soon as possible so that you see how the application form is structured, before starting to prepare your evidence.  You don’t have to complete the application form all in one go.  You can save your responses, and log in and out as required, until you’re ready to submit – just follow the guidance in the application form.

If you need any further assistance in applying for this role, please contact the Welsh Government’s Corporate Shared Service Centre Helpdesk on 029 2082 5454 or SharedServiceHelpdesk@wales.gsi.gov.uk 

For further information about Public Appointments in Wales, please visit www.gov.wales/publicappointments