ELECTION 2016: The issues facing education in May's assembly elections

THE education sector in Wales is going through huge change.

A new curriculum, based on an independent review by Prof Graham Donaldson of Glasgow University, is currently being devised and should be available to teachers by 2021.

The aim is to drastically improve standards, having seen Wales fall behind the rest of the UK across key subjects in recent years.

How political parties and candidates approach these changes could be a key factor in their success at the ballot box on Thursday, May 5.

One thing is for sure - Wales will have a new education minister.

Earlier this year, Labour's Huw Lewis announced he would not be seeking re-election to the Welsh Assembly in May after telling colleagues he was looking for a new challenge.

The decision came as a surprise and concern to many in the sector, who were worried that improvements would come to a halt.

For example, a spokesman for the union NAHT Cymru said at the time: "To lose momentum now would be unthinkable and we are committed to working with the education department within Welsh Government and continuing to do the best for every learner including the delivery of every recommendation in Professor Donaldson's report and initiated by the minister."

Pay and conditions for both teachers and supply teachers is another ongoing issue, while in March the UK Government announced plans to make every English school an academy, raising the question of whether pressure will be placed on Wales to do the same.

Following 17 years of Labour rule, where do our Welsh political parties' priorities lie when it comes to education in 2016?

A Labour spokesman said: “Thanks to the Welsh Labour Government working in partnership with teachers, staff and leaders across Wales over the last five years young people are doing better in schools and colleges not only in Gwent, but up and down the country.

"As a result of the changes we have made such as introducing a new colour-coded system of Categorisation for primary and secondary schools and programmes like Jobs Growth Wales there is new momentum in Welsh education.

"The numbers of young people getting 5 good GCSEs is nearly 8 per cent higher than at the start of the Assembly term in 2011; the gap between our poorest pupils and their peers is closing at every key stage of education and we have helped 15,000 young people into work through Jobs Growth Wales.

"Just look at the progress our Schools Challenge Cymru schools have been making; two thirds of schools saw an uplift in performance at GCSE in 2015, with Gwent schools Llanwern High School and Blackwood Comprehensive amongst the best performers in the country.

“Welsh Labour is determined to keep this momentum going that is why we will continue to develop a new Curriculum for Wales; invest £100m extra in school funding in the next term and £2bn on new school and college buildings to 2024.

"We will also create a minimum of 100,000 high quality all-age apprenticeships and develop a new all-age employability programme giving people of all ages the skills to find quality employment.

"The economy of tomorrow will be built on the education system of today and only Welsh Labour is committed to creating a genuinely world class education system across Wales.”

Angela Burns, Conservative Welsh Assembly candidate for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, said Welsh Conservatives will invest in driving up education standards.

She said: "We will invest in early years by trebling the amount of free childcare parents can access to provide economic security for hardworking people.

"We will empower teachers and parents with more control and choice, because they know what is best for their children, rather than politicians and bureaucrats in the Labour-run Welsh Government.

"We will deliver more money to the classroom by directly funding schools, to end the scandal, whereby a fifth of Wales’ £2.5bn schools budget gets eaten up in red tape.

"We will ensure that Welsh qualifications remain internationally recognised so young people have the best chance to compete in the global race.

"We believe it is a disgrace that Welsh school standards in basic skills are the worst in the UK, so we will drive up standards and compare with other advanced nations.

"We will protect funding for further education colleges and break down barriers to Higher Education by supporting students with living costs, ending Labour’s unsustainable tuition fee support, which saw millions of pounds sent to English universities."

Veronica German, Welsh Liberal Democrats candidate for South Wales East, said: "Being a parent myself, I know how we all want the best education for our children.

"We have great teachers out there, but too often they are forced to work in overcrowded classrooms. The average class size in Wales is higher than nearly all other developed countries. Parents’ calls for smaller classes have been ignored for too long.

"The Welsh Liberal Democrats’ number one priority for this election will be to cut class sizes so that teachers are given the time to deliver a great education for our children. A vote for our party is a vote to cut class sizes.

"We may be the smallest group in the Assembly, but our record shows that the Welsh Liberal Democrats have delivered more for schools in our area than any other party put together.

"We used our influence in the Assembly to secure our key policy – the Pupil Premium. This has led to nearly £60m extra investment in local schools in our area.

"We have shown we are the party of education. Welsh Liberal Democrats will increase investment in our schools even further.

"We have listened to people’s concerns on education. Our priorities are your priorities, which is why a vote for the Welsh Liberal Democrats will deliver a Wales that works for you."

Mirka Virtanen, of the Wales Green Party, explained that her party has divided its approach into 'Learning for Life' and 'Learning through Life' strategies.

She said: "Early years education is a precious and powerful stage of learning. It is when a thirst for learning through life can be developed or lost.

"We must equip our youngsters with the skills, knowledge and experiences that maximise their potential.

"We will create a free, universal early education and childcare service from birth to compulsory school age – which we would raise to seven.

"We would insist early years educators have qualified teacher status with specialist knowledge of childhood education and ensure all other staff are qualified to level 3.

"We would also protect rural and small schools."

She added: "Whether full-time or part-time, academic or vocational, work based or lecture theatre, we want Wales to have a world class education system for those aged over 16 – a system that delivers life changing learning, secures social justice and drives our new economy forward.

"We will protect the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) for college students, expand apprenticeships, traineeships and other work based learning routes, and restore the devastating recent cuts to colleges across Wales.

"We will also enhance maintenance support for full and part time university students, expand opportunities for part-time university education and restore funding to adult and lifelong learning centres, and ensure a free university education for Welsh students studying in Wales."

A spokeswoman for UKIP in Wales said: “We believe it’s time we took a dramatically different approach to education, and that means improving academic standards, as well as increasing choice so education is bespoke to an individual’s skills and ambitions.

"UKIP would bring back Grammar schools which would be obliged to take at least 10 per cent of the student body from low income households, enabling those who wish to pursue an academically focused education to be able to do so, whatever their background.

"But we would also like to introduce University Technical Colleges which would offer a range of high quality, industry backed vocational courses and apprenticeships from post 14, giving a range of options to students who do not wish to go to University, while building up a strong, skilled workforce by removing the stigma from technical education.

"We would abolish fees for university courses in Science, Technology, Engineering and Medicine with an ambition to abolish fees altogether as soon as fiscally viable.

"We also want to cut bureaucracy in the teaching profession, and introduce modern foreign language teaching to children from the age of 7 so we match most other countries of the world who recognise the importance of multilingualism in a global 21st century economy."

Simon Thomas, Plaid Cymru education spokesman, told the Argus: "We believe that teaching standards are vital to improving outcomes.

"To achieve this improvement, we will introduce a Teachers’ Premium for teachers who complete a Masters course in advanced teaching and then follow continued training. We expect a quarter of teachers to have this level by 2021 and all teachers to reach this standard by 2026.

"Cutting red tape, improving teacher training and keeping our best teachers in the classroom, rather than doing paperwork, are all part of our strategy to ensure no child is left behind, and every child reaches their potential.

"We will treble the amount of free childcare for 3-4 year olds, up to thirty hours per week to give children from all backgrounds the best start in life, and give university students from Wales a learning bond so that they can get up to £6,000 per year of tuition fees paid back if they work in Wales after graduation.

"If our education today is our economy tomorrow, then it is vital that we give every child in Wales the best chance of success."