As the Wales Audit office publishes its report which reveals work is needed to realise the long-term benefits and track on-going costs of the new Curriculum for Wales, NAHT Cymru Director Laura Doel said: “We welcome the report that has highlighted some crucial concerns regarding workload and cost implications of delivering the new curriculum.

“Schools are working tirelessly towards implementation, but we continue to highlight the issues of funding such an ambitious reform agenda.

“Most notably the report recommends the government evaluates the effectiveness of the profession learning programme of support to schools provided by the regional consortia. This is the third report in recent weeks highlighting concerns raised by the performance of the consortia, we reiterate our calls for the government to commit to a full-scale review of the middle tier. 

“The audit office also recognises the workload pressures associated with reform and NAHT continues to challenge unnecessary bureaucracy to allow our leaders and teachers to focus on teaching and learning.

“In relation to funding, an independent report commissioned by the government and published in 2020 told ministers what we already knew to be the case – school funding is variable, a mixed picture across Wales.

“Until this government commits to tackling the postcode lottery of school funding and truly reviewing the money spent in education to ensure it offers the very best value for learners; until we start to fully appreciate the workload implications on the workforce, delivery of the new curriculum and any education reform is going to be hampered.

“Our schools want the new curriculum to succeed, but we need to ensure they have all the support they need to drive and deliver the vision for 21^st century schools.”

The report can be viewed here: The new Curriculum for Wales | Audit Wales