Start date of Wales’ new curriculum under review
THE date for the start of Wales’ new curriculum will be kept under review, although it is still a priority to aim to roll it out from 2022, the Welsh Government has said.
First Minister Mark Drakeford and Education Minister Kirsty Williams were answering questions on the new curriculum put to them separately by members of the Wales Youth Parliament and the Children, Young People and Education Committee.
Asked whether the date for starting the biggest change to the curriculum in a generation would be delayed owing to disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and school closures, they said they hoped not, but it would be kept under review.
Earlier on in the pandemic the First Minister confirmed in a written statement that legislation for the new curriculum would continue as planned in light of the Covid-19 outbreak.
The new curriculum is due to be rolled out in primary schools and Year 7 of secondary schools from 2022, taking on more school years each year, until all are following it from 2026. For a time, the old and new curriculums will be taught.
Asked by the Welsh Youth Parliament on Tuesday whether the date would be put back while schools deal with disruption caused by the pandemic, the First Minister said: “Commencing the new curriculum in 2022 is one of the biggest priorities we have.”
But earlier in the day the Education Minister told the Children, Young People and Education Committee: “We have not departed from our 2022 date but will keep that under review.”
Responding to a question from committee chairman Lynne Neagle MS whether the ongoing disruption to schools meant she would consider revising that date, Ms Williams added: “I cannot ignore the significant disruption to education caused by Covid.”
In April the First Minister confirmed in a written statement that legislation for the new curriculum would continue as planned.
DOCTORS, nurses, social care staff and other frontline workers have given their brutally honest opinions of Wales’ handling of the coronavirus crisis to date.
An extensive survey, conducted by the Senedd’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, aimed to uncover the impact Covid-19 has had on staff and their patients. Some of the major themes included inadequate PPE, problems with testing, the redeployment of staff and the lack of mental health support during the pandemic.
Dr Dai Lloyd MS, chairman of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, said: “For us to hold the Welsh Government to account, it’s critical for the committee to hear from those living and working through the pandemic, those caring for us and the impact it’s having on their work and lives and, crucially, their thoughts on how it’s being dealt with.
“We’re extremely grateful to those who’ve taken the time to share their experiences.”
Here, we look more closely at some of the responses to the survey...
■ Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
PPE has been used throughout the pandemic to try to keep both staff and patients safe from transmission.
Different types of PPE have been used according to the level of risk, the setting or the procedure being carried out.
But frontline staff have claimed that wearing this equipment – in some cases for 12 hours at a time – affected their ability to work and communicate.
“Working long hours in full PPE is exhausting and sometimes painful,” one staff nurse told the survey.
“It also affects our communication in more ways than is imaginable. Work is physically and emotionally more difficult and tiring.
“Then we have constant headaches from dehydration as we limit breaks to save PPE, and can only drink so much in our breaks to prevent impromptu toilet breaks.”
Another healthcare professional working in a Welsh hospital said communicating with patients was a particular problem.
“Have you tried communicating with a deaf person who cannot read your lips, or a confused patient who longs for human touch and cannot comprehend why you are wearing a mask and gloves etc, and are frightened by you?” they said.
They also added that frequent changes to PPE guidance, as more was known about the virus, put people at greater risk of infection.
“With discrepancies in PPE guidance at the beginning, our staff were put in danger due to misunderstood information being actioned,” said another staff nurse.
“For example was wearing a surgical mask in an ITU setting with cohorted Covid-19 patients, some of which were ventilated. A lot of our staff contacted Covid-19.”
■ Testing
Guidance on testing has changed through the outbreak as new scientific evidence has emerged.
In March, following the move from the “containment” phase to the “delay” phase, testing in Wales was initially prioritised for people requiring admission to hospital.
It was then followed by a phased roll-out of testing for healthcare workers involved in frontline, patient-facing clinical care as capacity increased.