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by Kirsty Williams AM Cabinet Secretary for Education, Welsh Government It’s an exciting time for education in Wales. This was noted by the OECD earlier this year, when it recognised that government and sector are working closely together with a commitment to improvements that are “visible at all levels of the education system”. This week, as Wales’s Education Secretary, I published our new action plan for the next four years. Entitled ‘ Education in Wales: Our national mission ’, it builds on the strong foundations already in place in our system. But we are setting the bar even higher, ambitious as we are in our expectations for our young people, for our teaching profession and for our nation. As a relatively small country and a still-young democracy, we have too often seen these as challenges rather than opportunities. Through the OECD, we have had the opportunity to learn more about other systems and their reform journeys. It is true that no two countries or systems are the same. Ho...

by David Istance  Senior Analyst, Directorate for Education and Skills This is a watershed moment for Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence , say some of the country’s education stakeholders. They’re talking about the ambitious education reforms that were rolled out in Scotland’s schools five years ago. What better time for a review of the reforms? Improving Schools in Scotland: An OECD Perspective , published today, provides just that. So what kind of watershed has Scotland’s education reform programme reached? First, the programme is at a “watershed” as a statement of fact: the main curriculum programme has now been implemented, and the overhaul of teachers’ education and qualifications is nearly complete. This is watershed meaning “key transition moment”. Second, it can be seen as a “watershed” as so much of the hard work of redesign has been accomplished and essential building blocks have been put in place. This is about unleashing the full potential of the Curriculum for Excell...