The WISERD Education Team has submitted its views on what it thinks should be the Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee’s main priorities during the Seventh Senedd. Providing these views in response to the latest consultation, which closes later this week, will help to inform Senedd Cymru with its strategic planning and forward work programme.
The team, comprising Professor Chris Taylor, Dr Sophie Bartlett, and Dr Katy Huxley, has set out three substantive priorities for the Seventh Senedd alongside a cross-cutting priority concerning the use of administrative data relating to children and young people.
These recommendations reflect areas where parliamentary scrutiny could make a significant contribution to improving educational outcomes and opportunities for children and young people in Wales.
The research combines population-scale administrative data with educational and social science expertise to understand how individual, family, school and community factors shape children’s educational experiences and longer-term outcomes.
This work provides a uniquely Welsh evidence base on issues including educational inequalities, curriculum reform, learner progression, attendance, language and educational transitions.
Collectively, the priorities identified in this response reflect a common concern: ensuring that major policy ambitions are matched by robust evidence about their implementation, impact and equity.
Across each area, the team identifies opportunities for the Committee to strengthen scrutiny, improve accountability and support the use of evidence in policy and practice.
The team also encourages the Committee to consider whether current arrangements for accessing and using administrative data are maximising their potential public value for children, young people and frontline services in Wales.
Read the full consultation response.