The Education Workforce Council (Additional Categories of Registration and Further Education Teacher Qualifications) (Wales) Order 2024

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

The Education (Wales) Act 2014 (“the 2014 Act”) makes provision in relation to the Education Workforce Council (“the Council”). Part 2 of the 2014 Act confers functions on the Council in relation to the registration of certain categories of the education workforce.

The categories of registered persons are set out in Table 1 in paragraph 1 in Schedule 2 to the 2014 Act. The Welsh Ministers have the power in paragraph 2 of that Schedule to add, amend or remove a category of registration.

Part 2 of this Order adds a new category of registration for principals and senior leaders working in further education institutions in Wales.

Part 3 of this Order adds a further category of registration for adult learning practitioners and sets out the conditions to be met to work in that role in Wales. The conditions require a person to be registered with the Council and to also hold a specified qualification, which are set out in the Schedule to this Order. This Part also requires the Council to review the list of adult learning practitioner qualifications and report to the Welsh Ministers, on an annual basis, any amendments that it recommends are made to the list of qualifications.

Part 4 of this Order amends Table 1 in paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 to the 2014 Act to include entries for the two new categories of registration being created by this Order. This Part also amends Schedule 4 to the 2014 Act (index of defined words and expressions) to insert definitions in relation to the new categories.

Section 15 of the 2014 Act sets out the requirements to be satisfied by further education teachers who wish to work in Wales. That section also empowers the Welsh Ministers to make regulations to provide that education may not be provided by a person unless the person has a specified qualification and is registered in the category of further education teacher. The Education Workforce Council (Main Functions) (Wales) Regulations 2015 (“the 2015 Regulations”) were made using this power, amongst others.

Part 5 of this Order makes amendments to regulation 19 of the 2015 Regulations to provide that a person may not provide education in or for a further education institution unless they hold a “specified qualification” and defines what is meant by a “specified qualification”. This Part also amends regulation 19(2) of the 2015 Regulations to provide that volunteers or those providing training in relation to a profession on a temporary or occasional basis are not required to register with the Council or hold a specified qualification in order to provide education in or for a further education institution.

This Part also imposes a new duty on the Council to review the list of further education teacher qualifications. The Council must report to the Welsh Ministers, on an annual basis, any amendments that it recommends are made to the list of qualifications set out in Schedule 6 to the 2015 Regulations.

Part 6 of this Order amends the Education Workforce Council (Registration Fees) Regulations 2017 (“the 2017 Regulations”) to make provision in relation to the amount of registration fee payable by the new categories of registration. The fees payable for all categories of registration are set out in regulation 4 of the 2017 Regulations. Regulation 4 also provides that the Welsh Ministers may determine the amount by which those registration fees will be subsidised and requires them to publish the amount of that subsidy on the Welsh Government website.

Part 7 of this Order amends the Recognition of Professional Qualifications and Implementation of International Recognition Agreements (Wales) (Amendment etc.) Regulations 2023 to add adult learning practitioner and further education teacher to the list of Welsh regulated professions in Schedule 1. These Regulations make provision under section 3(1) of the Professional Qualifications Act 2022 to implement in relation to Wales provisions relating to the recognition of professional qualifications contained in the free trade agreement between Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein and the Kingdom of Norway and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The Welsh Ministers’ code of practice on the carrying out of regulatory impact assessments was considered in relation to this Order. As a result, a regulatory impact assessment has been prepared as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with this Order. A copy can be obtained from the Welsh Government at Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NQ and on the Welsh Government website at www.gov.wales.