Foreword from our Chair

It is a privilege to serve as Chair of the Education Workforce Council (EWC) and to introduce our Strategic Plan for 2026–29. This plan sets out how we will continue to fulfil our responsibilities as an independent, professional regulator, acting in the public interest to safeguard learners and young people, uphold professionalism, and enhance standards across the education workforce in Wales.

Our ongoing commitment to safeguarding is at the heart of this plan. The EWC exists to protect learners and young people by maintaining high standards amongst those who educate and support them. This is a responsibility that we take with the utmost seriousness. Through fair, transparent, and robust regulation, we work to uphold public confidence in the professionalism and integrity of those who are entrusted with the education and wellbeing of our future generations.

Working in maintained and independent schools, further education, work-based and adult learning, and youth work settings across Wales, our registrants possess deep knowledge and strong ethical values. Day in, day out, they also demonstrate a deep commitment to the learners, young people and communities they serve. We will continue to champion the workforce, using our unique position to recognise and celebrate their expertise and the impact they make across Wales. We will also work to ensure that the education workforce continues to thrive and adapt in a rapidly changing world.

Collaboration is central to the delivery of our strategy. We will continue to work closely with Welsh Government and other stakeholders to deliver key national priorities including the Strategic Education Workforce Plan, Curriculum for Wales, reform of initial teacher education for further education teachers, development of the new national body for youth work, and Cymraeg 2050. In doing so we will contribute intelligence, data, insight and expertise to guide evidence-based decision making. We will help ensure that the voices of our 91,000+ registrants are clearly heard and valued in shaping the future of education in Wales.

We will also continue working to strengthen the culture of professional self-regulation that underpins our work, ensuring that the legislative framework governing the EWC remains robust, responsive, and fit for purpose as the needs of both the education workforce and the learners and young people that they work with evolve.

Equally important is our commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion, outlined in detail within our Strategic Equality Plan 2024-28. This includes a commitment, through our promotion of careers work, to help develop an education workforce that more closely reflects the rich diversity of modern Wales. More broadly, we will continue to support the objectives set out within Welsh Government’s Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan and LGBTQ+ Action Plan for Wales.

I look forward to working with our Chief Executive, my fellow Council members, and EWC staff, to deliver the ambitions set out within this plan over the coming years. Together with our registrants and partners, we will continue working to safeguard learners and young people, maintain public trust, and ensure that educators across Wales are respected, empowered, and valued.

Geraint Williams, Chair

Foreword from our Chief Executive

As the Chief Executive of the EWC, I am proud to present our Strategic Plan 2026-29, which outlines how we will deliver our statutory functions and key strategic priorities over the next three years.

At its core, the plan reaffirms our central purpose: working in the public interest to safeguard learners and young people, through maintaining professionalism and upholding standards.

Robust regulation is at the core of our work, ensuring that only those who are appropriately qualified and suitable to practice are able to join our Register. We also support our registrants in upholding the principles set out in the Code of Professional Conduct and Practice, ensuring that high standards of conduct and professionalism are embedded within their professional practice. Where concerns are raised, we act promptly, fairly, and transparently to protect learners and young people, safeguard the public, and maintain confidence in the profession.

We will also continue to play a key role in promoting high standards of teaching across Wales by discharging our statutory duty to accredit and monitor Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes for school teachers. Through this work, we ensure that ITE providers meet the accreditation criteria underpinning high-quality teacher preparation, and that a rigorous standard of training will be provided for the next generation of teachers.

Beyond our regulatory responsibilities, the EWC plays a vital role in supporting and empowering the education workforce. We will continue our work to promote careers in education, encourage high-quality career-long professional learning, and use our unique data and insight to help shape workforce policy. Building and retaining a strong, sustainable, and diverse education workforce is one of the greatest challenges facing our sector. By working collaboratively with Welsh Government and partners across Wales, we aim to develop innovative and evidence-based approaches in order to meet that challenge.

We will ensure that that people understand who we are, what we do, and how our work contributes to safeguarding and raising standards. We will also continue to modernise our systems and processes, using technology to improve efficiency and deliver value for money for registrants.

The EWC’s strength lies in its people. I am immensely proud of our dedicated staff, Council members, and panellists who embody our values of fairness, excellence, collaboration, and independence. Working together, we will continue to uphold the highest standards of service for our registrants and to ensure that our work delivers meaningful benefits for learners and young people, practitioners, and the wider public, across Wales.

I look forward to working with our registrants and partners to realise the ambitions set out in this plan, in order to ensure that the EWC continues to make a positive and meaningful contribution to education in Wales.

Lisa Winstone, Chief Executive

Our role and remit

Vision

To be a trusted, independent, professional regulator that works in the public interest to maintain professionalism and enhance standards within the education workforce in Wales.

Purpose

The Education (Wales) Act 2014 formally sets out our aims and functions.

Our aims

• Contribute to improving the standards of teaching and the quality of learning in Wales.
• Maintain and improve standards of professional conduct amongst teachers and others who support teaching and learning in Wales.
• Safeguard the interests of learners, parents/guardians, and the public, and maintain public trust and confidence in the education workforce.

Our functions

• Establish and maintain a Register of Education Practitioners.
• Maintain a Code of Professional Conduct and Practice.
• Investigate and hear allegations that may call into question a registered practitioner’s fitness to practise.
• Accredit and monitor programmes of Initial Teacher Education.
• Provide advice to Welsh Government and others.
• Monitor induction and hear induction appeals.
• Promote careers in the education workforce.
• Undertake specific grant funded work, at the invitation of Welsh Government, in areas that are relevant to our remit and aligned with our commitment to enhancing educational standards and outcomes.

The way we work

Our culture, capabilities, and infrastructure shape how we approach our role as an independent, professional regulator, and as an employer.

Our values

Fairness

We act fairly, and with integrity, to maintain standards and promote professionalism.

Support

We empower the education workforce to maintain high standards of conduct and practice, acting as self-regulating individuals who uphold the integrity of their profession.

Excellence

We pursue excellence and endeavour to provide a high-quality service for registrants, stakeholders, learners and young people, parents/guardians, and the public.

Collaboration

We work in partnership with the education workforce, and other stakeholders, to develop and promote excellence in teaching and learning.

Independence

We are independent, and regulate in a way that is impartial and based on evidence.

Equality, diversity, and inclusion

At the heart of our work is a deep commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion. Our Strategic Equality Plan (SEP) 2024-28 explains how we will work to drive positive change, both inside our organisation, and across the wider education workforce in Wales. It is guided by five strategic objectives:

1. Build a diverse and inclusive EWC team
2. Monitor the gender pay gap and identify opportunities to reduce it
3. An inclusive workplace where diversity is celebrated
4. Deliver accessible services for registrants and stakeholders
5. Help develop an education workforce that is representative of the diverse population of Wales

Our equality objectives are underpinned by a detailed action plan which will outline the actions and measures we will use to track progress.

The Welsh language

As a proudly bilingual organisation, we are committed to promoting and growing the Welsh language and to supporting national ambitions for the language across the education system.

We offer all of our services in both Welsh and English, ensuring that everyone can engage with us in their preferred language. By working closely with the Welsh Language Commissioner, we not only ensure compliance with the Welsh language standards, but also seek to incorporate best practice from elsewhere, making sure that bilingualism is a cornerstone of our organisational identity.

We recognise the central role of the education workforce in achieving Welsh Government’s long‑term national goals for the Welsh language, including Cymraeg 2050 and the implementation of the Welsh Language in Education Bill, which has significant implications for workforce planning, development, and supply. We work to support this agenda through our regulatory work, which includes providing workforce data and intelligence, and supporting professional learning, as well as through our work on promoting careers in the education professions.

The environment

We are dedicated to minimising our impact on the environment and embracing sustainable practices in everything we do. Our Section 6 Biodiversity and Resilience of Ecosystems Duty Report (published in December 2025) outlines the actions and measures we have taken to help maintain and enhance biodiversity. Over the period of this plan, we will continue to improve in this area and identify further actions and initiatives to support biodiversity and sustainability.

Financial sustainability

As an independent, professional regulator funded by registration fees, it is essential that we are financially sustainable, operating within our means and using our resources efficiently. We will continue to strive to keep fees as low as possible, whilst providing the highest level of service in fulfilling our statutory duties.

We lead specific activities on behalf of Welsh Government where it is considered that we are the most appropriate body to do such work. In such instances, Welsh Government cover our costs through grant funding, enabling us to contribute even more effectively to the education landscape in Wales. This approach ensures that we remain focused on areas aligned with our remit and commitment to improving educational standards and outcomes, while continuing to deliver value to our registrants.

Our people

A key strength of the EWC lies in the dedicated people who work to realise our vision. Our team of over 55 employees, led by our Chief Executive, work together to ensure the effective delivery of our core responsibilities. We invest in our people, providing a supportive and inclusive environment where every colleague has the opportunity to grow and develop their skills.

Our Council is made up of 14 members who set the EWC’s strategic direction and ensure that we uphold the highest standards of governance. Each member is appointed for a four-year period and together, our Council has a wealth of experience and knowledge, from across our registrant groups. Seven members are appointed directly through Welsh Government’s public appointments system, and seven are appointed following nomination from a range of stakeholders.

We also maintain and support:

• a pool of over 50 fitness to practise panel members
• an Initial Teacher Education (ITE) Accreditation Board of 14 members
• a pool of over 45 assessors of the Quality Mark for Youth Work in Wales

How we will monitor progress

We will report on our progress against the objectives and outcomes of this plan in four quarterly reviews, and in our Annual Report and Accounts, which is laid before the Senedd annually, and audited by Audit Wales. We will publish an Annual Equality Report and a Welsh Language Standards Monitoring Report, detailing our compliance and outlining progress in these key areas. We will also publish an annual report on our fitness to practise work, setting out how we have dealt with matters that are referred to us and providing data on the types of cases we deal with. In addition, we will continue to report on our compliance with the Section 6 Biodiversity and Resilience of Ecosystems, in line with the requirements set out in the in the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 (with our next report due to be published in 2028).

Key objectives for 2026-29

Our objectives set out how we aim to realise our vision during the lifetime of this plan. These will feed into specific, measurable actions that will be set as part of our annual operational planning process.