Oral - The Foundation Phase

The foundation phase is one of the most significant reforms that the Welsh Assembly Government is introducing in the 'One Wales’ programme. Its aim is to change the approach to the education of our three to 7-year-olds to provide the best possible start to their learning. Fully evaluated, the foundation phase reforms have been widely welcomed by local authorities, schools and parents. In my written statement of 29 April, I reported that additional funding would be required, over and above the £25 million grant secured in the 2008-09 budget for the roll-out of the foundation phase from September.

I would like to make it clear that local authorities were asked to undertake an audit in 2006 in preparation for the roll-out of the foundation phase; there was a disappointing response. On the evidence of the information provided to date, some authorities have a clear picture of how they will move forward already, but others do not. However, I pay tribute to those authorities that already have the information and have built a clear foundation phase strategy as a result.

I am committed to rolling out the 1:8 adult to child ratio for three to 5-year-olds from September 2008. The information that local authorities have now provided demonstrates that a significant amount of progress can be made towards achieving the 1:8 ratio in the 2008-09 school year.

In order to safeguard the successful pilots and their continuity during roll-out, I am able to announce today an additional £5 million for this financial year, which will be found from within my existing departmental budget. It will be ring-fenced to provide full support for the pilot and early start schools across Wales. Provision will be made in finalising my budget for 2009-10 for this transitional support to continue for the summer term 2009. This additional funding will do two things. First, it will ensure that the pilot and early start schools can maintain their staffing for the foundation phase, to provide high-quality learning for their children and act as champions of good practice for other schools and settings in their authority. It also means that, during the 2008-09 transition school year, local authorities will not have to support these schools for the autumn and spring terms from the £25 million already secured for this financial year. My expectation is that, as a result of this additional funding, local authorities will use more of the £25 million to fund additional staff for the roll-out in their other schools. How many additional staff there will be compared with their current calculations will vary from authority to authority, depending on the costs involved in each pilot and early start school.

As a condition of the foundation phase grant, I am requiring all local authorities to provide the Welsh Assembly Government with their final plans for use of the grant by 30 May. Authorities will be expected to notify schools of their allocations by the end of May to enable them to recruit staff for September. My officials will be assisting authorities in finalising their plans and it is essential that, in turn, local authorities involve their schools. Our tri-level approach is based on a commitment to partnership working. Schools are clearly at the forefront and pupils are at the heart of all that we do.

I can also report that, yesterday, I chaired the first meeting of the foundation phase implementation task and finish group, which includes representatives of the key stakeholders—the Welsh Local Government Association, the Association of Directors of Education in Wales, the teachers’ unions, early years experts and Estyn. The meeting was positive, with all around the table committed to seeking the successful roll-out of the foundation phase and welcoming the partnership approach to achieving that. I am also requiring authorities to collect data by the end of June regarding the current position in their schools. This will confirm the workforce currently available to deliver the foundation phase and give an estimate of the total number of three to five-year-olds projected to be in each school in September. The Welsh Assembly Government will work with local authorities to conduct an audit of these data in order to provide a baseline against which to judge progress made in September. The £5 million that I am making available this year will be assessed against this information in reaching conclusions about future resource levels. Close monitoring will be maintained throughout the roll-out, working alongside the WLGA and ADEW. The Assembly Government will also review the January 2008 pupil level annual school census data with local authorities, together with the PLASC requirements for 2009, in order to secure improved information and to achieve an educationally and financially sustainable roll-out in future years.

I will conclude with a brief mention of the expectations of schools and the part that Estyn has to play. We are supporting the 1:8 ratio because we believe that the delivery of the new statutory curriculum for three to five-year-olds will be better as a result. However, the ratio itself is not statutory; it is the quality of teaching and learning that is key to success. Estyn has confirmed to me that the advice to inspectors will be to base their judgments on the effective use by the school of the available resources and on the quality of teaching and learning, not on whether or not the ratio has been achieved. The advice will also reflect the fact that it will take time, in any event, for the foundation phase to bed down. I have spoken with the chief inspector of Estyn, who will be writing to local education authorities to set out Estyn’s position in relation to the inspection of the foundation phase from September 2008.

I am grateful for the support across this Chamber for the foundation phase. There is much still to be done, but I believe that if the Welsh Assembly Government, local authorities, schools and their representatives continue to work together in the ways that I have indicated, we will see significant progress in rolling out the foundation phase in September—progress that we will build on in future years to secure this fundamental and far-reaching change in early years education.