SL(5)051 – The Education Workforce Council (Accreditation of Initial Teacher Training) (Additional Functions) (Wales) Order 2017

Background and Purpose

The Education Workforce Council (“the Council”) was kept in existence by section 2 of the Education (Wales) Act 2014 (“the 2014 Act”). Section 4 of the 2014 Act sets out the main functions of the Council. Section 5 of the 2014 Act allows the Welsh Ministers to make an Order conferring or imposing additional functions on the Council. Accordingly, this Order confers additional functions on the Council relating to the accreditation and withdrawal of accreditation of courses or programmes of study of initial school teacher training (article 3).

Procedure

Affirmative

Technical Scrutiny

No points are identified for reporting under Standing Order 21.2 in respect of this draft instrument.

Merits Scrutiny

One point is identified for reporting under Standing Order 21.3 in respect of this draft instrument (Standing Order 21.3(ii): the instrument is of political or legal importance or gives rise to issues of public policy likely to be of interest to the Assembly).

Article 3 of the Order confers on the Council the function of monitoring compliance of initial teacher training programmes and accredited courses in accordance with the “accreditation criteria”.

Article 2 of the Order provides that “the accreditation criteria” means the criteria for the current accreditation or the withdrawal of accreditation specified by the Welsh Ministers under regulations made under section 132 of the Education Act 2002. The existing Regulations made under section 132 of the Act do not provide for such criteria.

However paragraph 1.2 of the Explanatory Memorandum provides that new Regulations will be laid if this Order is approved by resolution of the National Assembly for Wales.

Legal Advisers

Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee

26 January 2017