SL(5)065 – The Education Workforce Council (Accreditation of Initial Teacher Training) (Wales) Regulations 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 confer or impose additional functions on the Council.

Part 2 of these Regulations confers the function of specifying accreditation criteria on the Welsh Ministers. This function was formerly set out in regulation 7(2) and (3) of the School Teachers’ Qualifications (Wales) Regulations 2012 (“the 2012 Regulations”).

Part 3 of these Regulations requires the Council to delegate the accreditation, the monitoring of compliance with the accreditation criteria and the withdrawal of accreditation functions (“the Services”) to a committee to be known as the accreditation of initial school teacher training committee (“the Committee”) (regulation 5), and makes provision about the membership of that Committee (regulation 6).

Part 3 of these Regulations also makes provision for an institution to appeal a decision of the Committee to an appeals committee to be known as the accreditation of initial school teacher training appeals committee (“the Appeals Committee”) (regulation 7), and makes provision about the membership of that Appeals Committee (regulation 8).

Procedure

Negative

Technical Scrutiny

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

Merits Scrutiny

One point is identified for reporting under Standing Order 21.3 in respect of this draft instrument (Standing Order 2013(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).

A reporting point was identified under Standing Order 21.3 in respect of the Education Workforce Council (Accreditation of Initial Teacher Training) (Additional Functions) (Wales) Order 2017 (“the Order”). The Order was approved by resolution of the National Assembly for Wales on 14 February 2017 and came into force on 16 February 2017. The reporting point noted that the Order makes reference to “the accreditation criteria” which, at the time of making the Order, was not available.

Regulation 4 of these Regulations allows for the Welsh Ministers to specify “the accreditation criteria”. Although the draft accreditation criteria does not form part of these Regulations, a copy has been provided with the Regulations for information purposes.

Legal Advisers

Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee

03 March 2017