Welsh Government

The new Education Other than at School (EOTAS) Framework for Action is the culmination of two years of hard work by the EOTAS Task and Finish Group and marks the start of the biggest reform of Pupil Referral Units and EOTAS provision in Wales.

Chaired by former Estyn Chief Inspector, Ann Keane, the EOTAS Task and Finish Group was established in September 2015 with the purpose of developing practical solutions to the recommendations of a number of reports which highlighted where current EOTAS provision in Wales could be strengthened. The group included representation from the Welsh Government, local authorities, schools, Pupil Referral Units (PRU), Estyn and the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for Wales.

The new Framework is a long term plan, consisting of 34 actions across six key areas, although some of the actions will be implemented in the short to medium term.

The key areas it seeks to improve are Leadership, Accountability, Resources, Structures, Learner Wellbeing, and Outcomes.

Launching the Framework and extending her thanks to everyone involved with its production, Kirsty Williams said:

“We are committed to creating an inclusive education system for all learners in Wales, ensuring that everyone is able to receive the best level of support for their needs.

“I am extremely grateful to everyone involved with the Task and Finish Group for all their hard work in helping us to develop this plan and extend my support to the EOTAS Delivery Group who will now be charged with its successful delivery. The actions contained in this Framework reflect extensive engagement with the sector which has been, and continues to be, the best advocate for learners accessing EOTAS provision.

“We have deliberately adopted a phased approach to the proposals outlined in the plan, not only to ensure that they are implemented in a considered and timely manner, but also because the Framework has to complement wider education sector transformation. I am firmly of the view that EOTAS provision must form an integral part of our inclusive continuum of education; it should not be a ‘bolt-on’.”

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Headquartered in Newport, JoJo is a multi-channel retailer offering maternity and children’s wear and gifts and toys. From the 800 plus employees at JoJo, 117 are over the age of 50, and 32 are 60-plus. They work in all aspects of the business, from head office and management to retail, and the company supports flexible and part-time working to accommodate its older employees.

New data shows that the number of workers in Wales aged over 50 has risen by almost a quarter – 24.8% – between 2006 and 2016, while the number of younger workers has fallen – 16-24-year-olds by 10.1%, and 25-49-year-olds by 3% – over the same period. By 2022, one in three people of working age will be over fifty. Therefore, investing in skills throughout an employee’s working life has never been more important.

Christine Presley, 63, has been working at JoJo for 15 years. Originally from North London, Christine worked in a variety of accounting and customer service roles before joining JoJo in 2002. Working in the company’s HR department, Christine uses skills and experience gained over a lifetime to inform her role.

Christine said:

“After leaving education I worked in a variety of accounting roles in London and South Wales. In 1994, when I was in my 40s, I fancied a change and took on my first customer service role with One 2 One (now T-Mobile) where I worked for eight years.

“When our boys had grown up, my husband and I decided to move to Wales to be closer to family. In 2002, we bought a house in Cwmbran and my years of customer service experience helped me to get a job at JoJo. Over the 15 years I’ve been here I’ve seen the company grow from one shop to over 80 and have moved from customer services into the human resources department.

“I draw on experience from all my previous roles in my work at JoJo, but I think the most important skill to have in HR is the ability to listen, which is something I mostly learned from my customer service positions. I think that being older helps with that as well, I’m more patient now than I was when I was younger. I sometimes think about cutting back my hours and I might do in the next couple of years, JoJo’s flexible working policy means it will be easy for me to cut down when I choose to. As for giving up work completely – I don’t have any plans to do that just yet.”

The ‘People Don’t Have A ‘Best Before’ Date’ campaign points out the critical importance of older workers to businesses. It is the latest initiative under the Welsh Government’s Age of Investment drive to ensure Wales has the skills it needs to compete in the global marketplace, both now and in the future.

The Welsh Government has teamed up with Business in the Community (BiTC) Cymru, Learning and Work Institute, the Older People’s Commissioner, Chwarae Teg and Federation for Small Businesses (FSB) for the campaign, which seeks to challenge stereotypes of older workers and demonstrate their value in the workplace.

Amy Bailey, HR Manager at JoJo Maman Bébé, said:

“We have a large number of employees who are over the age of 50. They work in all aspects and levels of the business, from part-time retail positions to management and roles in head office and are vital to ensuring the smooth running of the company. We’re always open to offering flexible and part-time hours, with our older employees working anything from six hours a week to full-time, and we’ve noticed a trend towards employees like Christine choosing this option over retirement.

“We’ve definitely seen an increase in the number of older people we employ – in 2016 we took on 16 employees who are over the age of 50 and this year we employed a further 21. When we recruit for a position we’re simply looking for the best person for the job, and the skills and experience of older workers are incredibly valuable to us in all areas of the business.”

Commenting on the campaign, and why it’s more important than ever for businesses to support and value their older workers, Minister for Welsh Language and Lifelong Learning, Eluned Morgan, said:

“By 2022, around one in three people of working age in Wales will be aged over fifty and the number of young people entering the labour market may not be enough to fill all of the vacancies.

“The valuable skills and experience older workers possess, which are often gained over a lifetime in employment, are not always easy to replace. This campaign is designed to highlight to all businesses in Wales, but especially SMEs where skills gaps can have more of an impact, that older workers are vital to business growth and success, and consequently to the Welsh economy as a whole.

“We hope it will raise awareness of the issue to employers in Wales, and offer advice and guidance on how they can support an all-age workforce and invest in the growth and development of their employees throughout their working lives.”

For employers looking for more information on how they can invest in the skills of their older workers, the Welsh Government’s Skills Gateway for Business (external link) has a range of advice and guidance.

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Published on Thursday 30 November, the report assesses the initial impact the change in law has had on organ donation rates in Wales, two years on. It shows an increase in levels of support for the system among the public and NHS staff. 

Before implementation, seven in ten staff (71%) said that they were in favour of the change in legislation, increasing to more than four-in-five (85%) after implementation. It also shows an increase in the percentage of families giving consent for donation from 44.4% in 2014 to 64.5% in 2017. 

More than half of respondents in the September 2017 Wales Omnibus Survey said they had discussed their organ donation wishes with a family member. This figure remained at around four out of ten between 2012 and 2015 but has increased since.

On 1 December 2015, Wales became the first country in the UK to move to a soft opt-out system of consent to organ donation. This means that if a person has not registered a decision to become an organ donor (opted in) or a decision not to become an organ donor (opted out), they will be considered as having no objection to being an organ donor – this is known as deemed consent. 

However, if individuals don’t tell their families of their decision to donate, the family may not honour that decision, and over-ride the organ donor registration or not support deemed consent. 

Organ donation and transplantation activity data for 2016-17 published by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) shows that in Wales:

• patients who died whilst on the waiting list for their transplant decreased 18.5% from (27 in 2015-16 to 22 in 2016-17)
• The number of donors after brain stem death (DBD) increased by four, from 36 (2015-16) to 40 (2016-17)
• the number of patients residing in Wales receiving cardiac transplants increased by one
• the number of patients residing in Wales receiving a live Kidney transplant increased by five.

A major new advertising campaign was launched in November to help increase public awareness of the law, focusing on the role of families in the organ donation process. The aim of the campaign encourages people to talk to their loved ones about their wishes, so their families can honour their organ donation decisions. 

In 2016-17, there were 21 cases in Wales where families either overrode their relatives’ decisions to donate organs, or didn’t support the deemed consent. With an average of 3.1 organs retrieved per donor in Wales, this could have resulted in as many as 65 additional transplants. 

Health Secretary Vaughan Gething said:

“I welcome the findings in the Impact Evaluation and I’m pleased that there are improvements we can celebrate after such a short period. I congratulate the healthcare professionals involved making this a success however, none of what we have achieved would have been possible without the support of the Welsh population.

“I’m delighted that in the first two quarters of this year, our consent rate reached 72% putting us second in the UK, with 39% of the Welsh population registering as organ donors. While this is not reflected in a rise in donors overall, the report suggests this may be because there have been fewer eligible donors over the short period since the change in law.

””We must work harder to further increase organ donation levels while there are people dying waiting for their transplant and to have a significant impact on reducing those waiting lists.

“It’s important to remember that it’s too early to know what the true impact of the change will be, but I’m confident we have started to create a culture where organ donation is openly discussed.

“While awareness and understanding is increasing, it’s really important that we keep the momentum going and continue to monitor, over the long term, the impact of the Act.”

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The centre has been built thanks to nearly £4 million of capital funding from the Welsh Government.

The changes to the services in the Blaenau Ffestiniog area were made following engagement and public consultation. The Health Board has worked with partners and stakeholders to develop its plans and services for the new facility.

The Blaenau Ffestiniog GP practice, managed by the Health Board, has moved into the new centre. The innovative General Medical Services model utilises the support of the wider primary care community in line with Welsh Government’s primary care strategy. The team includes one salaried GP supported by locums, a permanent Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Pharmacist and Musculo Skeletal Physiotherapy.

The new centre will also improve primary and community care in the area bringing services closer to patients’ homes. It will:

• Bring together consultant led palliative care; outpatients and specialist nurse clinics, consultant led respiratory outpatients clinics sessions under one roof
• Improve children’s services in the area by providing more child and adolescent mental health services
• Provide a permanent midwifery base and antenatal clinics
• Increase paediatric speech and language sessions
• Provide consultant paediatrician and community paediatrician outpatient sessions
• Provide a school nursing and health visiting service
• Offer community dental accommodation with potential to attract an NHS salaried dentist. 

Health Secretary Vaughan Gething said: 

“Canolfan Goffa Ffestiniog will be crucial to the future health and well-being of the local population of Blaenau Ffestiniog and I was delighted to be at the official opening today.

“This is an important model for primary and community services that we could potentially look to replicate at other facilities in NHS Wales.”

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The funding package, which includes £17.5m of EU money, will be used to  fund 3 schemes aimed at helping 7,000 young people aged 16-24 years from across Wales access training and job opportunities.

This latest announcement brings the total investment in young people through EU programmes for 2014-2020 to £193m. Speaking at an event in Swansea to mark the progress and achievements of EU funds in Wales, and the 60th anniversary of the European Social Fund (ESF), Finance Secretary, Mark Drakeford, said:

 “I am delighted we have so far invested £193m of EU funds to help our young people unlock their potential and improve their career prospects. These projects are further examples of the importance of Wales receiving replacement funding from the UK government post-Brexit, so that we can continue supporting young people, helping them secure a prosperous future.”

The schemes set to go ahead are:

• Inspire2Work 
• Ad Trac
• Cam Nesa

The schemes will provide tailored support for young people facing significant challenges. They will offer one to one mentoring, help with basic and personal skills as well as digital literacy and self esteem, so that young people are able to gain qualifications, enter further education and secure employment.

The £10m Inspire2Work project, backed with £6.7m from the ESF, will be led by Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council and Newport City Council. It will offer advice, support and training to young people in Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil, Torfaen, Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan, Newport and Monmouthshire.

The £5.7m Cam Nesa project, backed with £4m ESF and led by Pembrokeshire County Council, will deliver advice, support and training across south west Wales, while the £10.4m Ad Trac project, led by Grwp Llandrillo-Menai and backed with £6.8m EU funds, will deliver these services across North Wales.

Minister for Welsh Language and Lifelong Learning, Eluned Morgan, said: 

“Many young people face significant barriers in securing work because they do not have the appropriate skills or support they require to help them succeed. These schemes will help them gain self confidence and  develop the skills they need to overcome these barriers and secure employment.”

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