The Foundation Phase encourages children to be creative and imaginative, making learning more enjoyable and effective.  The funding will be used to develop a Foundation Phase Excellence Network, which will support the sharing of effective practice and work closely with the National Networks of Excellence in Science and Technology and Mathematics, which are already being developed.

Recent independent evaluations have shown that where Foundation Phase is being implemented well, it is raising the attainment of all children, but highlighted the need for greater consistency of delivery.

The new excellence network will:

• Help strengthen the links between schools, settings, consortia and local authorities to universities to develop research on professional learning for Foundation Phase practitioners.
• Use global and local evidence to develop nationally recognised Foundation Phase professional learning for staff.
• Support Pioneer Network Schools in the development of and  professional learning for the new curriculum.
• Improve children’s experiences of the Foundation Phase in settings and schools across Wales.

Minister for Life Long Learning Alun Davies said:

“The evidence shows that the Foundation Phase is working for our youngest pupils, with the majority achieving the expected results for their age.

“I want to make sure we build on this progress and continue to support our young people through their early years to make sure they have the best start in life. This investment will help us develop the skills of those who teach the foundation phase, create new training opportunities and ensure there is consistency across Wales.

Education Secretary Kirsty Williams said:

“The £1m for the Foundation Phase Excellence Network is part of our on-going investment to raise standards across our education system. We want to make sure our pupils have the skills and knowledge they need to succeed and thrive in the modern world.”

Professor Iram Siraj from the Institute of Education, London said,

“The Foundation Phase in Wales is leading in the UK in providing a curriculum and approach which provides true, seamless continuity in children’s learning from the early years to the middle of primary. We have seen a move away from over-formalised and over-controlled classrooms to spaces where experiential learning, enquiry and creativity is valued alongside literacy and numeracy.”

Professor David Egan, Cardiff Metropolitan University said,

“The Foundation Phase Excellence Network is a very welcome step to promoting the excellent learning and teaching practice which should be at the heart of the future development of the curriculum for 3-7 year olds.”

Professor Edward Melhuish, Professor of Human Development, Birkbeck, University of London said,

“The developments to the Foundation Phase have already brought improvements in early years provision for the children of Wales. The new investment in the Foundation Phase Excellence Network promises yet further improvements in professional development that will benefit all.”

Barbara Keeley, Labour’s Shadow Mental
Health Minister,
responding to the Tories’ social care announcement ahead of their manifesto,
said:

“You can’t trust the
Tories’ promises on social care. In their last manifesto they promised a cap on
care costs. But they broke their promise, letting older and vulnerable people
down.

“It’s the Tories who have
pushed social care into crisis; their cuts to councils have meant £4.6bn axed
from social care budgets between 2010-2015, leaving 1.2 million
people struggling to get by without care. And NHS bosses have recently said
that the money the Tories promised them won’t help alleviate the problems, with
bosses warning the system won’t see anything like the level of resource
required.

“We need real action to
fix the system, not reheated broken promises with little detail about how
they’ll be delivered.

“While the Tories offer
more of the same failure and broken promises, Labour has pledged action. We’ll
increase social care budgets by £8bn over the lifetime of the Parliament,
including an additional £1bn for the first year. We will set up a National Care
Service to provide the care that people deserve.”

Ahead
of the Conservative Party’s Manifesto launch, Labour is today publishing a
document looking at the Tories’ record of broken promises.

The
document – entitled: ‘One Tory Manifesto. Two years of Failure. 50 Broken
Promises’ – lists 50 examples of when the Conservatives broke their word. From
the NHS to education, from living standards to policing, the Tories have broken
their promises time and again. 

·        
They promised on the economy, but they have
missed every debt and deficit target they set themselves

·        
They promised to raise living standards, but working
families are set to be on average over £1,400 a year worse off

·        
They promised to improve all standards of NHS care,
but A&Es are in their worst state on record and hospitals are in
financial crisis

·        
They promised to protect school spending, but per
pupil spending is going down and class sizes are soaring

As
they launch their latest manifesto, it is a reminder that the Tories can’t be
trusted to keep their word.

Andrew
Gwynne, Labour’s National Election Co-ordinator, said:

“When Theresa May launches the Tory manifesto we can
expect her to make a raft of promises to the British people. But, as the
Conservatives make their latest solemn pledge there’s one thing we must bear in
mind: we’ve been here before.

“Theresa May pretends
otherwise, but she is a politician with a track record of failure and broken
promises. From the economy to the NHS, and policing to schools, Theresa May’s
Tories have failed again and again to deliver on the pledges they made.

“They made promises, they
quickly broke them; they would do so again. The Tories can’t be trusted.
Britain cannot afford five more years of them and their broken promises.”

The SSRO has sent an update to consultation respondents on its review of the regulatory framework.