Wales has become the first UK nation to include learning support workers in schools and further education colleges on its national register of education practitioners.
The Education Workforce Council says the move is “recognition of the important yet often undervalued work” of learning support workers and “the integral role they play in Wales’ education system”.
There are currently more than 28,000 learning support workers in Wales, whose occupations vary from teaching assistants to technicians and learning coaches. They join the 43,000 school and further education teachers already on the register, and have to pay an annual registration fee, which has been set at £15 by the Welsh government for 2016/17.
Chief executive of the Education Workforce Council, Hayden Llewellyn, said: “Registration enhances the status of learning support staff, enabling greater access to training and career development opportunities.”
He said there had been a “year-long engagement campaign” taking opinions and responses on the registration from across Wales: “The response has been overwhelmingly positive and we appreciate the help and support of support staff and their unions,” he added.
Learning support workers who are unsure of their status or who need more information should contact EWC’s qualifications and registration team on 029 2046 0099 or email registration@ewc.wales