CAL:ON Cymru warmly received by Senedd Committee
Professor Manon Jones from the School of Psychology at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and Dr Cameron Downing from York University, co-lead investigators on CAL:ON Cymru, presented to the Senedd’s Children, Young People and Education (CYPE) Committee last week. They outlined the mission of CAL:ON Cymru, the new Welsh Government-funded centre of excellence for literacy teaching based at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½. Their presentation was warmly received by members of the cross-party committee.
Professor Jones said:
“We were very encouraged by the positive response from the Committee and by the strong cross-party recognition of how important literacy is to children’s life chances. It was a valuable opportunity to explain how CAL:ON Cymru will support teachers and schools across Wales with practical, research-informed tools to improve literacy outcomes.â€
CAL:ON Cymru is addressing the urgent issue of literacy in Wales by providing schools with a cohesive, evidence-based support package that includes professional learning, teaching materials, and assessment tools in both Welsh and English. The centre is developing national guidelines and professional learning modules, creating language and literacy programmes that give teachers access to high-quality classroom resources, and designing assessments to help identify learners’ needs and monitor progress.
Earlier in the week, Lynne Neagle, Cabinet Secretary for Education, published the and the , which will guide how literacy is taught across the country. These documents were produced by the Literacy Expert Panel, a group of senior academics from across the UK that includes Professor Jones and Dr Downing.