September 8th, 2026  

UCAC shares the general disappointment with the PISA results again this year.

UCAC General Secretary, Ioan Rhys Jones, said:

‘Whatever your views on PISA as a way of assessing education, this year’s results are disappointing.

However, it must be acknowledged that PISA only provides a quick snapshot of the education system, across a limited range of skills.  We must also remember that only a sample of schools participate in these tests every three years. Having said that, it is clear that there is a need to plan improvements, and attention should be accorded to basic skills across the country.

We can only hope that the Curriculum for Wales, once fully established, will provide a solid foundation for learners and that the new Foundation Literacy and Numeracy Framework will be a means to plan, benchmark, and ensure national improvement in the years to come.

It is crucial that all improvement plans consider all aspects of education, including the community and the home.  We would welcome robust financial investment in our schools, therefore leading ultimately to an improvement in standards.  The education workforce is currently working hard under challenging circumstances. Hopefully, we will see the present government appreciating the importance of investing in education, thus providing solid and strong foundations for our students, who are our future.’  

12 May 2026

UCAC congratulates Plaid Cymru on their victory in the Senedd Cymru elections. Given his background, we are confident that our new First Minister, Rhun ap Iorwerth, has awareness and understanding of the world of education. We look forward with anticipation to seeing Plaid Cymru tackle the major and real challenges facing education in Wales today. The Union has already expressed its frustration and disappointment about the state of education in recent years. UCAC’s manifesto for the Senedd elections states: ‘It is clear that the core issues for ensuring educational success have not been resolved over the [past] decades.’ We have heard a raft of promises with regards to improving teachers’ working conditions.  Our hope is that the new Government will offer us more than promises, and that we will see firm and effective action that delivers genuine and positive outcomes, for the benefit of our education workforce.

We welcome the importance accorded to education by Plaid Cymru and look forward to seeing the Party act immediately, in line with what they promised in the document ‘The First 100 Days’. Plaid Cymru noted in that document that ‘education will be at the very heart of a Plaid Cymru government’s ambition for Wales – the key to unlocking new and better opportunities, and building the more confident, innovative and productive nation we know Wales can be.’ In ‘The First 100 Days’, the Party set out the areas it wants to focus on in the early period – raising standards; a wrap-around approach to behaviour, attendance and wellbeing; a schools estate that’s fit for purpose; smartphones in schools; and a sustainable higher education sector. We are confident that we will be able to contribute to the initial steps in these areas, as well as sharing our wider concerns and aspirations with the new Minister for Education, once appointed. Our Annual Conference was held in mid-April and at that conference a number of motions were passed which, we hope, we will be able to share and discuss with the Minister.

This is a new and exciting period in Wales’s history. Amid the excitement and hope, we want to emphasise how important it is for the new Government to give serious consideration to the education sector, as it has promised. The new First Minister has already stated that he has ‘the desire to make a difference to what matters in people’s lives.’  We will be ready to work collaboratively, to challenge, and to hold him to accoun

October 2025 

In May 2026, we will be voting in the Welsh Senedd elections.  What message would you like to convey to politicians in Wales?  UCAC has prepared its manifesto in anticipation of the election. 

Our manifesto can be summarised under four points which, in Welsh, splle out our union’s acronym  - UCAC

Uchafbwynt Oriau Gwaith

Maximum Working Hours

We want to ensure that there are clear boundaries to educators’ working days

Cyllid Ysgolion

School Funding

We want fair funding for schools, in order to warrant enough staff and resources

Amodau Gwaith

Working Conditions

We want to ensure educators can focus on their core task – teaching children and young people

Cymraeg

The Welsh Language

We want to ensure that the Welsh language is accorded its deserved status and that there are realistic and valuable opportunities to promote and extend its use

In order to read a full version of the manifesto, please click on the image below.

June 2025 

At its meeting on Friday, June 13^th UCAC’s National Council expressed its disappointment with the Welsh Government’s proposal of a 4% pay rise for teachers.

Although the pay rise appears, at first glance, to be a considerable increase, however, it does compare favourably with the salaries of other professions and does not keep pace with inflation rates over the recent years.  The teaching profession is facing a recruitment and retention crisis, and it must be acknowledged that in order to attract and retain teachers, salaries must be competitive and appealing, reflecting the increasing demands on the workforce. The National Council felt strongly that teachers’ onerous workload along with pupils’ increasingly challenging behaviour need to be addressed urgently.   Recruitment and retention issues will only be resolved when teachers’ working conditions and pay are fair and honourable and when the workforce is accorded the respect it deserves.

Not only is UCAC disappointed with the report’s content, but it is also displeased with the delay in its publication and its failure to match IWPRB’s recommendation of a 4.8% salary increase.  The late announcement means that the workforce will not receive a pay rise until well into the Autumn Term. There is also concern and disappointment that the report has not yet been published in Welsh and UCAC laments the fact that the Welsh language is being treated less favourably than English.

Februrary 2025

A number of members have contacted us expressing concerns regarding the lack of time between the publication of documents and the introduction of the new Religious Studies GCSE.   The new History GCSE has already been delayed for a year.  This delay was the result of pressure on WJEC from various sources, including UCAC.  As with the History GCSE, UCAC has been campaigning for a delay in the introduction of GCSE Religious Studies and has clearly stated its concern that a number of crucial documents and training have appeared later than anticipated, thus curtailing teachers’ preparation time for the new course.  A letter has been sent to WJEC officials, including the Chief Executive, requesting them to seriously consider delaying the introduction of the new course. Teachers must be given adequate time to prepare, if these new courses are to be effective and successful.  Delaying the introduction of this new course would be beneficial to the wellbeing of teachers and learners.