Sponsors have eyes firmly on the future

This council serves the county borough of Blaenau Gwent: a place of heritage and dramatic change, with a sense of its past but also its eyes firmly on the future.

The area is defined physically by high hillsides dividing the three main valleys. These valleys are home to towns and villages which seem to merge together into one.

However, each community proudly maintains its own character and traditions.

Although the towns give the county borough a busy, urban feel, Blaenau Gwent is actually a largely rural area.

Wherever you are, beautiful countryside is never far away.

Whilst a relatively small geographical area, Blaenau Gwent has big ambitions for its schools and for all its learners.

“We are determined to play our part in Wales being a first class education system, with a clear ambition to increase the skills and standards of education across the borough,” said a spokesperson.

“We want all children and young people to be able to access a full range of provision and services both school and community based, in order to meet their educational, social and emotional needs; with wellbeing as a strong focus.

“We are working together with key stakeholders and partners on a joint purpose to deliver ‘better schools, better citizens and better communities’ – all through a children and young person centred approach which puts young people at the heart of all decisions made.

“We’re delighted to be sponsoring the Primary School Teacher of the Year category in the South Wales Argus Schools & Education Awards 2021/22 – good luck everyone!”

THE ‘Teaching Assistant of the Year’ category is sponsored by New Directions Education.

As one of the leading providers of education and support staff in Wales, New Directions Education places over 3,000 people into work within education every week.

Established in 1999, New Directions Education is a preferred recruitment and training supplier to more than 20 local authorities. Playing a key role within the education sector, New Directions Education places essential education professionals and support staff into hundreds of schools and colleges throughout the UK. As Wales’ largest education recruitment company, it meets over 50 per cent of Wales’ supply teaching needs.

New Directions Education is a member of the Education Division of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and has offices across Wales. It also provides a bi-lingual service to Welsh speakers with dedicated Welsh language account managers.

The roles New Directions Education recruits for include teachers, learning support assistants (LSAs), teaching assistants (TAs), cover supervisors, admin staff, graduates, well-being officers and educational psychologists.

In addition to matching the right people to the right jobs, New Directions Education provides free training to all education staff, including safeguarding, COVID-19 awareness, mental health and first aid training, amongst others. Online training webinars are regularly held during school holidays as part of its long-term professional development offering.

Thousands of school children benefit every year from New Directions Education’s tailored curriculum enhancing workshops in subjects like lifesaving skills and an introduction to sign language. In 2021, New Directions Education hosted the world’s biggest ever sign-language lesson with more than 3,000 children and teachers taking part in a fun and uplifting online lesson.

To mark Sign Language Week 2022, New Directions will go for the official World Record for the biggest ever sign language lesson. The lesson, suitable for schools (from Year 3 and older), will introduce participants to the basics of sign language, playing a significant role in creating opportunities for increased inclusion for those with communication difficulties.

New Directions Education is part of the New Directions Group, whose award-winning companies support communities throughout the UK via their recruitment, training, care and employee and vetting checks services.