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Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · 1d

Report from Swansea today as Rhun ap Iorwerth tells Plaid Cymru Conference says his party stands ready to “replace” Labour in leading the next Welsh Government 👇

www.itv.com/news/2025-10...

www.itv.com

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Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · 2d

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So yes, there is movement locally but at a national level while there is new money, centres and panels - there is no published, mandatory, clear guidance that ensures every school is using evidence-based reading instruction.

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Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · 2d

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Cardiff Council later told me they would review their reading provision and this term, they confirmed that Rainbow Reading is no longer offered as part of their training to schools 👇

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Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · 2d

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On a local level, things are changing.

In February I reported that Rainbow Reading - a programme explicitly promoting cueing and downplaying phonics - was being used in Cardiff schools.
t.co/FUV671O3WJ

https://www.itv.com/news/2025-02-05/northern-ireland-reviews-controversial-teaching-method-after-failings-in-wales

t.co

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Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · 2d

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One of the heads of the new centre at Bangor University is also a vocal critic of synthetic phonics.

By the way, that expert panel first met nearly a year ago and to date, no guidance has been published.

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Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · 2d

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Questions remain because, shortly later, the government set up an Expert Literacy Panel.

But the panel included several people who have previously criticised synthetic phonics despite the fact the evidence strongly supports it as the most reliable route into fluent reading

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Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · 2d

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Last year, in the Senedd, the Cabinet Secretary for Education said the government “have a clear expectation that all schools will use synthetic phonics to teach reading.”

I raised questions about that statement then: x.com/RhysWilliams...

Rhys Williams﮷ on X: "She said: “We have a clear expectation that all schools will use synthetic phonics to teach reading.” She later reiterated that “synthetic phonics is what we expect as the building blocks of reading in Wales.” 👇 https://t.co/bP5Yk1Rvs9" / X

She said: “We have a clear expectation that all schools will use synthetic phonics to teach reading.” She later reiterated that “synthetic phonics is what we expect as the building blocks of reading in Wales.” 👇 https://t.co/bP5Yk1Rvs9

x.com

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Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · 2d

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After our report, the Welsh Government admitted its guidance needed clarification and updated its guidance to schools to remove wording which suggested cueing could be used to reading unfamiliar words.

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Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · 2d

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We reported on cueing, which encourages children to guess words using pictures or context rather than reading the letters (phonics).

It has been rejected by the best reading science for decades but we found it was being praised by school inspectors.

www.itv.com/news/2024-09...

www.itv.com

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Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · 2d

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This week the Welsh government announced £8m of funding for a national centre of excellence for literacy teaching - but a year since we raised concerns over reading provision in early reading it's not clear how much has changed in practice👇
www.bangor.ac.uk/news/2025-10...

£8million Welsh Government Grant awarded to Centre of Excellence for Literacy at Bangor University

The Welsh Government has awarded an £8 million grant to a Bangor University research project to found CAL:ON (Canolfan Addysgu Llythrennedd: Offer tuag at Newid / Centre for the Advancement of Literac...

www.bangor.ac.uk

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Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · 11d

I would say no to Friday…but not impossible.

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Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · 11d

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The findings have now been submitted to the WRU as part of its consultation. It will be for the Union to consider how this feedback is reflected in its decisions on the future structure of the game.

Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · 11d

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Respondents highlighted the importance of maintaining regional identity, distributing funding more evenly, strengthening grassroots pathways, and including supporter representation at board level.

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Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · 11d

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The WRU’s preferred “Model D” (two professional clubs, a national academy, and centralised WRU control) was rejected by most respondents. A majority said even “none of the above” would be preferable.

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Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · 11d

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Gwlad, an independent Welsh rugby forum, has published the results of a survey of 1,279 fans on the WRU’s consultation. It found that 92% of respondents felt the WRU was not doing a good job in running the game.
gwladrugby.wordpress.com

Gwladrugby

Yma o hyd ar nugwlad.freeforums.net

gwladrugby.wordpress.com

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Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · 12d

Too good not to share!

Really special to see my 97 yo grandad honoured this weekend for 60 years of unbroken service for Swansea Male Choir.

He’s been a stalwart in the second tenors since my mum was born and still rehearses twice a week in the hall he built for the choir 👏🏻🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

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Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · Aug 13

The Home Secretary was in Cardiff today to announce the expansion of live facial recognition technology.

Is big brother watching you, or your police force protecting you?

Opinions are split - more on ITV News soon

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Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · Aug 12

Such is the varied life of a reporter in August I'll have some Taylor Swift business on @itvnews shortly

Taylor Swift GIF

ALT: Taylor Swift GIF

media.tenor.com

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Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · Aug 12

Either way, very interesting study about how Curriculum for Wales is being implemented if you're interested in these things: www.gov.wales/sites/defaul...

www.gov.wales

Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · Aug 12

From my reading, it seems clear that cognitive load theory is one of the most well-supported theories in educational psychology. It's supported by a large body of empirical evidence.

Any education types who follow me able to help me understand why the authors say it remains uncontested?

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Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · Aug 12

So which "cognitive science" theories did "Secondary N" reference?

Here it is.

As far as I can tell, this can only be a reference to cognitive load theory.

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Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · Aug 12

The footnote here is interesting.

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Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · Aug 12

I was struck by this on p46 about "cognitive science" approaches.
It says these views "remain contested."

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Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · Aug 12

I've been reading this study about Curriculum for Wales.

www.gov.wales/sites/defaul...

www.gov.wales

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Rhys Williams @rhyswilliamsnews.bsky.social · May 21

How much would this gaff set me back do you reckon?

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