Commenting on today’s School Banding announcement, NUT Wales Secretary David Evans said:

“Sadly today’s publication confirms our worst fears. There are areas in Wales that have schools ranked in band 1 with neighbouring schools placed in band 5. We have to ask what is to stop band 5 parents voting with their feet and changing schools based on these bandings. Clearly, this publication will create competition between schools, and naturally parents are going to look at the tables as a simplistic way of branding schools good or bad.

“What is especially concerning is that whilst these bandings have been announced, and the schools in the bottom bands face the stigmatisation of their rankings, we are unsure what, or even if, resources will be made available any time before September 2012 to support them. Certainly no financial support will be forthcoming.

“We have consistently warned that this is a backwards step for children in Wales and instead of improving standards, it will in fact lead to pockets of educational deprivation in Wales. We will be scrutinising the support that reaches schools in the lower band closely. “We strongly believe and fear the reality of these bandings will not match up with the expectations of the Government and they must seriously consider revisiting this approach to protect the future of our schools.”

Commenting on approval for the Welsh government budget, NUT Wales Secretary, David Evans, said:

“When the draft budget was announced NUT Cymru did call for more money to be invested in education. We are pleased that through the negotiations that followed our calls have been listened to, and there will be additional funding for children in Wales as a result.

“What has been pledged to education through the pupil deprivation grant is to be welcomed. The money will not fully close the gap on education expenditure in comparison to England, and we will continue to urge the Welsh Government to seek ways to ensure that this concern is addressed, but certainly this is a first step in the right direction.”

Commenting on the Welsh Government's announcement of reduced funding for the 21st Century Schools Project, NUT Wales Secretary, David Evans said:

"We recognise that the Welsh Government are in a difficult position financially, especially in terms of capital spending, given the depth of cuts that have been passed down by the Conservative - Lib Dem Westminster Government. However, with that said, we are disappointed at the scaling back of a project that we publicly welcomed and which was overdue.

2 November 2011.

Commenting on the Government’s new offer regarding public sector pensions, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union said:

"The NUT welcomes the fact that the Government has finally, after pressure from strike action in June, our lobby of Parliament last week and proposed action in November, conceded some ground. This is certainly a different stance from Danny Alexander’s pronouncements in the summer when he insisted there would be no further offers.

Commenting on today’s strike by UCAC’s members, NUT Wales Secretary David Evans said:

"The NUT fully supports the strike being held by UCAC members across Wales. This follows on from the strike staged by the NUT in June. The way the Westminster government has targeted teachers’ pensions is disgraceful.

- 21 September

Commenting on the today’s statement on secondary school banding by the Welsh government, NUT Wales Secretary David Evans said:

“We do continue to have concerns about the nature and impact of the banding system. No matter how this banding process is packaged, it will ultimately be seen as a return to league tables, especially when you consider it is a system based on ranking schools performance relative to each other. That is something that will create tension within the education system and the teaching profession.

19 September 2011

Commenting on the Welsh Government's school banding proposals, Wales Secretary David Evans said:

"The Education Minister has been at great pains to state that this banding approach is not a return to league tables. However, when you rank schools based on performance it is difficult to see how that is not the case. Playing schools against one another within local communities, through a banding system, will inevitably lead to those placed in the lower band losing students. Once children start drifting away from schools based on the stigma of these performance indicators it is difficult to get them to return. What is created is a dangerous cycle where schools at the lower end of the band suffer disproportionately.

8 June 2011

Expressing surprise at the statement released by the NAHT yesterday, the trade unions representing the vast majority of staff employed at Danescourt Primary school in Cardiff quickly rejected any suggestion that the Headteacher, Sharon Randall-Smith, is in any position to return to her post at the school whilst issues that forced two days of industrial action remain unresolved. A spokesperson speaking on behalf of the NUT, NASUWT, ATL and Unison said:-

- 20 May 2011

Today the Association of Lecturers has opened its ballot on industrial action to defend teachers' pensions. They join the National Union of Teachers, Wales's biggest teachers' union, who opened their ballot on Wednesday. Both unions are working together to ensure that all teachers know about the threat to their pensions and about the need to take urgent action to defeat the Westminster Government's attempts to get teachers to pay more, work longer and get less.

- 13 May 2011

Commenting upon today’s announcement that Leighton Andrews is to continue as Minister for Education and Skills in the Welsh Assembly Government, Wales Secretary David Evans said:

- 4 March 2011

Commenting upon the situation at Danescourt Primary School, Wales Secretary, David Evans said:

- 16 February 2011

Teachers and support staff at Danescourt Primary School will take further strike action tomorrow and Friday morning in support of the four teachers who have been unjustly suspended for the last five months.

The trade unions met with representatives of Cardiff Authority and the Chair of Governors on Monday at ACAS in an attempt to reach an agreement that would have averted the need to take action this week. After just over 9 hours of talks on Monday, and further telephone discussions today, it became clear that neither the Cardiff Authority nor the Chair of Governors were prepared to take responsibility for their wrong-doing and accept their shortcomings in this matter.

A spokesperson for the trade unions said:

- January 27 2011

NUT Cymru today labelled the latest statistics on Local Authority Education expenditure in Wales a disgrace. The comparison data for Wales and England shows that Wales spends £604 per pupil less than England even though the average spend per head of population in Wales is only £8 less.

Trade Unions representing members in a dispute regarding issues at Danescourt Primary School in Cardiff today slammed Council leaders and the Chair of Governors, Brian Stark, for failing to do enough to prevent a strike and closure of the school planned for tomorrow.

Speaking on behalf of the NUT, NASUWT, ATL, UNISON and GMB, a spokesperson said:

Wrth nodi ei sylwadau ar ganlyniadau PISA ar gyfer Cymru heddiw, dywedodd David Evans, Ysgrifennydd Cymru: