National Recruiter Opens State-of-the-Art Training Suite

On Thursday 14^th June 2018 New Directions Education formally opened their fully equipped training suite as part of their continued commitment to their schools, colleges and candidates across South Wales.

New Directions who are the ‘managed service provider’ of staff to the education community throughout Wales made the move in a bid to support the objectives of the sector in upskilling and facilitating a more accessible offer for those who work within the supply environment.

Gary Williams, Director of Business Development for the organisation comments ‘there are numerous agencies throughout Wales who work to support schools with their supply needs. We have recognised a very real need to keep quality within the system high. This starts for us this summer with the launch of our free training programme to ensure that anyone working on a supply basis has access to the most appropriate training available’.

Williams continues ‘one of the biggest issues supply staff face is the fluidity of their assignments. Although 70% of our bookings are on a long-term basis, the feeling of belonging for candidates, our annual surveys tell us is important. So, we want to bring our community together and assure them that we are dedicated to their careers and we want to continually invest in them’.

The space will be used to train supply staff and additionally offered as a venue for schools and colleges to host events and off-site meetings free-of-charge.

The launch event opened with a performance from Evenlode Primary School and their choir. Attendees were entertained with stunning performances in both Welsh and English.

Rob Williams from the National Association of Head Teachers addressed delegates and spoke about his own journey as a former Headteacher and how continuous professional development meant being the very best educators could be for the people who matter most – the children in our classrooms. Rob continued ‘in Wales more than anywhere else now education reform is taking shape. This facility is critical for schools. Coming off site and investing time in yourself and your staff for development is key’.

Tim Pratt from the Association of School and College Leaders also spoke at the event supporting Rob’s sentiments ‘Allowing people to have time to reflect in an environment like Harlech Court is exceptionally important and I would encourage all schools to utilise the facility’.

The Cardiff facility is centrally located near to the Motorpoint Arena and has local parking available less than one hundred metres from the venue. Schools or candidates interested in working with New Directions in accessing the training or venue hire should contact their dedicated Account Manager.