They are:

• Tackle teacher and leadership shortages by providing improved pay and working conditions, and high-quality national professional learning opportunities.
• Reverse the education funding crisis by ensuring that every school and college is appropriately funded to meet the needs of its learners and that school funding is allocated using a transparent national funding formula.
• Rescue the additional learning needs system which is struggling with cost and workload pressures and insufficient specialist provision to meet the needs of learners.
• Ensure children are ready to learn by addressing the barriers created by child poverty and, as an immediate step, extend free school meals to all secondary pupils in families receiving Universal Credit, with automatic enrolment to ensure every eligible child benefits.

ASCL Cymru is a professional association and trade union representing around 1,000 senior leaders in Welsh schools and colleges. Our manifesto is being launched at the ASCL Cymru Annual Conference taking place on 11-12 December in Cardiff.

ASCL Cymru Director Claire Armitstead said: “Whoever wins the Senedd elections in May faces an enormous challenge – bringing communities together, finding optimism, giving hope, and setting out a clear plan for how we get there. Education is pivotal. It is the foundation for everything else.

“ASCL has no party-political allegiance. We are a proudly independent trade union and our manifesto is addressed equally to all politicians of all parties. We’re calling on them to commit to addressing the challenges we have identified and to work with us to ensure that all our children thrive.”

Download the ASCL Cymru manifesto