Be brave, look for meaning: highlights of the tenth annual meeting of the National Cancer Research Institute

The tenth Annual Meeting of the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) conference took place in Liverpool, UK. Just under 2000 delegates were estimated to have attended the conference, predominantly from the UK and Europe. It was a multidisciplinary gathering aimed at cancer professionals at every level. The conference included primers on basic science and public communication as well as workshops on more advanced topics.The conference was grouped into six main themes, which this report will address in greater detail

Evaluation of the Early Implementation of the Childcare Offer for Wales

An evaluation of the first year of the early implementation of the Childcare Offer for Wales. The evaluation focused on the effectiveness of the Offer for parents and children, the impact of the Offer on parental employability, well-being and disposable income and impact on the childcare sector

Evaluation of the Early Implementation of the Childcare Offer for Wales: Communication and Marketing of the Offer

This report sits alongside the main evaluation report of the early implementation of the Childcare Offer for Wales. This reports reviews the communication processes that have taken place on a national Welsh Government level, particularly in relation to the communication between the Welsh Government and the early implementer local authorities (EILAs); communication between EILAs and local providers and communication between providers and participating parents. It is informed by desk-based research, interviews with the EILA Offer teams, stakeholder organisations, childcare providers and parents

Evaluation of the Early Implementation of the Childcare Offer for Wales: Holiday provision

This report sits alongside the main evaluation report of the early implementation of the Childcare Offer for Wales. This report discusses the demand for childcare during the school holiday periods and considers whether the supply of childcare during these periods is sufficient to meet demand. It also explores how holiday provision arrangements have been agreed between childcare providers and parents, as well as the ways in which information relating to the Childcare Offer entitlement during school holidays has been communicated to parents

Alignment of the Childcare Offer for Wales to the Foundation Phase

This report was produced alongside the main evaluation report of the early implementation of the Childcare Offer for Wales. This evaluation focussed on the influence that the introduction of the childcare element of the Offer might have on current Foundation Phase delivery and whether the current delivery of the Foundation Phase element would influence the implementation of the childcare element of the Offer

Evaluation of Progress for Success

This report presents the findings of an evaluation of Progress for Success, a Welsh Government operation to upskill the existing Childcare and Play workforce. Arad Research was commissioned by the Welsh Government to undertake an independent evaluation to assess the effectiveness, efficiency and impact of Progress for Success. Progress for Success provided funding to support existing childcare and play workers to undertake recognised qualifications to increase and enhance their skills. The aim of Progress for Success was to support improvements to the quality of provision offered to children, reflecting evidence that a highly-skilled workforce leads to better future educational outcomes for children. Those eligible to access support through the operation were existing employed practitioners aged over 25 years within both the maintained and non-maintained sectors, including self-employed registered childminders. The evaluation provides recommendations for future policies supporting skills development in the sector. The report presents findings for both West Wales and the Valleys and East Wales, highlighting any differences in delivery methods and findings between the two regions

Counselling for people affected by cancer: the impact outside a healthcare setting

Objectives: Study objectives were to measure the impact of counselling for people affected by cancer outside a national or private healthcare setting, such as a hospital or clinic, following treatment, and shed light on the nuances of this by gender, age and cancer status. Methods: CORE-10 was used to measure psychological distress amongst a practice-based sample affected by cancer including a comparator group of those who had not yet received counselling. Setting: The study was conducted in counselling offices outside a clinical or healthcare setting, both in terms of physical infrastructure, and in terms of funding mechanisms. Participants: 158 participants were selected based on the following inclusion criteria: completion of a full set of CORE-10; having completed six sessions of counselling at the time of analysis. Results: Results show psychological distress improves for all receiving counselling outside a national or private healthcare setting according to the CORE-10 scores. Those ‘affected by cancer’ are initially more distressed and benefit more from counselling than ‘cancer patients’. In comparison with females, male comparator group scores increase (gets worse) between ‘assessment’ and ‘first’ counselling session, before they have received any counselling.Conclusions: The paper concludes that counselling ‘outside’ a healthcare setting appears to be beneficial to anyone diagnosed or affected by cancer. Benefits vary by demographic group and exploring the meaning behind variations requires further, qualitative, investigation

CAMAU Project: Research Report (April 2018)

‘Learning about Progression’ is a suite of research-based resources designed to provide evidence to support the building of learning progression frameworks in Wales. ‘Learning about Progression’ seeks to deepen our understanding of current thinking about progression and to explore different purposes that progression frameworks can serve to improve children and young people’s learning. These resources include consideration of how this evidence relates to current developments in Wales and derives a series of principles to serve as touchstones to make sure that, as practices begin to develop, they stay true to the original aspirations of A Curriculum for Wales – A Curriculum for Life. It also derives, from the review of evidence, a number of fundamental questions for all those involved in the development of progression frameworks to engage