Impact Wales podcast
A great way to keep up with the latest education news in Wales
I’d recommend the Impact podcast for any Welsh educators. Jane and Fin keep me up-to-date with what’s going on in Wales education-wise! They are both former teachers and are in close contact with lots of schools, and their passion for improving schools in Wales is evident, as is their dedication to putting research into practice.
Recommended episodes:
Episode 129: Reading Comprehension with Chris Such
In this episode, Jan and Fin interview Chris about the evidence behind various approaches to reading comprehension, as covered in his book The Art and Science of Teaching Primary Reading (reviewed here). As always, his opinions are nuanced, pragmatic and well-informed. Among other things, he discusses the effectiveness (or not) of small-group teaching, the importance of keeping the focus on the text, and the value of teaching Tier 2 vocabulary words.
Episode 172: Reading with Rhys Williams;
Episode 188: Estyn’s view of reading
For teachers of literacy in Wales, Jane and Fin’s insights into how the Curriculum for Wales aligns (or doesn’t align) to the science of reading make for an interesting listen.
Episode 204: Helping Struggling Readers
Fin and Jane provide an overview of where Welsh pupils are in terms of reading standards – and the lack of data both nationally and within schools. They focus particularly on the problem of pupils entering secondary school with poor literacy, and suggest seven strategies to help pupils engage with texts that are above their reading proficiency level.
For teachers in Wales, you can join the Impact Wales Facebook group, where there is an accompanying free pdf resource ‘Reading Well to Improve Learning’ (as well as lots of other useful information about education in Wales).
Episode 211: “Why I Quit.” Literacy expert speaks out
In 2024, the Welsh government set up a literacy expert panel to ‘review and inform the work to improve literacy standards in Wales’. At the end of October 2025, Elizabeth Nonweiler, a specialist in teaching foundational literacy, resigned from the panel, pointing out in her resignation letter that none of the experts leading CAL:ON (an initiative to improve literacy in Welsh schools) had ever taught young children to read. In this episode, Jane and Fin interview Ms Nonweiler about her resignation. I recommend listening for some possibly worrying insights into the Welsh government’s approach to improving literacy.