Revision guides created by ACT for units 1-5 in the Level 2 Children's Care, Play, Learning and Development: Core qualification. Diolch to ACT for agreeing to share.

The Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916 began a chain of events that led to the independence of most of Ireland, but at the time its momentous significance was not appreciated in Wales. For the vast majority of Welsh people, it was pure treachery as it happened at a time when Ireland (like the rest of the United Kingdom) was engaged in a war unprecedented in its savagery and scale. This article traces how events in Ireland were seen in Wales through the lens of the war against Germany, and how the notion that Ireland (like Wales) was better off within the protective embrace of the British Empire was so widespread that it could not be challenged. Author: Gethin Matthews

This article discusses two aspects of Grace Williams’ (1906–1977) output that have been neglected in the current bibliography about the composer, which are her vocal arrangements of Welsh folk tunes and her only opera, ‘The Parlour’. Bearing in mind that Grace Williams is mainly associated with orchestral music, this research reflects the desire to investigate and give deserving attention to the works that have been ignored in the past. The need to reconsider the significance of her folk-song arrangements and the opera is emphasized with the aim of getting a complete picture of the composer’s output. The discoveries are based on recent research that has already been presented as a MARes degree (Bangor University 2022) and current research for a doctoral degree that is to be completed in the coming years. Author: Elain Jones

It is often said that Wales’s devolved political institutions suffer from a ‘democratic deficit’, associated with a ‘media deficit’. This article uses the political philosophy of Jürgen Habermas to interpret these claims. The article begins by discussing the central problem and applying Habermas’s theory of legitimation to it (1), before turning to the theory’s key concept, namely the public sphere (2). Part 3 argues that an informal political public sphere is lacking in Wales today and that this undermines the legitimacy of the devolved political settlement, supporting this argument with data (3). The final part of the article places the Welsh case in a broader context, and opens the discussion regarding possible solutions (4). Author: Dafydd Huw Rees

This paper reports a study investigating the acquisition of frequently used Welsh vocabulary by beginner learners of Welsh. Twenty-three participants were tasked to learn 300 content words over 50 days (10 minutes per day) using flashcards. Information was provided about techniques to support learning, such as the keyword method and paying attention to parts of words. Immediate and delayed post-learning tests revealed substantial differences in the ‘learnability’ and retention of target words. An end-of-study questionnaire elicited detailed information about participants’ learning experience, and found that more successful learners used highly systematic approaches to word selection and revision, and used the keyword technique. A resulting list of words ranked by learnability, and comments on learning techniques from high-scoring participants, are informing revisions of learning materials.  Authors: Tess Fitzpatrick, Steve Morris

The purpose of this booklet is to share good practice in developing educational provision and teaching in a minoritised language in universities. The good practice covered in this booklet come from focus groups held with lecturers and students looking at their experiences of Welsh and Irish medium education at universities in Wales and Ireland. This booklet discusses: good practice in encouraging students to study in a minoritised language developing provision in a minoritised language; teaching in a minoritised language supporting students in a minoritised language assessments in a minoritised language normalising the use of a minoritised language among students. We anticipate that this booklet will be useful not only for lecturers and providers of higher education in these countries, but also for lecturers, higher education providers and providers in other education sectors in other parts of the world who are developing educational provision and teaching in a minoritised language.

The decline in relation to mental health issues among children and young people in Wales (School Health Research Network [SHRN] 2023) and recent curriculum reform (Welsh Government [WG] 2022) has led to the introduction of statutory guidance to promote a whole-school approach in supporting positive emotional and mental well-being among all stakeholders within the school community (WG 2021). The ‘Framework on embedding a whole-school approach to emotional and mental well-being’ (the Framework) (WG 2021) focuses on embedding the three core values of ‘belonging’, ‘efficacy’, and ‘voice’ across all aspects of school provision to create a positive social and emotional community. This integrative review explores literature that focuses on whole-school approaches to emotional and mental well-being and identifies some key facilitators and barriers in its successful implementation. Findings suggest that many schools are still not fully engaging with the Framework (WG 2021), particularly regarding the whole-school approach, and this paper concludes with some recommendations regarding the way forward. Authors: Nanna Ryder, Charlotte Greenway, Siobhan Eleri

This resource looks at crop production in Wales. It is suitable for learners in further and higher education studying programmes from levels 2 to 6. There are eight units each containing information on different aspects of crop production These include aspects of cultivation, establishment, growth, manuring, crop protection, harvesting and storage. The units are as follows: Introduction to crop growing in Wales Crop cultivation Crop establishment Crop growth and establishment Manuring Crop protection Harvesting Crop Storage This resource is on Welsh Government's HWB website and was published by Welsh Government.

A series of video podcasts which feature conversations about contemporary Sports Ethics issues. The topics include: Sportswashing Fairness Competetive categories Racism Nationalism Role models The podcasts are accompanied by a set of notes and indicative bibliographies for each topic and a list of terms. The resource is suitable for students studying Sport related subjects at A level and degree level.  

The aim of this article is to analyse the different readings available regarding the history of the Welsh settlement within official narratives of the past in Chubut Province, Argentina. This not only includes the products of the provincial state, but also those of other actors in Chubut society, including the Welsh community itself. In order to do this, the analysis will focus on interpretations produced over three periods: firstly, between the 1930s and 1955, when Chubut was a national territory; secondly, a portion of the first years of the existence of Chubut Province between 1958 and 1975; and finally, between the 1980s and the present, with particular attention given to the celebrations of the hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the landing of the first settlers in 2015. The changes observed between different historical narratives, as well as the elements of continuity between them, are also considered. Throughout these three periods, it is shown that official narratives of Chubut’s past have placed the history of Welsh colonization as a cornerstone for the establishment of the province, giving it a hegemonic role. Author: Guillermo Williams

Tools to simplfy the whole observing process with the LCO telescope network via the Comet Chasers project. Tools are available for planning and organising observations, making image requests, and creating animations of the telescope images. These tools are aimed at students in primary and secondary schools who take part in the Comet Chasers project – but will also be useful for under-graduate and post-graduate students for simplifying the process of requesting images of comets/asteroids from LCO. Full nstructions are currently available on the website for two tools, all tools will have instructions in the near future.

The aim of this article is to construct the history of the irrigation system in the Lower Chubut Valley created by the Welsh settlers that arrived in Patagonia (Argentina) in 1865, which complicated the relationship that existed between this infrastructure and the ever-changing sociopolitical framework. This will involve focusing on the institutions that the Welsh settlers themselves established and the conflicts that arose between them and the Argentine state, which took over the administration of irrigation in 1943. Emphasis will be given to the agency of water within the process that led to reinforcing and growing the irrigation infrastructure, and attention will also be given to the symbolic dimension of the objects that constitute this infrastructure, thereby enabling a reflection on their changing meanings. Author: Fernando Williams