The National Academy for Educational Leadership (The Leadership Academy) commissioned a Think Piece to explore the
joint roles and responsibilities of Youth Work and School Leaders (YWaSL) in delivering the Curriculum for Wales (CfW).
The piece also focuses on increasing YWaSL’s knowledge and understanding of each other’s professions, highlighting how
combining formal, non-formal, and informal educational approaches can improve outcomes for young people. Additionally,
it includes making recommendations for educational leaders and policymakers on using a systems leadership approach to
support the implementation of the New Curriculum for Wales. The study had three stages: a Rapid Evidence Assessment
(REA) of literature on educational leaders’ roles in curriculum implementation, focus groups with Youth Work and School
Leaders (YWaSL) and young people to gather perspectives, and final verification focus groups for the recommendations.