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National Approach to Enquiry in Schools (NAtES) Pilot
National Approach to Enquiry in Wales (NAtES) 2026–27: Launching a new year of practitioner enquiry across North Wales
Wrexham University Education Team were delighted to launch the National Approach to Enquiry in Wales (NAtES) for the 2026–27 academic year, bringing together school leaders and local authority colleagues from across North Wales, alongside colleagues from Wrexham University and Bangor University, to celebrate and build on the exciting practitioner enquiry work taking place across the region. For the last year, 55 schools across the North Wales region have been engaged in 11 collaborative enquiries around school improvement goals.
Dr Richard Watkins, Ann Bradshaw, and Dr Emma Tiesteel from Wrexham University, alongside Dr Lowri Jones from Bangor University, supported the event, which provided an opportunity to hear directly from schools about their enquiry work, share experiences, and strengthen collaboration across schools, local authorities, and universities.
Participants also got a sneak peek at the new "Teacher Enquiry Module", developed to support practitioners throughout the enquiry process and the ongoing development of practitioner enquiry nationally across Wales.
The event created valuable opportunities for colleagues to connect across the region, share learning, and explore how practitioner enquiry can continue to develop across different contexts. A fantastic start to another year of collaboration between practitioners, local authorities, universities, and partners across Wales.
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News Feb 2026
Wrexham University Education and Childhood Studies team to lead Welsh Government National Approach to Enquiry in Schools (NAtES) Pilot
Wrexham University has been awarded funding by the Welsh Government to lead the National Approach to Enquiry in Schools (NAtES) Pilot Project.
The national pilot will strengthen the role of professional enquiry and Schools as Learning Organisations (SLO) in school improvement across Wales, exploring how universities, local authorities and groups of schools can work together to develop more consistent and sustainable approaches to evidence-informed practice, professional learning, and school improvement.
Wrexham University has been appointed the lead institution for all seven Welsh universities involved in the project. In this role, the University will oversee national delivery, support collaboration across the higher education sector, and lead the evaluation of the pilot. The project builds on previous national work, including the National Professional Enquiry Project (NPEP) and the Embedding Research and Enquiry in Schools (EREiS) programme.
The national coordination and evaluation work is led by Dr Sue Horder, Dr Richard Watkins, Dr Emma Tiesteel, Lisa Formby, Professor Carl Hughes and Ann Bradshaw from Wrexham University’s Education and Childhood Studies team, with school-focused delivery supported by Dr Karen Rhys Jones, Dr Kelly Smith, and Dafydd Rhys.
The NAtES Pilot reflects Welsh Government’s ongoing commitment to building an evidence-informed education system and positions Wrexham University at the forefront of national work to support school improvement and professional learning across Wales.
