06/05/2014 BBC Wales Today

report from South Africa, on the impact of the long-running Oscar

Good evening. Learning through play - one of the Welsh Government's

flagship programme for our youngest school children. Three years on, a

new report says teaching of the Foundation phase varies considerably

from school to school, but overall it has a positive impact on how our

pupils learn. Here's our Education Correspondent, Arwyn Jones.

It has been called play -based learning, but when the education

minister is watching, it is a serious business. The foundation

stage has been running in school for nearly three years. It concentrates

on developing children's ability to learn, rather than just transferring

knowledge. His teachers see it as benefiting their pupils, especially

boys and those with special educational needs. The key thing is

in the planning and delivery, so making sure that good activities are

planned which give the total and the opportunity to think for

themselves. But also, to talk about what they have learned afterwards so

they can really communicate what they have learned. Teachers don't

all agree about how the programme improves literacy, numeracy or

improving performance of pupils from poorer backgrounds. There are other

issues too, around how it prepares people for the rest of their time in

school. Last year, the Welsh government introduced annual testing

for all pupils from the age of seven, so immediately after the

foundation stage. One in four teachers felt the foundation stage

prepared peoples well for that, but one in five took the opposing view.

Many teachers are frayed to a brace the ethos of the foundation stage --

afraid. The minister acts that there are problems. There are still some

qualms amongst some professionals about how the foundation phase net

together with what else we are asking teachers to deliver. But we

point to best practice settings like this one and say confidently that

this is what we need to be happening in every foundation phase setting

across Wales. The foundation phase does not come cheap. It calls for

one adult for every eight pupils. The government says fostering a love

of learning in our youngest learners will pay dividends in future, but at

the moment it is still not clear if that is happening.

And, for parents who home school their children, plans for a register

to check on the quality of the education they provide have been

dropped. Opponents say the proposals amounted to a licensing scheme. The

Education Minister says he's now looking at introducing guidance

that's not legally binding to support councils and home educating

families instead. The bodies of two servicemen from

Wales, who were killed along with three others in a helicopter crash

in Afghanistan, have been flown back to Britain. Army reservist Lance

Corporal Oliver Thomas from Brecon and Captain Thomas Clarke from

Cowbridge died on 26th April. The investigation into the cause of the

crash is continuing. Caroline Evans reports.

They were among five servicemen killed during what the Ministry of

Defence said was a routine flight over Afghanistan. 26-year-old Lance

Corporal Oliver Thomas from Brecon, and 30-year-old Captain Thomas

Clarke from Cowbridge who was one of the pilots, died when their Lynx

helicopter crashed near the border with Pakistan. Today, at RAF rise

Norton in Oxfordshire, their families were joined by senior

military figures as their bodies were flown back to Britain. There

was a short ceremony and then the cars left the base. Among the

friends who travelled here to pay their respects, the MP Roger

Williams, as Oliver Thomas worked for him as a researcher. He was an

outstanding young man. He was popular, for all the right reasons.

Everybody who knew him liked him very much indeed. They also

respected him. In Cowbridge, arrangements are under way for the

funeral of Captain Thomas Clarke. The reverend who will conduct the

service told me how his death has affected people here. He was

somebody special. He was such an outgoing person, so warm and

friendly, so committed to stop he really touched a lot of people. A

very popular way. And rightly so. Captain Thomas Clarke was described

by senior officers as a rising star of the army. But here where he grew

up and attended comprehensive School, he will be remembered as a

person who was bright and full of fun. This weekend, I am told,

friends here held a celebration of his life, and today many of them

have gone to Oxfordshire to support his family. The helicopter in which

the five men died when down over Kandahar province. The Taliban

claimed its fighters had shot the aircraft down, but the MoD has said

the indications are that this was a tragic accident. The investigation

into what exactly happened is still going on. The MoD has said it is not

clear how long it will take for investigators to report back.

A mines inspector has told a jury that the area of the Gleision

colliery, where three of the four miners drowned, flooded in just six

seconds. Swansea Crown Court heard how 17 tonnes of water filled the

area where they were working. One of the miners was further away but

became trapped. Mine manager Malcolm Fyfield denies four counts of

manslaughter through gross negligence, and the mine operators

also deny four counts of corporate manslaughter.

Bomb disposal teams are continuing to investigate an explosion which

seriously injured a man at a house in Dolgellau. The man, who's in his

twenties, is still being treated in hospital after he was airlifted from

the house on Sunday. His injuries are not believed to be life

threatening. Two schoolgirls, arrested on

suspicion of conspiring to murder their teacher, have been expelled.

Police were called to Cwmcarn High School on Thursday after concerns

were raised about their behaviour. A 15-year-old from Newbridge and a

14-year-old girl from Risca were arrested and bailed. Rhodri Lewis

reports. This afternoon there was little sign

of Cwmcarn High School of the drama that happened here last Thursday.

Pupils raise the alarm after becoming concerned about the

behaviour of two girls. Police were called and the two were arrested and

questioned. This morning it was announced they have both been

expelled from the school after allegedly conspiring to kill their

maths teacher. The teacher, who has taught at the school for more than

ten years, has praised the school for the way it dealt with the

incident. She said she knew little about it and let it all happened

elsewhere. The 15-year-old girl is from Newbridge, and the 14-year-old

is from Risca. They were both arrested on suspicion of conspiracy

to commit murder, while the 15-year-old was also arrested on

suspicion of making threats to kill and having a bladed article on

school premises. They have both been bailed. The incident happened after

another teacher, Ann Maguire, died after being stabbed at a college in

Leeds. No one was harmed in the incident at Cwmcarn High School. On

its website, the chairman of the governors says he is pleased with

the way the school responded. A police investigation has concluded

that pension payments made to the chief executives of Carmarthenshire

and Pembrokeshire County Councils were not criminal offences.

Gloucester Police looked into the payments to Mark James and Bryn

Parry Jones after a Wales Audit office report last January said they

were unlawful. The number of us regularly taking

part in sport has hit a record high. The figures from Sport Wales also

shows Wales is bucking the trend compared with the rest of the UK.

Natasha Livingstone reports. This group of women come to their

local fitness class several times a week. Jim has only been open since

February, but already, extra classes have been put on to help cope with

an increase in numbers. We are surprised. We thought we be busy,

but not as busy as we are. We seem to have done something right, just

being attractive for women to come and have a go. It is not just these

women having a go. Sport Wales say there is a 34% jump in the number of

people doing regular exercise between 2008 and 2012. That is

262,000 more people aged between 15 and 65 doing some sort of sport or

activity more than three times a week. While Wales is bucking the

trend compared to the rest of the UK, there is concern that some are

missing out. A recent assembly committee report said there is not

enough information about sport levels from people with deprived

backgrounds of those with cultural barriers. There are still

challenges. We know that women take part less frequently than men in

sport, and we know that in poorer socially economic deprived areas of

Wales there is no participation. It is important that all adults have

the same opportunities to take part in sport, so we will be working

doubly hard once we have digested the findings of the survey to make

sure that the offer for all adults is right and keep them involved for

life. Keeping people involved in sport could potentially save the NHS

in Wales ?53 million a year. The survey shows those who exercised

three or more times a week are more likely to be healthy. That is

motivation for these women. It is incredibly busy, whatever class you

come to. People from all different walks of life. It is written in

nice, you start making friends with people you would not normally meet.

Organisers say, with summer around the corner, they are expecting even

people through the doors. Cricket, and rain has interrupted day three

of Glamorgan's match against Worcestershire at the Swalec

Stadium. After a promising start by the home

side's bowlers, Worcestershire declared on 296 for six. Glamorgan

began their second innings late. At the close, they were on 14-1. They

need to make 382 runs with nine wickets remaining.

Not a dry day inside over the coming days. We have got showers in the

forecast merging into longer spells of rain. We did have some showers

today, but equally there was plenty of dry weather. Tonight we have got

more showers are making their way in from the south-west. They are

pushing through quite quickly, thanks to the breeze. It is a fairly

mild night, temperatures no lower than eight Celsius, but it won't

feel like it with a brisk south-westerly wind. Tomorrow, more

showers, and another weather fronts waiting out in the Atlantic, which

will bring wet and windy conditions across Wales by Thursday. A blustery

start to tomorrow morning. Some hints of brightness if you are lucky

across parts of Powys. The worst of the showers will be across Northern

Ireland, Scotland and northern England. Highs of 17 Celsius in

London. 12 Celsius in Edinburgh. In Wales tomorrow afternoon, the

showers will continue and could be heavy at times. Across parts of the

South and west, we can enjoy dry brighter weather through the

afternoon. Temperatures 12-14dC, but it is blustery, which will take the

edge off the temperatures. Overnight, the next weather system

will move in from the south-west, bringing rain to parts of the South

and West. On Thursday, the rain will make its way north and east with.

Heavy at times, and lingering well into the evening. Another blustery

day, the worst day of the week. Once the clay of the rain on Thursday,

Friday will see showers which will be mixed with hail and thunder, but

there will be some brightness in between those showers. More rain in

the forecast for Saturday. We're back in Breakfast with the

latest news and sport, traffic reports and weather forecasts.

That's Wales Today. Thank you for watching. From all of us on the

programme, good night.