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Minister visits lean Flintshire school

Published: 29/02/2016

Huw Lewis, Minister for Education & Skills visited Ysgol Gwynedd in Flint on Monday, 29 February. He was there to see the work the school has been doing with Toyota on “lean management”. The Minister said: “It is always encouraging to see and hear about forward thinking schools like Ysgol Gwynedd working closely and forging links with major employers such as Toyota. I’ve no doubt that the work they are doing on “lean management” will foster a culture of continuous improvement and have a positive effect on the day-to-day operations of the school which can only benefit pupils, teachers and the wider community”. Head teacher at Ysgol Gwynedd, Jeremy Griffiths, has developed, jointly with Toyota, a successful training module for head teachers called “Creating a Lean Culture in Schools”. Cllr Chris Bithell, Cabinet Member for Education, said: “There have been a number of successful courses to date, with over 55 Heads and 20 Deputy Heads from Wrexham, Flintshire and Denbighshire taking advantage of this opportunity, as well as numerous Heads from other parts of the country. It’s a two day course, with the first day at Toyota to see how they did it in a world class industry and the second day in the school to see how ‘lean’ had been applied in this environment.” Mr Griffiths said: “The initiative started over four years ago when I took the opportunity to train as a Lean Specialist. I was already applying lean principles in my school and developing staff within the school but felt that other Heads would benefit from the tools and techniques available in industry. I recognised the impact that this practice could have on standards across the school community.” Representing Toyota, Keith Edwards, Section Manager for TLMC, said: “Toyota Manufacturing UK are very pleased to have been asked to support Gwynedd Primary School in Flint. Our Toyota Lean Manufacturing team have really enjoyed working with the school as they are so enthusiastic and open-minded about trying new ideas and adapting new techniques benchmarked from industry best practices. “The school is a very positive example of what can be done and we wish them continued success and look forward to working with them again in the future.” The main aim of the course is to introduce Lean Principles to schools, which is a new concept for most people outside of the manufacturing environment. In times of austerity it is a way of reducing waste and adding value to pupils by involving the whole school community. It was also an opportunity for schools to work with a “high tech” manufacturing industry to improve their knowledge and understanding of what is required by an employer. Note to editors Pictured in the attached photograph (l to r) are; Ken Pugh, chairman of Governors, Cllr. Ian Roberts, Keith Edwards of Toyota, Huw Lewis, Minister for Education & Skills, Dewi Hughes, Deputy Headteacher, Jeremy Griffiths, Headteacher and Cllr. Aaron Shotton, Leader of the Council and pupils Leon and Kaytlin