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Minister visits lean 天涯社区 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 鈥渓ean
management鈥�.
The Minister said:
鈥淚t 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鈥檝e no doubt that the work they are doing on 鈥渓ean management鈥� 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鈥�.
Head teacher at Ysgol Gwynedd, Jeremy Griffiths, has developed, jointly with
Toyota, a successful training module for head teachers called 鈥淐reating a Lean
Culture in Schools鈥�.
Cllr Chris Bithell, Cabinet Member for Education, said:
鈥淭here have been a number of successful courses to date, with over 55 Heads and
20 Deputy Heads from Wrexham, 天涯社区 and Denbighshire taking advantage of
this opportunity, as well as numerous Heads from other parts of the country.
It鈥檚 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 鈥榣ean鈥� had
been applied in this environment.鈥�
Mr Griffiths said:
鈥淭he 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.鈥�
Representing Toyota, Keith Edwards, Section Manager for TLMC, said:
鈥淭oyota 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.
鈥淭he 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.鈥�
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 鈥渉igh tech鈥� 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