Unregistered for 12 Years? EWC Finds No Record of SEN Assistant

A claim attributed to Carrie Anne Ridsdale states:

“Worked for 12 years in a resource base for children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and learning difficulties/SEN as a classroom assistant.”

This statement was reviewed against the records of the Education Workforce Council (EWC) — the statutory regulator for teachers, classroom assistants, and education practitioners in Wales.

In response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, the EWC confirmed:

“Nobody of that name is currently, or has been, registered with the Education Workforce Council.”

Legal Requirement for Registration

In Wales, registration with the EWC is a legal requirement for anyone employed in a regulated education role, including:

• Teachers
• Learning support staff (e.g. classroom assistants)
• Specialist staff in ASD/SEN resource bases

This is clearly outlined in the Education (Wales) Act 2014. The EWC maintains a public register of qualified and authorised professionals. If a person has ever worked legally in one of these roles, they would appear on that register.

Therefore, the EWC’s confirmation that Ms Ridsdale has never been registered stands in direct contradiction to her stated claim of 12 years of experience in a classroom assistant role within a specialist resource base.

Could It Have Been Informal or Unregulated?

One possible defence might be that she was involved in an unpaid or non-regulated capacity, such as:

• Volunteering on an ad hoc basis
• Shadowing staff as a parent or external observer
• Participating in a temporary or casual support role

However, this explanation falls short when weighed against several important facts:

• ASD/SEN resource bases involve vulnerable children — staff are required to undergo background checks, training, and registration.
• 12 continuous years of unregistered involvement in a teaching support capacity would be highly irregular and raise safeguarding concerns.
• Most schools in Wales do not permit long-term unregistered involvement — even for volunteers — in regulated support roles within special needs classrooms.

While short-term or informal contact is possible, it is not credible or legally compliant for an individual to work in such a setting for over a decade without appearing on the EWC register.

Conclusion: Verifiable Contradiction

This evidence presents a clear and documented contradiction:

• Claim made: Ms Ridsdale states she worked for 12 years in a regulated classroom assistant role.
• FOI response: The Education Workforce Council confirms no registration exists for her name.
• Legal context: Classroom assistants are required by law to be EWC-registered in Wales.

This discrepancy raises legitimate concerns about the accuracy of her stated professional experience. The EWC register exists precisely to verify and protect the public from unregulated claims related to educational roles, especially where vulnerable learners are concerned.

As always, we encourage readers to seek the facts from primary sources and regulators. In this case, the facts speak for themselves.

Sherlock