From foundation to delivery: Medr publishes 2025-26 annual report

2025-26 was Medr’s first full year of operation and marked a significant shift from organisational establishment to delivery.

Over the year, Medr invested more than £1 billion across the tertiary education and research sector, supporting over 320,000 learners across Wales.

Key achievements included:

• Launching Wales’ tertiary-wide regulatory framework, the first of its kind in the UK, bringing together expectations on quality, learner engagement, wellbeing, equality, Welsh language provision, governance and financial sustainability within a single system.
• Leading a national consultation on the future of apprenticeships, engaging learners, employers and providers and establishing clear priorities for a more flexible, inclusive and responsive apprenticeship programme.
• Expanding Junior Apprenticeships provision across Wales, supported by £600,000 of investment, helping more young people at risk of disengagement access vocational pathways and improve attendance, confidence and progression outcomes.
• Publishing the Learner Engagement Code and strengthening the role of learner voice across the tertiary sector, ensuring learners are more meaningfully involved in decision-making and shaping their own learning experiences.
• Investing £5 million through the Strategic Development Fund, supporting 12 collaborative projects spanning skills, curriculum innovation, clean energy, digital capability, advanced manufacturing, and regional economic development.
• Strengthening evidence and analytical capability, including publishing Medr’s first report on the financial sustainability of higher education in Wales and new system-wide analysis of subject demand and provision.
• Achieving recognition from the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR), which concluded that Medr had established a strong foundation as a new producer of official statistics and identified examples of good practice, providing an important endorsement of the organisation’s analytical and data capability.
• Advancing strategic priorities for equity, wellbeing and the Welsh language, including new regulatory conditions covering Equality of Opportunity, Learner and Staff Welfare, and Welsh language provision across the tertiary sector.

James Owen, Chief Executive of Medr said:

“This has been a landmark year for Medr as we moved from laying the foundations of a new organisation to delivering meaningful outcomes for learners, providers and employers.

“Working closely with our partners, we have invested more than £1 billion in the tertiary education and research sector, introduced a new regulatory framework, strengthened learner engagement and helped shape the future direction of apprenticeships.

“Together, these achievements are helping to build a more connected, inclusive and sustainable tertiary education system that supports opportunity, innovation and prosperity for Wales.”

Medr’s annual report for the period April 2025 – March 2026 was laid before the Senedd on 29 September 2026.

Medr's Annual Report and Accounts 2025-26