Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Leanne. The responsibility for teachers’ pay and conditions has yet to be transferred to Wales. But we both agree, I know from previous discussions over the years past, that we will welcome that very much indeed. On 24 October, I set out how we are working to support our temporary teachers. This includes £2.7 million funding available to support alternative...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Leanne. Let me make it absolutely clear: we do not condone the practice of schools or agencies negotiating low pay rates for supply teachers. The situation we have at present is that schools are responsible for the staffing of individual schools, and unless we move away from a direct management of schools model, that is currently the situation where we are at the moment....
Kirsty Williams: Given that you have just repeated the points that Leanne Wood just made, I will repeat the answer that I just gave to Leanne Wood. My officials are currently scoping whether a national model register would be appropriate to our nation.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Vikki. The response that we've had from schools and local authorities involved in the £2.7 million cluster has been extremely positive. Arrangements are in place to closely monitor and evaluate this initiative, including the commissioning of a formal research project, independent of the Government, so that we can ascertain the impact that this pilot has. What's important is...
Kirsty Williams: If the Member is able to provide evidence of those allegations, I would be more than happy to investigate them. Actually, I am due to meet with New Directions shortly to discuss Members' concerns and my concerns over supply teaching.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Mark. A 14-week consultation on proposals to strengthen the school organisation code in respect of a presumption against closure of rural schools ended on 30 September. We are currently in the process of analysing consultation responses. We aim to publish a summary of the responses before the end of this year.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Mark. I am very clear that there can be real benefits—academic, cultural and social—to pupils in communities through the delivery of high-quality education in small and rural schools. I know, and parents across rural Wales know, that small, rural schools can play an important role in raising standards and extending opportunity for all. I'm convinced that there is an...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Darren. What I'm doing in Government is to coping with extremely difficult financial constraints that have been placed upon us primarily by the austerity agenda that is being pursued by your colleagues in London. If we want to do something about education funding in the round, then I would urge the Chancellor, in his budget next week, to follow the advice of the NAHT...
Kirsty Williams: Believe me, Darren, in arriving at the budget, I have carried out a line-by-line examination of the resources available to me and to match them to the national mission. The Member will also be aware of this Government's commitment, across Government, to put resources to the front line, via the revenue support grant to local authorities. I'm having very robust conversations with...
Kirsty Williams: I'm very glad, Presiding Officer, that Darren Millar supports the Welsh Government's policy of the pupil development grant, which this year will be worth some £91 million to our most deprived children's education. Despite the severe pressure that this Government finds itself under in terms of budgets, we've been able to maintain our commitment to those children who are on free school meals...
Kirsty Williams: I would be very happy to give the Member that absolute assurance. I have a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of bullying in Welsh education.
Kirsty Williams: I thank the Member for that. In our national mission, we establish a new priority, which is the issue of well-being, recognising that children cannot make the most of their educational opportunities if issues around their well-being are not being addressed. I also want Wales to be the place to be an educational professional. Issues around work-life balance, respectful workplaces and workload...
Kirsty Williams: I think it's important to remember that as a Welsh Government we do not directly employ teachers; that is a matter for individual schools and governing bodies. I would expect any teacher who had concerns about how they were being treated in their workplace to be able to raise that with the headteacher, but if that was not appropriate, then with their governing body and within their union, as...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Mr McEvoy. There are a number of opportunities for teaching assistants to undertake vocational courses endorsed by Qualifications Wales up to level 3. There are level 5 courses, which are foundation degrees and are delivered by higher education providers. Individuals can access a range of funding sources to undertake these courses.
Kirsty Williams: I have made a commitment in 'Education in Wales: Our national mission—Action Plan 2017-21' to ensure our teachers are well supported by a range of learning support professionals who can provide the additional capacity that is needed to meet the needs of every child. Let me be absolutely clear on the opportunities that are available. Support is available for teaching assistants to access up...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Andrew, for what I think is a very fair point. We have resources allocated to continuous professional learning of our teaching and non-teaching staff. We are developing a national approach, so regardless of where you find yourself employed in Wales, you will have access to moderated and robust training programmes. It is right to identify the challenge of creating the space for...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Caroline. The Seren network has been established to support young people in their ambitions to apply to leading universities across the UK and internationally, and that includes Oxbridge. Feedback this year suggests that many more applications are now being made to both Oxford and Cambridge universities, who are active and strong supporters of our Seren programme.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Caroline. I'd be very pleased to share with the Chamber, if Members are not aware, the latest Universities and Colleges Admissions Service data on applications to Oxford and Cambridge universities and also to vet courses and medical courses, where the applications have to be made by 15 October. I'm very pleased to say that there has been an upturn in applications to that....
Kirsty Williams: Come on, say it. [Laughter.] Go on. [Laughter.]
Kirsty Williams: Presiding Officer, the Member is just too modest to tell us about his time spent at Harvard. I myself got as far as sitting on the steps of the library of Harvard this summer whilst on holiday, but I had to settle for a year at the University of Missouri in Columbia, which is perhaps not quite as auspicious as the Member's time at Harvard. But the Member makes a very good point: Seren isn't...
