Kirsty Williams: Can I thank Simon for that? The current legislative framework already allows schools and local authorities to procure Welsh produce if they wish to do that, and many do, where they can, and where they can balance, as I said, the issues around local procurement with maintaining school meal prices at a level that is affordable for parents. We’ll be looking to review what opportunities may...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Oscar. We have seen continued improvement this year across all subjects at key stages 2 and 3. There were also improvements in mathematics and the overall foundation phase indicator at foundation phase. These improvements demonstrate a continued positive impact of our focus on improving standards and outcomes for students.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Oscar. Just to be clear, and to have it on the record, improvements this year show our highest ever end of key stage 2 results, and results for key stage 3 have also improved. We welcome the news that the gap in performance between girls and boys has narrowed in most subjects at key stages 2 and 3, and there’s yet more improvement in most subjects above the expected level across...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Mike. Estyn is an independent body and the Chief Inspector for Education and Training in Wales is responsible for the inspection of schools. Inspectors will make judgments about the standards, provision and leadership at a school based on Estyn’s common inspection framework.
Kirsty Williams: Well, thank you, Mike. Can I take this opportunity to commend you for the leadership at the schools where you are a governor that have seen both very positive Estyn results and have actually seen improvement in their school categorisation scores, moving from being categorised as yellow in 2014 to green in 2015? So, many congratulations to you, Mike, and your fellow governors, in those...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, David. The all-Wales attendance framework has a direct impact on levels of attendance. Along with wider education programmes, including ‘Rewriting the future’ and the pupil deprivation grant, positive progress is being made in better engaging all young people in education.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, David. I would like to say that absence from secondary schools has dropped faster for free-school-meal pupils than for any other pupils over the last five years. Since 2009-10, it has dropped 3.6 percentage points, whereas for others it dropped by 2.6, so we’re making better progress for children on free school meals than we are with the rest of the cohort. But there is still...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Hannah. I want to make it clear that I will not tolerate any bullying in the Welsh education system. I expect schools and education services to make it clear that all forms of bullying are entirely unacceptable and to tackle any incidents vigorously, ensuring that pupils are properly supported.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Hannah. I was very grateful to both you and Jeremy for leading on this agenda and coming to see me prior to the summer recess to talk about the importance of this agenda. As a result of that meeting, I am establishing an expert task group to better support me and officials in how we can support schools in this agenda. What we are aware of, from research, is that many schools...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Bethan. It’s remiss of me—I wasn’t aware of the existence of Lindsay’s work, but I know that Lindsay approached all his work during his time in this Assembly with great enthusiasm and assiduousness, and so I’d be very pleased to see it. Perhaps you will be good enough to facilitate getting that research to me, because I’d be very pleased to look at it. As well as...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Mark, for bringing that incident to my attention. If you would like to supply me with full details of the case, I’d be more than happy to look at it, and to ask my officials to look at whether everything that was done in that particular instance was what should have been done. If you’d be good enough to send it to me, I’d be very grateful indeed. We are about to carry out a...
Kirsty Williams: Discussions are already well under way with local authorities and regional consortia to ensure that the right package of support is in place for these schools when the programme comes to an end.
Kirsty Williams: Discussions are already well under way with local authorities and regional consortia to ensure that the right package of support is in place for these schools when the programme comes to an end.
Kirsty Williams: Our vision for Wales is for a fully inclusive education system where all learners have equity of access to education that meets their needs and enables them to participate, benefit from and enjoy learning. We are fully committed to supporting schools, local authorities and other organisations to deliver this.
Kirsty Williams: Our vision for Wales is for a fully inclusive education system where all learners have equity of access to education that meets their needs and enables them to participate, benefit from and enjoy learning. We are fully committed to supporting schools, local authorities and other organisations to deliver this.
Kirsty Williams: I am committed to improving standards in all schools in Wales and this is reflected in my priorities for education and the draft budget for 2017-18. We will work closely with Pembrokeshire County Council and their consortium to make best use of the resources available and maximise outcomes for learners.
Kirsty Williams: I am committed to improving standards in all schools in Wales and this is reflected in my priorities for education and the draft budget for 2017-18. We will work closely with Pembrokeshire County Council and their consortium to make best use of the resources available and maximise outcomes for learners.
Kirsty Williams: We will be publishing revised non-statutory guidance in November to help local authorities improve support for the home educating community. We will also publish a leaflet for parents that clarifies the rights and responsibilities of home educators and key questions for parents to consider before deciding to home educate.
Kirsty Williams: We will be publishing revised non-statutory guidance in November to help local authorities improve support for the home educating community. We will also publish a leaflet for parents that clarifies the rights and responsibilities of home educators and key questions for parents to consider before deciding to home educate.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Paul. Local authorities are responsible for planning and delivery of their education services, balancing local needs and demands. When proposing change, they must ensure that they comply with the statutory school organisation code.
