Kirsty Williams: Given the Member's keen interest in active travel, and his very active lobbying in this regard, the Member will be pleased to know that we have revamped our consideration for active travel as part of our twenty-first century schools and colleges programme. And any application coming forward from a local authority that gives poor consideration of active travel to that new building will be...
Kirsty Williams: Our free-school-meals policy rightly targets support towards the most disadvantaged children in our communities. As a result of our new eligibility criteria, by the time universal credit is fully rolled out—if it ever is—we estimate more children will be eligible for free school meals than under the previous system.
Kirsty Williams: Well, firstly, I respond to the call by saying isn't it absolutely incredible, in a nation such as ours, that we have to have a school hunger campaign. Providing an allowance for breakfast for pupils eligible for free school meals in secondary schools is one course of action that I am actively considering at the moment. There are possibly other courses of action, and other solutions, that may...
Kirsty Williams: Can I first of all thank the Member for her support for the report on the way in which we are developing our WESPs in the future? The situation in Tredegar is one that I am very familiar with. Not only is there clear demand from parents in that area for primary education through the medium of Welsh for their children, the Welsh Government has made available 100 per cent capital funding to...
Kirsty Williams: Again, like the Member, I believe that the siarter is a really important way of developing a culture across the school rather than in individual lessons, by actually ensuring that pupils and staff in that school, and parents and supporters of that school, have opportunities in a variety of ways to use the language. And I'm always very pleased to see a wide variety of schools embracing the...
Kirsty Williams: Well, like you, I'm very keen that we allow the new reformed approach to Welsh in education strategic plans to develop and to bed in within our local authorities. As a non-Welsh speaker myself who chose this option for my own children, I know how vital provision at meithrin or at Ti a Fi before that—Ti a Fi and meithrin, primary and secondary school, are crucial if we are to meet the Welsh...
Kirsty Williams: Well, the Member is correct to identify an approach that clearly had not been successful in the past, and continuing that approach and hopefully, suddenly thinking that it might change the outcomes—well, somebody did say that doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome is the definition of madness. So, we need to try a different approach. Now setting targets for our initial...
Kirsty Williams: There is no intention, as I've set out in previous statements, to cut off a pool of talented people who may be thinking about embarking on a teaching career or actually who want to come home and teach in our new system with our fabulous new curriculum. Therefore, there are plenty of opportunities for those wanting to come across the border or from other countries to teach in our system and...
Kirsty Williams: Well, the Member is well aware of the Government's intention to publish its budget in the middle, now, of December—delayed, I'm aware of that. And it'll be clear to Members how the steps that this Welsh Government has taken to enhance not only the education budget—but also, crucially, the vast majority of school funding goes to schools not via my budget but via the local government...
Kirsty Williams: In Wales I have made available the most generous package of student support, which includes specific support to help those students with dependants. Last year, we issued £9.8 million as grants for dependants to full-time undergraduate students to help them remain in education.
Kirsty Williams: Well, first of all, can I take this opportunity to congratulate Bangor on the work that they are doing to widen access and participation for this particular group of students? The £1,000 bursary was a really innovative intervention and a fantastic way to highlight National Carers Rights Day, which was the day they officially launched that and the other programmes that they have. Can I just...
Kirsty Williams: Well, if the Member was listening to my initial answer to the Member, she will have heard me say that last year we issued £9.8 million to support 3,400 students with an average grant of £2,800 for those who have dependants, either children or adults, to allow them—[Interruption.] It is universal, for everyone. And, as I said, that was £9.8 million that we supported students with just...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Andrew. On 18 November, Qualifications Wales, the independent regulator, published a major consultation setting out how it plans to ensure that qualifications at 16 reflect the new curriculum for Wales. This includes the proposal that redesigned GCSEs should form a central part of the qualification offer.
Kirsty Williams: Andrew, I think you're absolutely right: what is crucial is that children, young people and their parents have access to great independent careers information and advice. We know that children as young as six are already beginning to form their ideas about careers, and what may or may not be available for them and, far too often, are closing down the choices to them. The Member, I'm sure,...
Kirsty Williams: Let me be absolutely clear. Just because England has decided to do something does not mean it is the right decision. I don't know why we basically start from that premise. Maybe the decision to keep A* to G, which is well understood by FE colleges, HE colleges and employers, actually is the right starting point. But the Member is absolutely correct: what is crucial is that any qualification...
Kirsty Williams: Officials are drafting legislation to establish the commission for tertiary education and research, and that will be published in the spring.
Kirsty Williams: Student voice will be a central plank of our PCET reform legislation.
Kirsty Williams: Well, it's important to recognise that our proposals to establish the commission for tertiary education and research will cover all post-compulsory education and training, including work-based learning and apprenticeship providers. It's also really important to recognise the significant growth in the diversity of apprenticeship programmes. Many people will continue, I suspect, to think about...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Joyce. I have published this month a suite of guidance entitled 'Rights, respect, equality: Statutory guidance for governing bodies of maintained schools', outlining our new statutory guidance for schools and local authorities to help address and prevent bullying in our education system. These are supported by advisory guidance for children and young people themselves and their...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Joyce. Obviously, these are relatively new resources that have been made available to schools, but it would absolutely be my expectation that schools should be able to signpost parents and carers to the resources that are available specifically for them to address behaviour in their own children, understanding what drives a child to bully in the first place and how to support that...
