Mr Simon Thomas: ...the First Minister can help in this regard, with a statement or an explanation—regarding statements by Cabinet Ministers on Government policy not in this Chamber? I note that the Secretary for education went to her party conference, which isn't the same as the Government's party conference, of course, and made several education announcements—doubling of the pupil deprivation grant, a...
Leanne Wood: ...the world and promote Wales as an active, international partner. Again, can you please tell us how? The programme notes that the Government will invest an additional £100 million to drive up school standards over the next term. The Welsh education secretary made it clear in a recent speech that there’s no binary choice between either investing in class sizes or in teaching—that...
4. 4. Statement: The Initial Teacher Education Change Programme — Progress and Update
Rhun ap Iorwerth: ...that are perhaps not included here. There’s no mention here of recruitment of students from within Wales to study medicine in the first instance, nor is there mention made of recruitment of school pupils to want to pursue a career as a GP—which is something that I have an interest in—and to study medicine with that view from the very beginning of going into primary care work. I...
Rebecca Evans: ...bike and 63 per cent made a trip on foot once a week or more, meaning that one third of adults in Wales made no walking or cycling trips in an average week. Similarly, only 49 per cent of primary school aged children typically walk to school and only 2 per cent cycle, with even lower figures for secondary school children. The most recent figures estimate that the cost of physical...
...of ‘Welsh as a second language’ creates an artificial difference, and we are not of the view that it offers a useful basis for making policies for the future. 3. Notes the importance of the education system in order to reach the Welsh Government’s target of one million Welsh speakers. 4. Regrets the decision of Qualifications Wales to keep the Welsh second language qualification for...
10. 10. UKIP Wales Debate: Grammar Schools
...of ‘Welsh as a second language’ creates an artificial difference, and we are not of the view that it offers a useful basis for making policies for the future. 3. Notes the importance of the education system in order to reach the Welsh Government’s target of one million Welsh speakers. 4. Notes that: a) Education in Wales is being reformed, Qualifications Wales is strengthening the...
Siân Gwenllian: .... In a written response to a written question, the Minister for Lifelong Learning and Welsh Language, on a question on the contribution of local authorities to the target in terms of Welsh-medium education, the answer received was that local authorities didn’t have to attain towards any targets, and you have just confirmed that. Now, that is a surprise to me, because education is a...
Darren Millar: ...town halls working with you too. But, at the end of the day, it’s those stakeholders in north Wales—the local authorities, the North Wales Economic Ambition Board, the universities, the further education sector, the third sector and everybody around that table—that’s produced a plan that they believe is achievable and can be implemented if more powers are devolved to the region....
12. 12. Short Debate: Unlocking Children's Natural Potential — The Role of Outdoor Education in the Learning Process
Mark Drakeford: ...to transforming the expectations, experiences and outcomes for all learners, including those with additional learning needs. The forthcoming introduction of the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Bill will be a key milestone in the transformation journey that is already under way.
Carwyn Jones: ...strategy is actually out to consultation at the moment, and that contains our proposals in terms of the way forward. One area, of course, which is hugely important, is to make sure that the local education authorities have proper Welsh in education strategic plans, and we have made it absolutely clear to them that we will reject any plan they produce—any of those authorities—that...
Leanne Wood: ...not true to say that that figure has gone down, because that figure has almost trebled in the three years since 2013. We all know that investment in early years is crucial for positive outcomes in education and health, and in particular in preventing some of the problems that can arise later on in life. Developments in neuroscience are showing that the early teenage years can be just as...
Mohammad Asghar: Thank you for the reply, First Minister. In 2014, the Children, Young People and Education Committee published a report of the inquiry into child and adolescent mental health services. The committee found that there was a 100 per cent increase in referrals for these services, but that the provision was insufficient to meet this increase. In recent meetings with the committee, the Children’s...
3. 3. Statement: The Diamond Review of Higher Education and Student Finance in Wales
Neil McEvoy: ...see empty sports pitches with children who want to play on them but don’t have the money to do so. I’m also told by parents that it costs £450 now for their child to represent Cardiff and Vale schools. You may know that Wales’s first Olympic gold medallist, Paulo Radmilovic, came from Cardiff. His parents ran the Bute Dock Tavern, just down the road on Bute Street, and he went on to...
Suzy Davies: .... Of course, it’s the BBC we want to scrutinise, not just BBC Wales. It is network that hasn’t reflected Wales to the rest of the UK—a fundamental failing in its public service purpose to educate, I think. Finally, on independence. Minister, you began with this. I’m the first to cringe at the mention of any kind of political interference on this, so I do need some help with section...
1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education
Foreign Educational Trips
