Jeremy Miles: I thank the Conservative spokesperson for her questions, and I'm pleased that she welcomes the flexibility that my statement describes, which I think is a proportionate response to the variability in parts of the sector in terms of preparedness. The decisions have been taken, obviously, having listened to practitioners for many weeks since I became education Minister, and I detected a very...
Jeremy Miles: I thank Siân Gwenllian for the questions. In terms of clear expectations, I agree with her that that's needed. I intend, before the autumn term, to reintroduce the document that shows the pathway to 2022, and look jointly at the process of moving to the curriculum on the one hand with the process of dealing with the pandemic on the other hand, and ensure that that follows a consistent path...
Jeremy Miles: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm pleased to have an opportunity today to update the Senedd on the next steps that the Welsh Government will take to implement the Cymraeg 2050 strategy. The journey to 1 million speakers and to double the daily use of Welsh by 2050 has captured the imagination of people across Wales since the last Government made its announcement back in 2017. I'm very...
Jeremy Miles: I thank the spokesperson for his comments. I agree entirely that we don't want a culture to develop in terms of 'us and them'. The Welsh language belongs to everyone. Many people in Wales can speak some Welsh and many more are willing to learn more Welsh every day and to use that every day in a phased approach, and that's how we will succeed. I wish everyone well on that journey—a journey...
Jeremy Miles: I thank Siân Gwenllian for welcoming the work programme. This is a change of gear. Every Senedd is a new opportunity to look again at what we've already delivered and also what's in front of us, and an opportunity for us to set new targets and new priorities in the wake of our experience. It's a good thing and it's an inevitable thing. So, we have further targets in this document, in terms...
Jeremy Miles: I thank Hefin David for that question; it’s an important question. Pupils from non-Welsh-speaking families have faced specific challenges during this recent period and I want to pay tribute to the work of the national centre and for their innovation over the last year, extending what they’ve been able to do online and developing an interesting offer for many people over a very difficult...
Jeremy Miles: Well, I want to reflect on the point that was raised about the importance of fair access in every part of Wales for pupils who want a Welsh-medium education. That’s certainly the objective of the Welsh Government and that’s certainly the call from us to local government over the next period, in terms of ambitious strategic plans to ensure that we move more quickly towards realising that...
Jeremy Miles: I thank Alun Davies for that question, and I also thank him for his work in the last Senedd on this agenda, which is so important to the work that we're proceeding with at the end of the last Senedd term and the start of this term. So, I thank him for his innovative work in this area. And I want to echo what he said in terms of the importance of language use in our communities. I am also...
Jeremy Miles: Well, of course, I answer in my capacity as education Minister rather than as a local Member for Neath. I can say that Neath Port Talbot's full business case for the proposal of the school in Pontardawe has been postponed at present by the Welsh Government, and officials will meet with the authority next week to discuss their assessment of the impact on the Welsh language in more detail...
Jeremy Miles: I thank Buffy Williams for that question, and I think that the fact that some of it was in Welsh is fantastic. In terms of what we're doing to encourage people to learn Welsh, a lot of the work that Mudiad Meithrin do is having a great and positive impact on the numbers attending Welsh-medium schools. So, investing further in that sector is very important. The ambition that we've set for...
Jeremy Miles: Thank you, Deputy Llywydd. These regulations are a little more complex than the ones that follow, so I will take a few moments to explain their purpose and effect. The Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 amended section 83 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, which relates to care and support plans for looked-after children. This was in...
Jeremy Miles: The regulations before you today, if approved, will amend the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (Wales) Regulations 2015 to provide for the exceptions to the requirement to have a personal education plan, which, in turn, will continue the existing position as to the circumstances in which a child is to be treated as looked-after for the purposes of the 2018 Act. As the definition of...
Jeremy Miles: Thank you, Deputy Llywydd. I'd like to draw Members' attention to a technical scrutiny point raised by the committee in its report. As is explained in the Government's response to the report, this is a typographical error, as section 13(7) doesn't exist in the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018. The reference should be to section 13(1).
Jeremy Miles: The Government originally proposed to deal with this via the correction slip method available in some circumstances. However, instead, I propose to replace 'section 13(7)' with 'section 13(1)' on making the regulations, should these be approved by the Senedd today. I am happy to make it clear that there is no substantive change in effect to the regulations and it does not change the meaning...
Jeremy Miles: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I thank the committee Chair for his comments on how we intend to deal with the questions that have arisen in terms of the typographical errors, and for his support for what we're intending to do to deal with that error.
Jeremy Miles: With regard to the Member’s point about the scope of inclusion within the ALN provisions, as he says, there is significant funding committed to support the implementation of the ALN Act and delivery of the wider ALN transformation programme. But the points he raised in the debate today, in particular around the inclusion or exclusion of diabetes, is something I will write to him about if...
Jeremy Miles: I wrote to all schools last Friday confirming we will no longer be recommending contact groups or bubbles from the start of the next school year. The intention is to ensure we minimise the number of learners self-isolating unnecessarily.
Jeremy Miles: Ddoe, lansiais raglen waith 'Cymraeg 2050' ar gyfer tymor y Senedd hon. Mae’n amlinellu uchelgais ein Llywodraeth i wthio’r agenda yn ei blaen, gan ganolbwyntio ar greu siaradwyr newydd, cynyddu defnydd mewn cymunedau a gweithleoedd a diogelu cymunedau er mwyn gwneud yn siŵr y gall yr iaith ffynnu.
Jeremy Miles: Schools and settings in Islwyn, as elsewhere in Wales, continue to make meaningful progress on curriculum reform. I announced last week a package of measures to support, simplify and create space for schools to take forward the Curriculum for Wales from 2022.
Jeremy Miles: I have already committed to having discussions with all colleges regarding their vision for post-16 education in Wales. The FE sector has a huge contribution to make in realising our vision for post-compulsory education and training in line with the Tertiary Education and Research Bill.
