Kirsty Williams: Can I thank Siân Gwenllian? And can I say that I welcome very much the process we've now got to in terms of scrutiny? I have been in this Chamber long enough, both on that side of the house and on this side of the house, to know what a valuable process the scrutiny process of this Parliament is and how, often, legislation is stronger and better as a result of that. That's the whole point why...
Kirsty Williams: Well, Deputy Presiding Officer, I think the Member has thrown down a challenge to me, one that I'm very happy to pick up, to convince him of why he needs to support the change in our curriculum. The duty will lie on each individual school, each individual headteacher to design a curriculum, and then the legal duty then falls to the headteacher and the governing body to implement that...
Kirsty Williams: Okay. I've been told. And I'm glad to be back as well. I've missed everybody. [Laughter.]
Kirsty Williams: Deputy Presiding Officer, can I thank Lynne Neagle for her contribution this afternoon and thank her for the support for the consultation that has gone out today? Everybody in this Chamber knows how passionately Lynne feels about this specific subject. Everybody here will also know that she is a hard taskmaster, and if she's happy with it, it must mean that it's a good document. So I'm really...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Rhianon. The progression code, Welsh Ministers will have to produce as a result of this. Our progression steps are already out there in the public domain and this is to give an assurance of a national approach for where we would expect children to be, because whilst of course we want to respect individual institutions in designing their curriculum, we have to have...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you for that. Just to confirm to Jenny, the Bill requires Welsh Ministers to publish a code setting out the core learning to be undertaken in the relationships and sex education curriculum, and that falls under the headings of rights and equity, relationships, sex, gender and sexuality, bodies and body image, sexual health and well-being, violence, safety and support. Those are the...
Kirsty Williams: I think I have tried today, both in my opening statement and in responding to questions from Siân Gwenllian and Mark Reckless, to absolutely reiterate my support of and the importance of Welsh immersion here in Wales as a tried and tested way in which we can ensure language acquisition. And in fact, the Welsh Government tries to support and has ambitious targets for Welsh-medium education....
Kirsty Williams: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. I welcome this opportunity to talk about the legislative response that we've made to the COVID-19 pandemic using powers related to the Coronavirus Act 2020. As you and all Members of the Senedd will know, these have been, and continue to be, extraordinary circumstances and our response has had to acknowledge that. We have worked hard to ensure that the actions that...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much. Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Can I thank Mick Antoniw and Suzy Davies for their comments this afternoon? Mick, you'll be aware that you are correct with regard to the discrepancy, for which I apologise. The error is unfortunate indeed, given that the notice was planned to coincide with the end of the summer term for the majority of schools and settings. However, I don't...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Mr Melding. I would like to begin by thanking the CYPE committee for bringing the debate forward today. And I would also like to thank all the staff in our education settings, as well as our local authorities and other partners, for helping us to ensure the safety and well-being of our children and young people during the crisis. That has been, and will continue to be, my...
Kirsty Williams: The number of vulnerable children attending school has been discussed at length during this debate and has increased as lockdown progressed. That is something that is not unique to Wales, and our experience in persuading parents of vulnerable children to send their children into our hubs is one that was mirrored in Northern Ireland, England and Scotland. I have to acknowledge it took until we...
Kirsty Williams: Of course. Alongside our new curriculum, we are moving purposely into a new era for education, and I want to thank, once again, and put on record, my support for those teachers, teaching assistants, school support staff and further education and higher education staff that have made all of this possible during this most unprecedented time. Diolch.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. Colleagues, learners in Wales have been going back to nursery, schools and colleges over the last two weeks, and I want to thank them, teachers, tutors and all education staff for the way in which they have dealt with and, indeed, are still dealing with COVID-19. I want to thank them for their hard work, their resilience and their co-operation as...
Kirsty Williams: It's quite a long list of questions—I'll try and rattle through them as quickly as possible. Can I begin, though, by thanking Suzy Davies for her recognition of the tremendous efforts that have gone on in the education workforce in its entirety during this time? I'm very grateful to her for recognising that. Can I assure her that keeping education open is a priority across the Government,...
Kirsty Williams: Could I make it absolutely clear that the information that I have to date regarding COVID-positive cases in school at this stage relates to the infection being acquired outside of the school premises? I think that's really important to state. Where we've had children testing positive for COVID, that is usually part of a family grouping and, where we have had adults testing positive for COVID...
Kirsty Williams: I've had reports, for instance, of parents gathering closely together without socially distancing at the school gate. That's a simple thing we can avoid doing—that we can avoid doing. It is particularly important that staff in our schools remember to socially distance themselves from other members of staff. We have an incident where the senior management of a school is currently...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much. You're absolutely correct: well-being is key. Learning cannot stick in a child who is distressed, and what we know is that the period of lockdown will have had an impact on all of our children, but that impact will be as various as our children are. Lockdown will have been a very unhappy period for some of our children, and that will need to be addressed. We know that for...
Kirsty Williams: First of all, with regard to digital learning, as I have said in answer to both Jenny Rathbone and Suzy Davies, we've invested heavily in ensuring that digitally excluded learners have devices and MiFi connections. Those devices that have been given out to children will be replaced with new devices in those schools that have given devices to children as part of our EdTech scheme. With regard...
Kirsty Williams: Can I thank Lynne Neagle for her comments and her recognition of the role of local education authorities during this time, who have, as you said, been working tirelessly alongside their headteachers to be able to put provision in place that has led to the opening of all our schools for the start of this academic year? It's been a massive challenge and they have risen to it well. I'm very...
Kirsty Williams: Laura Anne makes a very relevant point. At this time of year, at the start of an academic year, as a mum Laura, you well know the absolute inevitability of the cold; it is a truth like death and taxes that you will get that cold. But because of the heightened awareness, quite understandably, people are very, very anxious and it is understandable why, then, perhaps a member of staff may say,...
