Vikki Howells: 4. Will the First Minister make a statement on the Welsh Government's approach to increasing opportunities for adult education in Wales? OAQ(5)0113(FM)
Vikki Howells: Adult education can play a vital role in breaking the poverty cycle. That was the message from the Inspire! adult learners awards last month, at which I presented the life career change award. The new £22 million Coleg y Cymoedd building in Aberdare will provide an aspirational setting for adult education, but the challenge is also to ensure suitable provision of good-quality courses for...
Vikki Howells: ...time. It has long been recognised that time spent outside the classroom can be highly beneficial to pupils’ learning. From my own experiences of teaching history and geography in a secondary school, I always found there was something truly magical about learning that took place outside of the classroom, whether that was a hands-on investigation of a castle, a competitive, team-based...
Vikki Howells: Natural Resources Wales, in their evidence to the Children, Young People and Education Committee inquiry into their priorities for this Assembly term, succinctly list the benefits to a young person’s education from this contact with the great outdoors. I won’t repeat the list, but I do want to mention some examples that reinforce my own understanding of the benefits that this type of...
Vikki Howells: ...name this motion is tabled today. I’ll focus my remarks on the first two points of the motion, and in doing so, I’ll return to a theme I covered a few weeks ago in my short debate on outdoor education in Wales. As the motion notes, just under two thirds of Welsh children do not get the recommended hour of physical activity, which they need to stay healthy, every day. This is simply...
Vikki Howells: Building works will start in my constituency soon on a new community primary school at Cwmaman, where the local authority is using twenty-first century schools funding to deliver school facilities that are fit for purpose. Will you join with me, Cabinet Secretary, in congratulating Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council for the way in which it is engaging with the twenty-first century...
Vikki Howells: 7. Will the Minister make a statement on the ending of the Schools Challenge Cymru programme? OAQ(5)0037(EDU)
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. I recently visited Pontypridd High School in my constituency and had a useful discussion with the headteacher on how Schools Challenge Cymru was helping them to drive up standards. For example, 2016 marked their best ever performance in terms of GCSE results. Having taught myself in a Schools Challenge Cymru school, which last year was the second best improved...
Vikki Howells: ..., Cabinet Secretary, I wonder what consideration you have given to flexible and alternative models of childcare delivery that fully take account of and complement the differing models of nursery education and childcare provision currently on offer in the different local authorities in Wales. In addition, while I very much welcome the Cabinet Secretary’s reference to the provision of...
Vikki Howells: 5. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the work of regional consortia in improving educational attainment in the Cynon Valley? OAQ(5)0052(EDU)
Vikki Howells: I recently met with representatives of the Central South Consortium at Mountain Ash Comprehensive School in my constituency and was impressed to hear about the year-on-year improvement the consortium has seen across every performance indicator, from key stage 2 to key stage 5. Success in areas like Cardiff is often based on work with pupils drawn from a range of diverse backgrounds where...
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. The wide-ranging educational reforms introduced by the Welsh Government in areas including the curriculum, qualifications and teachers’ professional development have been welcomed by teachers and fully supported by the OECD. I welcome your categorical assurances that we will hold firm to this agenda, not deviate from the path we’ve set ourselves and give...
Vikki Howells: ...been described as an obesity epidemic and calling on all of us to use the levers at our disposal. Welsh Government has taken action. The Change4Life campaign promotes advice on healthy eating, and schools are expected to promote healthy food choices. Policies like free swimming promote access to exercise opportunities, and I was pleased to recently meet with Ramblers Cymru to talk about...
Vikki Howells: 2. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on Welsh Government plans to support lunch and fun clubs in primary schools during the school summer holidays? OAQ(5)0063(EDU)
Vikki Howells: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. Many groups including the Trussell Trust have identified the issue of holiday hunger, whereby those children eligible for free school meals and their parents often go without food during the long summer holidays. Indeed, the charity says demand for its 35 food banks in Wales peaks during July and August. This rolling out of funding for lunch and fun clubs across...
Vikki Howells: ...in the Chamber this afternoon around the way that the policy could work with our childcare offer across Wales, too. That was an issue that was actually raised with me on a visit to Craig yr Hesg school, which is a really good pathfinder school in my constituency that actually trains up other schools with excellent practice. My question for you this afternoon, Cabinet Secretary, is very...
Vikki Howells: ...use a second statement to pay tribute to Bernard’s legacy as creator of Wales’s most famous racing event. Born in Barry in 1925, Bernard trained as a teacher and took up a post in Mill Street school, Pontypridd. A keen athlete, Bernard was Welsh junior mile champion and spent nine years as secretary of the Welsh Amateur Athletics Association, representing them in the UK and around the...
Vikki Howells: 7. How is the Welsh Government supporting the study of STEM subjects in schools? OAQ(5)0084(EDU)
Vikki Howells: ...plant and Mountain Ash, all within my own constituency, captures the way in which both groups had come together to support one another. I also want to draw today on my experiences as a secondary school teacher. There was a significant pastoral element to my role, and this could at times involve dealing with and supporting students coming to terms with their sexuality, and facing the...
Vikki Howells: ...students are more likely to want to practise in the long term where they have trained. Therefore, I welcome Cwm Taf health board’s initiative, whereby in partnership with Cardiff University School of Medicine, 60 medical students each year have experienced the early part of their training in GP surgeries in the south Wales Valleys. First Minister, do you agree that giving medical...
