Carwyn Jones: Well, this, of course, is something that is part of the Donaldson review—namely to say that the purpose of education is to ensure that children are healthy, confident—and will be part of the work that is being done as regards the new curriculum. Health and also, of course, physical activity will be central to the new curriculum structure. At present, about 96 per cent of schools are...
Mike Hedges: I believe education needs a greater proportion of the Welsh budget, and that a highly educated workforce is the best economic development tool we can have. On the additional money announced for the teachers' pay award, which you announced yesterday, is it going to be distributed via the funding formula to local authorities and then on to schools, which will produce winners and losers, or...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you for that. I am very glad to have another opportunity to state quite clearly that there is no place for bullying in any of our educational institutions: our schools, our colleges or our universities. As I said, each school is required by law to have policies in place. If a parent or carer feels that the school is not implementing that policy, in the first instance, that parent or...
David Lloyd: Trefnydd, you will no doubt be aware of the announcement by Neath Port Talbot Council last week that they intend to withdraw from the ERW regional area education consortium as of March 2020. Now, clearly ERW has been through a difficult time in the past few years, but in recent months, following the appointment of a Welsh Government official as interim managing director, positive progress...
Mark Drakeford: ...issues. I am, of course, aware of the inspection report into Christ the Word. I was able to discuss this with the new leader of Denbighshire council and with the cabinet member responsible for education. It is, as the Member, I imagine, is aware, a complicated situation because it is a voluntary aided school. It is the diocesan authorities that are responsible for the hiring of staff at...
Darren Millar: I say it again, Cabinet Secretary: for every £1 spent on the education system in England, Wales receives £1.20. There can be no excuse for funding schools by giving them less finance per pupil, per head, than is currently the case. It's scandalous. One way that you could seek to start addressing this particular issue is to target resources at disadvantaged groups, and this is one thing, of...
Jeremy Miles: I thank Helen Fychan for her contribution, and I agree with much of what she said. She started by talking about learners' experiences and those who had experienced racism in school, and many will have direct experience of that in schools. And that's our objective: not only ensuring that that doesn't happen directly and that there aren't examples of this in schools, but that there is a broader...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Oscar, for that question. I want to make it absolutely clear: I do not accept—and I take a zero-tolerance approach to—any bullying within our education system. We cannot expect our children to make the most of their opportunities and to fulfil their potential if they do not feel safe and supported in our schools. You will be aware that the Welsh Government is...
Motion NDM6274 as amended: To propose that the National Assembly for Wales: 1. Commends the Welsh Government’s aim of achieving one million Welsh-speakers by 2050 and recognises the key role of schools in achieving it. 2. Welcomes the Welsh Government’s intention to publish a White Paper this year for consultation on provisions for a new Welsh Language Bill as part of plans to increase...
Mark Drakeford: Well, that is absolutely not the case at all, Llywydd. The plans that this Government has developed, and that the education Minister published last week, are about making sure that the way in which we assess the performance of a school represents the performance of that school in the round—that we give more trust to the professional workers who are there in the classroom and leading those...
Darren Millar: First Minister, one thing that can be done is to develop more mindfulness practice in schools. The Cabinet Secretary for Education visited Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn in Colwyn Bay in my own constituency late last year, where she met some of the children and staff in the school that had been practising mindfulness, and they spoke passionately about the impact of mindfulness in their lives in helping...
Angela Burns: Well, thank you for that, but the reality in Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire is, over the last decade and a bit, only one out of the five secondary schools in that constituency have not been in some form of special measures or targeted intervention or needing to improve significantly. Now, with education being hit by COVID over the last 12 months, it's inevitable that the schools that...
David Rees: Thank you for that response, Minister. I would like to ask about school transport, which is a theme similar to Llyr's question—he's gone now. Encouraging pupils to receive Welsh-medium education is a key factor in ensuring the Welsh Government's ambition of a million Welsh speakers. Recently, Neath Port Talbot council proposed changes to school transport that has seen an additional charge...
Kirsty Williams: ...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. In questions earlier, we talked about the £1.68 million that we're spending in Merthyr Tydfil to increase the availability of Welsh-medium education. The challenges are numerous, in...
Kirsty Williams: Financial education has been embedded in the school curriculum in Wales since 2008. It features in the statutory mathematics programme of study and the national literacy and numeracy framework. We have also asked Estyn to review the quality of schools’ financial education provision to inform development of our new curriculum.
Mark Drakeford: The current curriculum requires financial education for all learners. Estyn is reviewing provision in schools and will publish recommendations in the spring on how financial education can improve. In Financial Capability Week, I should highlight our partnership with the Money Advice Service, which supports money management teaching in schools.
Mark Drakeford: ...much for the question, Llywydd. Reforms in 2019 codified a set of national professional standards for teaching assistants, and these made it mandatory for teaching assistants to register with the Education Workforce Council. School governing bodies and local education authorities are responsible for fulfilling the responsibilities of the employer with regard to this important and integral...
Mark Drakeford: I thank the Member, Llywydd, for the question. All children in Wales have a right to access education within their own areas. Local authorities are responsible for planning school places and must ensure that there are sufficient schools providing primary and secondary education in their areas.
Alun Davies: ..., for the answer. I was very pleased to hear the answer also to Huw Irranca-Davies's question earlier this afternoon. I know that you have a personal commitment to ensuring that Welsh-medium education increases across the country, and I know that you have been pushing that throughout your time in post. But I have been dealing with constituents and others, and I have heard stories from...
Lynne Neagle: ...it yesterday. I have no doubt that she is personally deeply committed to supporting our poorest pupils, but on this issue, we need some urgent clarity and assurances. In the last five years, the school uniform grant has benefited 1,107 pupils in Torfaen—young people whose families would otherwise have struggled to afford school uniform. This year, there are 202 pupils who should be...
