Kirsty Williams: Yes, I can confirm that we will monitor issues around postgraduate numbers very closely. The Member is absolutely right, the Coleg Cenedlaethol has been a great success. It has been wonderful to see the opportunities afforded to students across Wales to be able to study law in Welsh, journalism in Welsh, and a range of other courses. As you will be aware, we are in the process of setting up a...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Steffan. Up-to-date advice on foreign trips is produced by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. This advice is also signposted in all-Wales guidance for education visits, written by the Outdoor Education Advisers’ Panel for Wales and the Health and Safety Executive. This advice is accessible from the Welsh Government’s website.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Steffan. Can I take this opportunity to offer my condolences to Glyn’s family for the tragic loss that they have suffered? I know that they are moved out of a sense of altruism to ensure that regulations are as good as they can be, so that no family should have to go through what they have been through. I am aware that the First Minister’s office continues to look at some of...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Julie. I’m grateful to both you and Steffan for recognising the importance of school trips and foreign visits as a part of an exciting curriculum that we can offer children and young people in Wales. They are an important part of education. Schools and local authorities that organise school trips should be aware of their duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974,...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Mark. As I’ve said to previous Members, the Outdoor Education Advisers’ Panel guidance is a web-based resource that is kept up-to-date constantly with changes in legislation and good practice by a working group of experts in the field. That website also has links to other relevant advice, whether that be from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or from the Health and Safety...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Darren, for that question. As I said prior to the summer recess, officials and I are studying the evidence of how best we can implement such a policy, especially as we know that smaller class sizes have the potential to make the biggest difference for children who are from our most deprived backgrounds, for children whose first language is not Welsh or English, and where we know...
Kirsty Williams: There’s also a consensus amongst parents and, indeed, teachers, that class sizes makes a real difference. Indeed, in the most recent industrial action that we’ve seen from teachers across the border in England, growth in class sizes was their largest concern. Now, I recognise that class sizes alone is not the only thing we that we need to address to raise educational standards in Welsh...
Kirsty Williams: Presiding Officer, can I thank the Conservative spokesperson for his support for the Welsh baccalaureate? I know that he recognises it as an important qualification. The Welsh bac, passed at advanced level, is the equivalent of 120 Universities and Colleges Admissions Service points. That is the equivalent to an A grade, and I met many students over the summer that had gained a place in...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Llyr. I recognise that workplace stress and ill-health arising out of the workplace is of huge detriment to the individuals involved and to our ability to transform education here in Wales. The Member will be aware that, as part of our pioneer schools and networks, some schools are currently looking at workload issues to see what we can do to reduce workload in the...
Kirsty Williams: I recognise this as a real, real issue for our potential next generation of school leaders, and there is a number of things that we need to do: we need to ensure that individual local education authorities are providing support mechanisms for those people to make the next step; and we need to work with our consortia to ensure that, in taking the step into being a headteacher, people will be...
Kirsty Williams: The leadership college, as I said to you prior to the summer recess, will be established during this year and will be taking and providing courses by the start of the next academic year. With regard to school managers and different forms of school governance and leadership, I hope to be able to make those announcements in line with resources allocated in the Welsh Government’s budget, which...
Kirsty Williams: What I can tell the UKIP spokesperson is, by not waiting to see what the PISA results are before—
Kirsty Williams: No, I don’t know them already actually, Simon. I don’t and if you have evidence that I do, maybe you should get up and say it. [Assembly Members: ‘Oh’.]
Kirsty Williams: Thank you. We are not waiting for the PISA results to come. We have embarked on an ambitious programme of educational reform, shaped by the expert views of the OECD, which had some very critical things to say about the Welsh education system when they reported in 2014. I am taking those things very seriously and, in fact, I have asked the OECD to come back to Wales this term so that I can be...
Kirsty Williams: I’m assuming that the Member was in the Chamber yesterday for my statement on the Diamond review, where I stated quite clearly that the Welsh Government have accepted the underlying principles contained in that report. I want to ensure that Welsh students will be supported in a system that is unique in the UK, in that it is fully portable, so that students can study in other parts of the UK...
Kirsty Williams: Presiding Officer, I had thought that I had been crystal clear in the debate last week about my views on grammar schools. There is no evidence at all that grammar schools serve their students any better than traditional comprehensive schools. We know that they are bad news for the poorest students and we also know that the OECD, even though it had many tough things to say about Welsh...
Kirsty Williams: The Welsh Government does not make payments to schools in the private sector.
Kirsty Williams: The Welsh Government does indeed make a payment to support Welsh-medium education in London, where many Welsh people find themselves working and want to avail themselves of a Welsh-medium education for their children. We do know that education is vital in ensuring that the Welsh Government’s exciting and exacting targets on Welsh speakers—. If it’s to be met, we do need to focus on...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Nick. The Healthy Eating in Schools (Nutritional Standards and Requirements) (Wales) Regulations 2013 aim to improve the nutritional standards of food and drink served in Welsh schools. This helps ensure children and young people are offered healthy food and drink throughout the school day.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Nick. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the event that you were at, but Lesley Griffiths, my Cabinet colleague did, as did my officials. Now that I know that there was jam roly-poly on offer, I’m particularly disappointed I wasn’t able to get there. I am aware that there is a constant review amongst local authorities of how they can ensure that the very best...
