Kirsty Williams: And that's exactly what the strategic stakeholder group for children and young people will be doing to look at the most effective ways and meaningful ways that we can engage with that group. I'm also interested in ensuring that children who are in education provision not in school also have an opportunity to feed in. So, for instance, we'll also be exploring with our youth service colleagues...
Kirsty Williams: Well, I think the Youth Parliament is an exciting new vehicle that we can feed into our work. The introductory meeting of the full Youth Parliament, I understand, will be during the February half term, where each of the 60 Members, I think, has a certain allotted amount of time to discuss issues that are important to them. I hope some of them will choose to talk about the curriculum. It's not...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Dawn. We're committed to ensuring adults across Wales have access to the essential skills they need to thrive in our society and economy. In Merthyr and Rhymney we directly fund the local authority, college and Adult Learning Wales to deliver a range of provision for adults in the region.
Kirsty Williams: Well, Dawn, you're absolutely right. On Monday morning, I had the opportunity to visit Canolfan Soar to meet the history group that were studying the impact of immigration on the history of Merthyr. The participants of the group were telling me that not only did it help them address issues of loneliness, it gave them a reason to leave their house, it helped them to continue to engage...
Kirsty Williams: The Member makes a very fair point. We need to have a variety of ways and a variety of settings that individuals can engage, and I will be discussing with colleagues in FE about what more they can do to support part-time provision, making sure it is accessible to all of those who would wish to participate in it, and I look forward to, as I said, finding new and innovative ways in which we...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Dawn. The curriculum is being designed for all learners. Underpinning the development work is a belief that someone’s ability to benefit from education should not be determined ever by what their background is or where they live. This priority has been an important consideration in developing the new curriculum.
Kirsty Williams: Well, Dawn, you're right that the curriculum will need to be supported by the school's wider support offers; it cannot be the curriculum alone that can tackle these issues. Issues such as inequality and disadvantage go beyond the scope of the curriculum, and must be considered more widely by individual schools, by individual local authorities, and, indeed, the Welsh Government itself....
Kirsty Williams: First of all, can I say how sorry I was that I was unable to attend the event yesterday? But I'm very pleased that Steve Davies, the director of education in Welsh Government, was able to attend on my behalf, because we greatly appreciate the work of all voluntary organisations, faith based or non-faith based, that are committed to assisting our children. When I talk about a national mission...
Kirsty Williams: Caroline, that's precisely why we have to move away from the concept of a long list of what people have to do, because, clearly, in that community, ensuring that the young people have the skills to take advantage of opportunities from local employers will be very different from the kind of curriculum for, perhaps, people in deepest Radnorshire, my own constituency, who will not necessarily be...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Nick. I'm taking forward a number of priorities set out in 'Prosperity for All', primarily under the key theme of 'Ambitious and Learning'. Our 2019-20 budget continues to be committed to the success and well-being of every learner, regardless of their background or their personal circumstances.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Nick. I'm glad to hear about the progress of the school that you referred to. It's not an unexpected spin-off—it's a cunning plan. Indeed, in allocating contracts to companies to build our twenty-first century schools programme, there is an expectation, indeed a requirement, that they do engage with the schoolchildren of that school in the process of building that school, and...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, David. We are able to maintain levels of MEAG investment in the new financial year as in the previous financial year. We will be looking to undertake a piece of work on how to ensure that this money is indeed reaching those communities that need it the most and to look at the opportunities for a more sustainable basis for providing that funding going forward.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Llyr. Developing an understanding of the culture and history of Wales and its place in the wider world is an essential component of a young person’s learning journey across all the areas of learning and experience throughout their education. And I can assure you, this is not a tokenistic bolt-on to the curriculum; it is an essential.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Llyr. Can I just provide you with some assurance that the humanities AoLE working group in particular has taken full account of the Cwricwlwm Cymreig report, as well as a range of experts, including Elin Jones, who has been very helpful in making sure that we get this right to ensure that both Wales and history and the Welsh dimension are reflected appropriately across...
Kirsty Williams: Well, of course, what's really important is that we will have a language continuum, which we will expect children to move along. What's really important is that that focus will be on using the language as a means of communication, not just something that you learn just to be able to write. And what we want to do is improve the linguistic ability of children in both languages to ensure that,...
Kirsty Williams: Presiding Officer, I'm very pleased that we're having this debate today. [Signs in BSL.] And I'd like to thank the committee for their work in this area and for its report and the recommendations. I wrote to the Chair last November with the Welsh Government's response, so I do not propose to replicate all that in detail now this afternoon. But to be absolutely clear, the Welsh Government has...
Kirsty Williams: One of the options that we are actively considering is indeed a national charter for the delivery of services and resources to deaf children, young people and their families. We envisage that that charter, between the Welsh Government, local authorities and other partners, would help us understand current provision. It would also reflect the good practice guidance and standards being...
Kirsty Williams: The Minister for Health and I have convened a task and finish group to advise us on the work required to deliver a step change in mental health support for schools, as outlined in the Assembly’s 'Mind over Matter' report. The group will meet for the second time in March.
Kirsty Williams: We work closely in collaboration with our stakeholders and provide direct investment opportunities through schemes such as Sêr Cymru and our SMART Cymru programmes. In addition we actively encourage applications to UK funding sources to exploit avenues like the industrial challenge fund.
Kirsty Williams: Our national mission for education—to raise standards, reduce the attainment gap and deliver an education system that is a source of national pride and public confidence—will lead to improved educational performance. We have worked with schools and consortia to emphasise the importance of PISA.
