Kirsty Williams: Our vision for Wales is for a fully inclusive education system where all learners have equity of access to education that meets their needs and enables them to participate, benefit from and enjoy learning. We are fully committed to supporting schools, local authorities and other organisations to deliver this.
Kirsty Williams: Our vision for Wales is for a fully inclusive education system where all learners have equity of access to education that meets their needs and enables them to participate, benefit from and enjoy learning. We are fully committed to supporting schools, local authorities and other organisations to deliver this.
Kirsty Williams: I am committed to improving standards in all schools in Wales and this is reflected in my priorities for education and the draft budget for 2017-18. We will work closely with Pembrokeshire County Council and their consortium to make best use of the resources available and maximise outcomes for learners.
Kirsty Williams: I am committed to improving standards in all schools in Wales and this is reflected in my priorities for education and the draft budget for 2017-18. We will work closely with Pembrokeshire County Council and their consortium to make best use of the resources available and maximise outcomes for learners.
Kirsty Williams: We will be publishing revised non-statutory guidance in November to help local authorities improve support for the home educating community. We will also publish a leaflet for parents that clarifies the rights and responsibilities of home educators and key questions for parents to consider before deciding to home educate.
Kirsty Williams: We will be publishing revised non-statutory guidance in November to help local authorities improve support for the home educating community. We will also publish a leaflet for parents that clarifies the rights and responsibilities of home educators and key questions for parents to consider before deciding to home educate.
Kirsty Williams: Welsh Government’s priorities are to provide high quality health services that deliver the best possible outcomes for the local population.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Presiding Officer. This Welsh Government, as set out in ‘Taking Wales Forward’, is committed to successful, sustainable rural communities. I am clear that there can be real benefits—academic, cultural and social—to pupils and communities through the delivery of high-quality education in small and rural schools. As I set out in my statement to the Assembly in July,...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Llyr, for, I think, what was a welcome of the policy statement this afternoon. To begin with the issue of the formation of the policy, I had hoped that, via my statement, I would give you a strong direction of travel. We will be formally publishing a full strategy that will guide us in ensuring that our investment of the £2.5 million is informed by that. With regard to...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Darren, for the welcome for the statement. To begin with, as I said to Llyr with regard to the presumption of closure, I hope that really does shift the basis from where we start these conversations—rather than closure being the first option on the list, and rather than the last option on the list. But I hope as well, via the consultation on the code, we can look at...
Kirsty Williams: Presiding Officer, can I thank Michelle Brown for her contribution? She makes a valuable point with regard to the importance of the physical building often in a community, and that’s why, as I announced in my statement, I will be looking to see what we can do to increase the community usage of school buildings as a way of maintaining part of the fabric of life in rural Wales. But, let’s...
Kirsty Williams: Presiding Officer, can I thank the Member for the questions? I hope I’m not divulging too much of a secret that, in the previous Assembly term, Lynne and I would send messages across the Chamber on this very subject of our frustrations with the school organisation code. I think it is timely, three years into its existence, to review its effectiveness. I particularly want to look at the...
Kirsty Williams: Mark, I thought I had made it quite clear in my answer to Michelle Brown that I’m not prepared to reopen cases that have been already discharged. Mark, I can only be responsible for the situation I find myself in now. This is not about shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. This is a genuine opportunity to recognise the particular challenges of delivering education in a rural...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much. Llywydd, I have today published the Government's response to the recommendations from the review of higher education and student finance in Wales. I am keen to reiterate my appreciation for the time and effort that Professor Diamond and his panel members, from across the political parties, sector and industry, dedicated to the review between April 2014 and this summer....
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Darren. Could I begin by acknowledging the point you made about how quickly we’ve been able to turn this around? This is down to the incredible hard work by officials in the department. They have worked at this pace because we need to move to a more sustainable situation for funding both students and our institutions as quickly as possible. I want to commend the hard...
Kirsty Williams: Llyr, can I thank you for your comments this afternoon and your willingness to share ideas about how we can take this area of policy forward? With regard to the pilot, I don’t want to put a limit on the aspirations of any Welsh student. Your colleague sitting next to you will have benefitted hugely, I’m sure, from his time spent at Harvard, and I think giving opportunities for more Welsh...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Presiding Officer, and thank you to Mr Reckless for his comments. I think maybe he was offering himself up as a potential expert to our group that is going to review this. Well, at least I will get his advice for free, unlike the MP for Clacton. [Interruption.] On the issue of the £1,000, it is my intention to introduce that universal £1,000 payment to all Welsh students. It is...
Kirsty Williams: Can I thank the Chair of the education, young people and children’s committee for her response to the report? I, too, am grateful for Professor Diamond’s continued expertise in this area. He could have just handed over the report and gone back to doing the very important work that he does, and I’m very grateful to him for coming back to committees to give full explanations, and I...
Kirsty Williams: Can I thank David for his questions? Can I absolutely clarify that all Welsh students who have been in receipt of a loan via Welsh Ministers, regardless of whether they come back to Wales, are able to apply for that partial write-off? That is not contingent on you coming back to Wales. That is just an additional benefit that Welsh students have: when they reach the threshold to begin to pay...
Kirsty Williams: I think sometimes, Presiding Officer, we all give the Chamber a bit too much information. [Laughter.] Or, as my teenaged daughter would refer to it: ‘TMI, mum, TMI’. Can I thank the Member for his comments and say how glad I am that the all-party group exists? I think we do need to have those opportunities for Members, our institutions and those interested in this very important area for...
