Samuel Kurtz: ...Minister for introducing this today and giving us sight of the statement beforehand. May I start by welcoming the general direction of today's announcement? As a pupil who benefited from bilingual education, it's good to see that Welsh-medium education for primary school pupils is a priority, because it's important to catch children early if we're to develop the language. I'd be eager to...
Samuel Kurtz: Thank you, Rhys, and I am enjoying listening to your speech here, but isn't it a fact that Sunday school itself—we're talking about the education of young people through chapels, myself going to Sunday school—is another form of education, which I think is incredibly important? Do you agree that Sunday school is an important part of these chapels as well?
Samuel Kurtz: Thank you for that, Minister, and I'm sure that Ukrainians the length and breadth of Wales will appreciate that answer and your support. In terms of Welsh-medium education, I'd like to thank you for answering a letter I wrote to you about what appears to be the prioritisation of Welsh-medium education over English-medium education. You will know of offers of free transport to pupils from...
Samuel Kurtz: Thank you, Llywydd, and first of all I'd like to thank our local authorities for their efforts to find educational placements for children from Ukraine. Every local authority has ensured that all Ukrainian children have access to education. This includes, according to the latest information, 73 Ukrainian children in Welsh-medium schools or bilingual schools here in Wales. What's excellent...
Samuel Kurtz: ...the importance of this afternoon's debate, it would be remiss of me not to touch on the important contributions of our Welsh-language teachers, in particular those in both primary and secondary education, who are working around the clock to deliver a first-rate Welsh-medium education to young people right across Wales—a key tool in the chest should the Welsh Government want to achieve...
Samuel Kurtz: ...Minister, for your statement this afternoon. I'd like to take the opportunity to speak on what has been described by some operators as the 'forgotten sector', that being Wales's residential outdoor education centres. The industry is worth roughly £40 million to the economy, with more than 1,700 people employed. Pre-COVID, there were 44 centres in Wales, and figures in March showed that at...
Samuel Kurtz: ...undermine what we're trying to achieve. Now, we're all highly aware of the challenges in terms of teacher recruitment, particularly in ensuring that we recruit sufficient numbers of Welsh-speaking educators to teach in our Welsh-medium and bilingual schools—a point that is highlighted by the census data. A high percentage of Welsh-speaking teachers are approaching retirement age while...
Samuel Kurtz: A number of governors from a vast variety of backgrounds is vital for the management of a school. Many pupils who attend educational facilities through the medium of Welsh come from homes where their parents don't speak Welsh themselves. What support is the Welsh Government providing to ensure that parents from non-Welsh-speaking homes are encouraged to stand for election as parent governors...
Samuel Kurtz: Diolch, Llywydd. Today is World School Milk Day, and I'm incredibly grateful to be given the opportunity to champion this day and the School and Nursery Milk Alliance on the floor of this Siambr. Did you know that a 189 ml carton of semi-skimmed milk can provide 42 per cent of a seven to 10-year-old's recommend daily calcium intake, and 24 per cent of their recommended protein intake? It also...
Samuel Kurtz: I'm grateful to the Minister for her statement. I was fortunate enough to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau as a teenager through my school. The stillness and silence that enveloped the concentration camp, the lack of colour or joy and the weight of the atrocities that were allowed to happen there are all memories that will live with me forever. Elie Wiesel, a Jewish Auschwitz survivor who went on to...
Samuel Kurtz: ...to see an increase in the number of Welsh speakers in all parts of Wales. Often Tenby, in the middle of my constituency, is considered a traditionally Welsh-speaking community, but the Welsh-medium school, Ysgol Hafan y Môr, has been described by a local councillor as 'bursting at the seams', and Ysgol Caer Elen in Haverfordwest is also full. With the increase in demand from parents for...
Samuel Kurtz: ...a constituent family, based in Pembrokeshire, who have had to fight for their child to be able to join their sister in attending the Canolfan Elfed inclusion unit based in Queen Elizabeth High School in neighbouring Carmarthenshire. This unit provides excellent service and provision for a range of secondary school age children with additional learning needs. However, without my...
Samuel Kurtz: Minister, the latest available figures for initial teacher education, ITE, qualifiers in Wales show that the numbers of students completing their course in Welsh universities or the Open University fell from 1,740 students in 2010-11 to 1,030 in 2019-20, a drop of some 41 per cent. With that decrease over the 10-year period, the pool of talent available to schools to recruit from has shrunk....
Samuel Kurtz: ...concern with this policy—that it won't deliver its intended aims. The purpose of today's statement, as the Minister said, is to develop Welsh-medium learning through all levels of supported education, in line with pledges made five years ago. Indeed, in the plan made five years ago by the then Minister, the Member for Blaenau Gwent, the Welsh Government pledged to increase the number of...
Samuel Kurtz: ...Nature scheme, and I look forward to increasing access to and enjoyment of nature and our rural areas for a wider Welsh audience. I remember as a child having the countryside code taught to me in school, and I am sure you did, as did many others in this Chamber. It provided advice on how to make sure that our enjoyment of the countryside did not impact on wildlife and livestock, and helped...
Samuel Kurtz: ...of my final question, I'd just like to declare an interest as a member of Pembrokeshire County Council, and it's an issue that I've raised before within the Chamber. It's regarding Cosheston VC School in my own constituency of Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, which has faced ongoing difficulties relating to lack of space, which have worsened due to COVID-19. Following an issue I...
Samuel Kurtz: Minister, the sustainable schools challenge is aimed at upgrading existing school infrastructure to become more environmentally sustainable, but I'm sure you will be aware of the shocking fire that took place at Manorbier primary school in my constituency on Monday, which has caused massive damage to the school building. Thankfully, no-one was hurt. This is down, in part, to the fantastic...
Samuel Kurtz: ...Romany people, 270,000 disabled people and up to 15,000 LGBT people, and many others from many other groups, were victims—all ordinary people who perished at the hands of pure evil. As a school pupil, I was able to join a trip with my peers to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and death camps—an experience that will live with me for the rest of my life. To see for ourselves the...
Samuel Kurtz: ...advance copy of today's statement. I welcome the work that Government is doing to safeguard and develop the Welsh language for the next generation. As one who was brought up in rural Pembrokeshire, educated in a bilingual school, and who considers themselves a first-language Welsh speaker who is a little rusty, I am determined that communicating through the medium of Welsh and using the...
Samuel Kurtz: Thank you, First Minister. I recently visited Cosheston VC School in my constituency, where I met with the headteacher and the chair of the governors. This is a happy school, with pupils eager to learn from enthusiastic and able teachers. However, concerns were raised with me over the lack of space available, which has been worsened due to COVID restrictions. Staff spend non-teaching time...
