Kirsty Williams: Well, we're rolling out lateral flow testing in the education community as quickly as they are being made available more widely to Wales. So, all of our universities are taking part in the pilot programme, ahead of the end of the academic year, and we have now the Merthyr Tydfil programme, where we are looking to deliver lateral flow testing at school, in our high schools and in the local...
Kirsty Williams: Certainly. And can I say to the Member, she talks about huddling—we've got a lot of huddling going on in schools. As you can imagine, we've received numerous reports from our local authorities about adults huddling together at school gates. And indeed, within the playground setting, the idea that all children are running around and keeping 2m apart, that's a lovely idea, it's a beautiful...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you for that, Suzy. As you have quite rightly identified, we are continuing to see a considerable period of disruption, because of the pandemic, on our education. We are working with schools to minimise that disruption as much as we can. I'm delighted that Pembrokeshire schools that were closed at the beginning of this week are now in a position to reopen. I met yesterday with the chief...
Kirsty Williams: Qualifications Wales has made a distinction between what are legacy qualifications—it's the last time that those papers were ever going to be sat; they will not be offered any longer—and those papers that will have a different opportunity to be assessed in a different way.
Kirsty Williams: Absolutely. The Welsh Government and the National Procurement Service worked with agencies at the beginning of this pandemic to ensure that they were all able to furlough their staff under the job retention scheme. All agencies on the framework confirmed that they were able to access the scheme for eligible staff, and we understand that they did so until the end of the summer. We continue to...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Alun. Can I say that supply teachers form a very important part of the education workforce in Wales? But under local management of schools, governing bodies have the flexibility to appoint and deploy supply teachers as they see fit. There is nothing, nothing at all, to prevent local authorities and schools, as the employers of teachers, working together with other key...
Kirsty Williams: The Welsh Government continues to work with stakeholders to ensure that support is available for supply teachers. This includes financial support, employment opportunities through the Recruit, Recover, Raise Standards programme, and funding a service to promote mental health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Mick. I would like, indeed, to put on record my thanks to universities—the University of South Wales and, indeed, all our institutions of higher education—that have worked incredibly hard over the start of this academic year to maintain quality educational experiences, to look after the welfare of their students, and to play their part in managing public health risk in the...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Andrew. You asked about emerging themes; clearly, I'm determined to minimise disruption to students' education, but, obviously, we need to monitor that as part of the overall Government public health response to the pandemic. We’re working very closely with our universities and our student union bodies, and many of the elements that will allow students to return home for...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Andrew. The Welsh Government is reviewing the regulations and guidance in relation to travel around the Christmas period and beyond as we continue to monitor transmission rates within Wales. It is too early to confirm any arrangements that will apply in respect of universities in the new year.
Kirsty Williams: COVID-19 has had a massive impact on our education system, and our priority is to continue to provide the best for education services. Welsh Government has responded by providing an overarching single fund to support local authorities dealing with the impacts, providing financial assistance for additional costs incurred in dealing with the pandemic.
Kirsty Williams: In the October update to ‘Our national mission’, Welsh Government’s plan to deliver our new curriculum, we reiterated the importance of an evaluation, improvement and accountability system that is aligned to the principles of the Curriculum for Wales.
Kirsty Williams: The operational guidance sets out the mitigating measures schools and settings should take. In responding to the latest SAGE and TAG report, I have strengthened the mitigating measures. All learners and staff in secondary schools and colleges should now wear face coverings everywhere outside of the classroom, including on school transport.
Kirsty Williams: Evidence from a range of sources—OECD, Estyn, the Sutton Trust—including those focusing on Wales, suggests most learners have been affected, with the most vulnerable most affected by the pandemic. In response, through our Accelerating Learning Programme, we are providing an additional £29 million to schools to support learners.
Kirsty Williams: Welsh Government has provided Pembrokeshire local authority with a £562,788 grant to recruit, recover and raise standards. This will help Pembrokeshire schools provide extra support at years 11, 12 and 13, as well as for disadvantaged and vulnerable learners of all ages.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I thank Siân Gwenllian for her comments? She is absolutely right to talk about the not insignificant challenges of making real the promise of the ALN Act. And certainly, the impact of COVID-19 on the work of the Government and, indeed, on the work of schools is not insignificant. However, I'm sure she would agree with me that we must make progress and...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. Members will be aware that, in response to numerous reports into the shortfalls of the current system, this Government introduced new legislation in 2016 that paved the way for a much-improved system for supporting children and young people with additional learning needs. This ambitious legislation was co-constructed with key stakeholders and...
Kirsty Williams: Mr Reckless, you talk down Welsh teachers, Welsh students and the Welsh education system as much as you want; I disagree, sir. I have every confidence in our young people, our children, our lecturers, our teachers, our exam board and our independent regulator to ensure that students that leave our education system this year will have qualifications that are equally regarded as anywhere else,...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much. Can I just say this is absolutely not a question of us being kind or being soft on students in this cohort? It is a question of being fair to them. Their education has been affected in a way that none of us could have imagined in February of last year, so this is not a question of being soft or kind; this is about creating a rigorous system that allows them to be awarded...
Kirsty Williams: Can I thank Hefin David for his questions and his kind comments? I think I've got the best job in the world, even in the middle of a global pandemic, so thank you for your kind words. It's always the kindness that kills you, isn't it, Deputy Presiding Officer? But thank you very much for that. In terms of moderation, the details of the moderation process is the main job of the design and...
