Suzy Davies: ..., but I don't know the detail that was presented to support the judicial review application, so I don't know what she actually saw, but I can say categorically that, in the case of Craigcefnparc school and Felindre school in my own region, when we sought advice from the commissioner, she gave us a very, very comprehensive set of guidance and advice on how public bodies should not just...
Suzy Davies: ...Minister, on more than one occasion that you've learned lessons from Scotland to avoid their mistakes. Recently, Scotland has learnt from its own mistakes. All of its councils have instructed their schools to teach CPR on the secondary school curriculum. It is compulsory on the curriculum in 20 per cent of European countries, including Norway and Denmark—Scandinavian countries—and in...
Suzy Davies: ...the overriding impression I've had at this stage is that this wholesale change of philosophy and culture is going to take some time to grasp and convert into real-life lesson plans, especially as schools, of course, will have to be delivering two sets of school curricula at the same time, on squeezed budgets, for some time. But, just because it's difficult doesn't mean that we shouldn't do...
Suzy Davies: Thank you very much, Minister, for that summary of Welsh Government action over the last couple of years. We agree with you that your background should not determine your ability to take part in education, and I think, actually, it would be quite useful to hear from Welsh Government at some point soon about the work that they're doing to combat the effects of adverse childhood experiences. It...
Suzy Davies: ...will confirm that you will publish that review at some point soon. How do you anticipate that officials within Cymraeg for Kids will be involved with the developments and revision of the Welsh in education strategic plans, Welsh language fora at a local level, and regional planning for Mudiad Meithrin? How will the child’s voice be heard in this process in accordance with the convention...
Suzy Davies: ...slate of underfunded legislative responsibilities that have been placed on them by this Government. Now, unlike Torfaen, the Labour leader in Bridgend says he cannot protect social services and schools, and I could easily point to cases where they've wasted money in lost legal cases, poor land deals, contracts going wrong, but even so, they still need to fund, this year, schools and social...
Suzy Davies: ...as well as the committee staff, and, of course, the Minister for their part in this inquiry? I hope Members have found the report interesting. We didn't get the opportunity to hear from the education Minister on the department's preparedness for Brexit in that marathon session we had fairly recently, so this is a chance to look at this more closely. I think what struck me most in the...
Suzy Davies: ...question then about whether it will be illegal to discriminate against qualified teachers from other countries. I'm wondering what your view of this might be and whether you'll be speaking with the education Minister, perhaps, about the need to review that position, particularly in view of the new curriculum, where, actually, the qualifications of those other overseas teachers may be more...
Suzy Davies: ...This is the thinking behind our policy, as Welsh Conservatives, for a trilingual Wales, launched a few years ago, which is still a central part of my own thinking as the opposition spokesperson on education. That general principle was noted by the Minister for Education at the time, and it became part of Government policy, so I would like to receive some assurance from the Minister,...
Suzy Davies: ...are making decisions about how they distribute moneys—core funding. It's all well and good to speak about some of the other grants you mentioned, but of course, there have been cuts to the education improvement grant, as we've heard, in Gwynedd, which has resulted in children who don't speak Welsh as a first language not having access to the instruction that they need to help them access...
Suzy Davies: Thank you. That's a very helpful answer, Minister. You've just confirmed that this is going to be ring-fenced money and it will be going to the schools, and, if that doesn't happen, then, obviously, we will be holding you, as well as local authorities, to account on that. Perhaps you can let us have a note at some point about what the difference is between the money that you've had from the...
Suzy Davies: ...£47.7 million in full? It meets the costs of the pension hike in full. So, that's pleasing to hear. Can you tell me what steps you'll be taking to make sure that every penny that actually gets to schools will be spent in meeting the cost of the pensions uplift?
Suzy Davies: Thank you for that answer. You'll be aware, of course, and we've heard today about the serious concerns now being expressed about school funding, and one of the things that we hear is that schools can find themselves in receipt of extra money at very short notice at the end of the financial year, which makes it very difficult for them to spend it in-year effectively. It also has the...
Suzy Davies: I'm very grateful, and I just wanted to get across this point: that whatever the amount is that Welsh Government gets, it gives an indicative figure to councils. The schools don't get the figure that has been indicated to them, and that's the gap that I'm trying to identify rather than the initial funding.
Suzy Davies: ..., I'm not sure that the extra millions you've found in-year for centrally funding continuous professional development wouldn't have been better spent—this is one example, Lynne—on helping schools this year, rather than a last-minute rush to spend it on preparing for areas of learning and experience, which aren't ready yet. So, in short, there is a risk here that the policy objectives...
Suzy Davies: At the heart of the complaints we get from parents and school leaders, however, is what they are beginning to see—[Interruption.]—is what we are beginning to see as unfairness in funding between schools within the same local authority, let alone compared to other counties, combined with some ruefulness around new ways of funding, which don't always meet their priorities—priorities that...
Suzy Davies: Thank you very much, Dirprwy Lywydd. There certainly has been a gear change this year in the complaints from schools and local authorities about underfunding. Councils are no longer content to let this Government get away with blaming everything on so-called austerity, and in fact they can't, because the funding floor, introduced by those Conservatives, means that Wales—. Here we get...
Suzy Davies: ...was listening to what you've just been saying, particularly in relation to Caroline Jones's contribution. I still don't think you've given us an answer why we still have so many persistent failing schools—and I use 'failing' advisedly. There is a certain cohort of schools that is still not moving out of special measures and so on, despite years and years of intervention. What is it?
Suzy Davies: ...I also echo the sentiments expressed in the first Plaid amendment? Any improvement is to be welcomed for its effect on the individual young people who benefit from it, as well as the staff at the schools. I just wanted to start briefly with the reduction in the number of settings offering education for three and four-year-olds. I’ve always been disappointed that some councils in Wales...
Suzy Davies: Well, as you say, residents, teachers and pupils have been fighting Swansea Council's decision to close Craigcefnparc Primary School as well, and I've been very proud to support them in that fight. As part of the fight for both schools, actually, I've asked the Children's Commissioner for Wales and the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales about how and when their expectations should be...
