Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. As I’m sure you will have seen, the British Council has recently published their third annual language trends survey of modern foreign languages in Welsh secondary schools, the results of which, I am sure you will agree, are very worrying. The survey comes just 18 months into the plan, which is aimed at promoting modern foreign languages in Wales, but in...
Lynne Neagle: ...People. Are you able to provide any update on the work that you are doing to deliver your side of that partnership in terms of ensuring that we move as quickly as possible to ensuring that all schools are actively engaged in ensuring that emotional resilience is a priority?
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. I very much welcome your assurances in committee this morning that the renamed pupil deprivation grant will continue to be targeted at pupils on free school meals and also thank you for your kind words about Woodlands school in my constituency. It is undoubtedly the case that there is really excellent practice in the use of the PDG in Wales, and I recently...
Lynne Neagle: 3. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on her priorities for schools in Wales for the next six months? OAQ(5)0139(EDU)
Lynne Neagle: 9. What steps is the Cabinet Secretary taking to ensure schools in Wales promote emotional resilience in children and young people? OAQ(5)0140(EDU)
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Chair. I’m pleased to contribute to this Stage 1 debate today to outline the main conclusions of the Children, Young People and Education Committee. The committee was unanimous in its agreement of the general principles of the Bill. We believe the Bill will provide a platform for reform of the current SEN system, which is long overdue, a view that was clearly shared by the...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. The Children, Young People and Education Committee recently had a useful briefing on adverse childhood experiences, known as ACEs, from Public Health Wales. Clearly, recognition of particular ACEs has a role to play in ensuring the best possible outcomes for our children and young people, but there are many issues that can affect a child’s well-being, and it is...
Lynne Neagle: ...similar decisions in the future. Julie made very important points about role models, and that was something that came out in the inquiry—that we're trying to encourage these young people to be in school, but yet they haven't actually got many role models, and that goes for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children, but also for minority ethnic children. That was also an issue that came out in...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. As I outlined in my statement to the Chamber on 25 January, the Children, Young People and Education Committee is engaging with stakeholders on what the main issues that we should be looking at are, and we are designing our work programme accordingly. The report we are debating today is another example of the committee undertaking an inquiry identified in...
Lynne Neagle: ...child and adolescent mental health services. The Together for Children and Young People programme includes very welcome work streams to promote universal resilience, including work in our schools and linked to the ongoing work the Government is doing on adverse childhood experiences. But, as you've highlighted, the Cabinet Secretary for health is responsible for the Together for Children...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, and I was delighted to welcome the Cabinet Secretary for Education to Torfaen last week to officially open two new primary schools in Cwmbran: Llantarnam Community Primary School and Blenheim Road Community Primary School, and these have been constructed as part of the twenty-first century schools programme. With Ysgol Panteg, which is due to open to pupils later this month,...
Lynne Neagle: 8. Will the First Minister make a statement on the 21st century schools programme in Torfaen? OAQ(5)0459(FM)
Lynne Neagle: ...a referral to specialist CAMHS means that we have already failed to support them when they need it most. The introduction and embodiment of emotional resilience early in a child’s life, through school, youth work settings, and out-of-school clubs, is vital to preventing future problems for our young people. We need to make that early intervention a reality in Wales. Emotional health...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Llywydd. I’m very pleased to open this debate on the first report of the Children, Young People and Education Committee’s inquiry into youth work in Wales. I’d like to place on record my thanks to the 1,500 young people from across Wales who gave their views to the committee. Their evidence was very clear that youth services are very important to many young people and can...
Lynne Neagle: ...faced funding open-access services and targeted interventions for specific groups who require additional support. We were told that the diversion of funding to target young people who are not in education, employment or training has posed a serious risk to open-access services. We also heard that this shift fundamentally undermines the principle that young people’s engagement with youth...
Lynne Neagle: Can I thank Mark Isherwood for those questions? As far as I’m aware, we didn’t receive any evidence from the John Summers school because our inquiry was specifically around the decision of the Welsh Government to amalgamate the funds that were given to support Gypsy/Traveller learning and minority ethnic learning into one big grant, called the education improvement grant. It’s been a...
Lynne Neagle: ...services. We know that there are lots of children and young people who are being referred into specialist CAMHS who don’t perhaps need specialist CAMHS, who should be getting support in the school system, through youth services. And I think that the work that we are doing in scrutinising the Together for Children and Young People will hopefully help drive that work forward in schools, in...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Llywydd. I welcome this opportunity to update Members on the work of the Children, Young People and Education Committee. As Chair of the committee, I am delighted by the progress made in scrutinising key areas of policy and legislation over such a short period of time.
Lynne Neagle: ...organisations and individuals from across Wales. This led to the committee embarking on two inquiries that stakeholders had identified: statutory advocacy services for children and young people and educational outcomes for Gypsy/Traveller and minority ethnic learners. We have finished taking evidence on both of these subjects and will be reporting soon. Looking further ahead and more...
Lynne Neagle: ...were only using it to travel locally, which, for 16 and 17-year-olds, I don’t think should be particularly surprising. My concern is that young people will be prevented from having access to education, training and youth services. I hear what you’re saying about working with local authorities and the confederation of bus transport, but it is very much my experience locally that bus...
