Jeremy Miles: This pathway is designed to provide even more support for projects that have a more strategic focus. For example, the themes for this year’s call are: developments in education; diversity and inclusion; and climate change. Applications close on 1 December, so there is still time to get applications developed and submitted. Two million pounds is available for these projects in the youth,...
Jeremy Miles: Before I do, I want to recognise the work of the Taith team, delivering the programme in double-quick time; to have learners benefiting from Taith already is a credit to their tireless commitment. A lot of learners and staff will be benefiting from Taith this year, with over £13 million available to all sectors for this year’s projects. Pathway 1, which focuses on the mobility of...
Jeremy Miles: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'm delighted to be able to provide an update to the Senedd today on the progress of putting in place our innovative international educational exchange programme, Taith.
Jeremy Miles: In March 2021, the Welsh Government announced it would put in place a £65 million replacement for the Erasmus+ programme, and made that commitment part of our programme for government. I am pleased to inform the Chamber today that that promise is rapidly coming to fruition, and the first learners are already starting to feel the benefits. We in Wales loved the Erasmus+ programme a great...
Jeremy Miles: Due to the rapid rise in inflation, Dirprwy Lywydd, we know that, overall, our budget will be worth around £4 billion less over this three-year period than previously thought. Effectively, this is a cut to our budget. Without any additional funding from the UK Government or cuts to our existing programme for government and co-operation agreement commitments, maintaining EMA is where our...
Jeremy Miles: Thank you. As a Government, we acknowledge the positive impact that the education maintenance allowance can have on young people. That's why we, during the years of austerity forced on Wales by the coalition Government, have tried to safeguard the allowance, as opposed to what happened in England, where it was abolished in 2011. And now we face another extremely difficult financial situation,...
Jeremy Miles: I don't think that one follows from another. Qualifications Wales is consulting on the role of exams in the future and how qualifications are assessed. I think that it would be wrong of us, having experienced the last two or three years, when there has been a lot of change in our school system around how we approach teaching and assessment, simply to put that to one side without looking at...
Jeremy Miles: We are continuously working with Qualifications Wales and WJEC to ensure the integrity of all our results. This includes secure, standardised assessments, detailed quality-assured processes and anonymised and monitored marking processes that are applied consistently across Wales. In addition, transparency is maintained throughout the process via regular stakeholder engagement.
Jeremy Miles: I couldn't agree more with the Member. Our strategy's called 'High Standards and Aspirations for All', and that's to recognise that every single learner, regardless of their background, is entitled to have a school system that encourages their aspiration and gives them the best possible opportunity at fulfilling their potential. The range of measures that I set out, both in March and June,...
Jeremy Miles: Yes. My statement to the Chamber in March and the speech that I gave to the Bevan Foundation in June set out my intention to tackle the impact of poverty on attainment, and I've put in place a range of measures to realise this objective, from introducing attainment champions to exploring ways to incentivise teachers to work in the most disadvantaged areas.
Jeremy Miles: Absolutely. We are pleased to see young people taking up STEM subjects and will do everything we can to continue doing that. There has been a challenge in terms of the gender gap of young people taking up STEM subjects, but the work that we have been doing through our partners has helped to address that to some extent. The 'Talented Women for a Successful Wales' report gave us some...
Jeremy Miles: It's a good question, and I have continuing discussions with both Qualifications Wales and WJEC in relation to some of the issues that arose over the course of the summer exam series. He will remember, of course, that both Qualifications Wales and WJEC wrote to centres in advance of results days explaining what had happened, what their reviews had revealed and the steps that they were taking...
Jeremy Miles: Reflecting a transition back to established exam standards, results were awarded broadly at the midway point between 2021 and 2019. Our learners demonstrated immense resilience in their performances and, as a testament to this, a record number of young people from Wales will be going to university this year.
Jeremy Miles: The health, safety and well-being of learners and staff and the whole school community are obviously of paramount importance. The governing bodies of schools and local authorities are responsible for health and safety in schools and have a duty to ensure the safety of learners and staff at all times. The Member has written to me on two occasions in relation to this, and I've asked Welsh...
Jeremy Miles: The local authority has advised that a contractor has been appointed and work commenced onsite during the summer holiday period. [Interruption.] Works are expected to continue into 2023.
Jeremy Miles: The mischaracterisation of the curriculum for political advantage is incredibly disreputable. He is the second Member from his benches to use this opportunity—
Jeremy Miles: —to traduce the work that teachers are doing across schools to make sure our young people are safe, healthy and protected. I am committed to that and I'm disappointed to hear that he is not.
Jeremy Miles: Well, it is already happening. We are in an ongoing process of providing increasing amounts of resources in this field and on other parts of the curriculum too. The resources that are already available have been published on Hwb, which is available to every school. I don't think that every school chooses to access that, but the resources are available online to everyone. But what might be...
Jeremy Miles: I did see the incident at Manorbier, and I pay tribute to the work of the school leadership and staff in protecting the young people and making sure that the appropriate arrangements were in place. There are ongoing discussions between the Government and local authorities about what we can do to support them where there are particular examples that arise in addition to the capital...
Jeremy Miles: We continue to work closely with Gwynedd Council and the GwE consortium to ensure schools in Arfon are fully supported to implement the RSE framework, including professional learning opportunities and resources. We have published an RSE toolkit on Hwb to support schools to engage with parents and carers about this sensitive issue.
