Kirsty Williams: Well, Presiding Officer, I understand that children, parents and professionals want to know more about what we can expect in September. We are undertaking those discussions, as the Member alluded to. Sometimes these discussions are complicated by the way in which our education system is structured in Wales, which means there are many, many stakeholders that need to be engaged before we can...
Kirsty Williams: Since 29 June, our learners have been taking the opportunity to check in, catch up and prepare for the autumn term. Working with stakeholders, we are developing robust plans for children’s return to school in September, and, as I have said on numerous occasions this afternoon, Presiding Officer, I intend to make a statement later on this week outlining my plans.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Huw, for that. Can I assure Members that we have developed a dashboard to give an overview of the situation across all local authorities following COVID-19, and the dashboard highlights that local authorities are on track to meet their Welsh in education strategic plan targets. Clearly, if there are concerns about the ability of an individual local authority to meet their targets...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Delyth. As I said in my answer to your first question, the Welsh Government is funding fully the projects that the Member will be familiar with. The grant of £1.83 million will support the reconfiguration of Ysgol Rhyd-y-grug to accommodate two additional classrooms and to increase nursery and pre-nursery provision. And the grant will also fund a new Welsh-medium primary school...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Delyth, for the question.
Kirsty Williams: Capital investment of £1.83 million has been earmarked to expand Welsh-medium education provision in Merthyr Tydfil. We are meeting the full costs of these projects to make best use of the funding available. The authority has also received £661,000 from the reducing infant class size grant, also to support Welsh-medium education.
Kirsty Williams: Well, you're right—it is one of the barriers to learning during this period that has been for those children who are digitally excluded, who don't either have a device, a suitable device, or, indeed, connectivity at home. That's why we've spent £3 million on trying to address that situation. I'm very grateful to colleagues in local government who have worked in partnership with us to give...
Kirsty Williams: You're correct to say that the Westminster Government have announced a £1 billion catch-up programme. I need to make sure that Members are aware that not all of that is new money, and we have been advised as a Welsh Government that, in this financial year, we could expect a consequential up to and no more, at best, than £30 million. The rest of the money that was announced is for the new...
Kirsty Williams: Well, first of all, Siân, can I say I'm grateful to you and Suzy Davies for the opportunity, as you said, usually on a weekly basis, to be able to touch base and for your continuing to hold my feet to the fire? I'm not aware of the scientific papers that have been perused by my colleagues in Northern Ireland, Scotland or England that led them to make those statements. Throughout this period,...
Kirsty Williams: Well, I've just given you an example in the GwE constituency, where they have been providing online professional learning opportunities to staff across the north Wales area so that they can use Hwb, our digital learning platform, to best effect. In my own local area, if we turn to the role of a local authority, Powys County Council took the Welsh Government's continuity of learning plan,...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you for that, Suzy. I believe that blended learning will continue to play a part in Welsh education in a number of ways, but clearly, as you have quite rightly stated, my aim is to maximise face-to-face contact with children in their schools with their teachers, but we must capture the positives of the crisis that we have found ourselves in, and for some staff, and indeed for some...
Kirsty Williams: Firstly, my understanding is that despite the fact that there has been an announcement in Scotland of all children returning to school with no social distancing in August, no guidance has actually been produced by the Scottish Government to support that decision. That reflects the very complex issues that myself and Ministers across the United Kingdom are grappling with, especially as the...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Alun, for that. This period of disruption to children's education as a result of the pandemic has been a particular challenge for those children with additional learning needs. Many of our local authorities have actually been able to keep their special schools open throughout this entire period to support those families, especially if those children have very advanced and very...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much for that, Russell. The requirement to try and limit the number of contacts that individual children have is one of the very wicked logistical issues that the current operations of schools have identified. This is particularly acute in the county of Powys, because a vast number of people living in Powys actually qualify as a critical worker, and the demand for critical...
Kirsty Williams: I will be making a statement on the next stages of education for the children in Wales before the end of the week. Oh, I should say—sorry, it's very rude of me—welcome back, Laura.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Russell. On 3 June, I announced that all pupils in Wales, including the children of critical workers, would have the opportunity to check in, catch up and prepare for the summer and September from 29 June.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Joyce, especially for the recognition of the hard work that has gone into making these opportunities available for children in Wales. It has been a huge collective effort on behalf of all those involved. One of the reasons why we did want to provide these opportunities, above and beyond education, is precisely for the reasons that you have described—so we can get to grips with...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Joyce. The immediate feedback received from key stakeholders, parents and learners is overwhelmingly positive. The opportunity for school staff to catch up with their learners has been very much welcomed. Good practice and evidence from this current period of operations is helping inform schools' operations for the future.
Kirsty Williams: The Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill fully supports the aims of Cymraeg 2050. The Bill will put in place a national framework to support teaching, learning and continual progress in Welsh and other areas.
Kirsty Williams: I have been clear that emotional and mental well-being must be a priority as children return to school. It is one of the key principles in my decision framework for the next phase of education and it features prominently in the learning and operational guidance published in June.
