Jayne Bryant: ...to us making recommendation 10, through to 19, on the strategic duties. I'll now highlight a couple of those recommendations in more detail. In relation the the strategic duty on promoting tertiary education through the Welsh medium, we felt the Bill could be bolder and more in line with the Welsh Government's 2050 ambition of 1 million Welsh speakers. The post-16 sector will play an...
Jayne Bryant: ...from the outset that he was open to the views of stakeholders and the Senedd. I welcome the broadly positive response that we have received today to the recommendations in our report. The post-16 education sector is of vital importance. It educates, it employs, and it improves the lives of all of us in Wales. As a sector, it changes lives, both in terms of the individual students or...
Jayne Bryant: ...to get help is heartwarming. Children and young people across Wales are already doing a huge amount to support those fleeing war and those who are still in Ukraine, such as fundraising with their school or group. This is the compassionate Wales that we are, and those children and young people are leading the way. That's what gives us hope.
Jayne Bryant: ...physical and mental well-being of our young people, and we must ensure that children do not miss out on those benefits for years to come because of the pandemic. What role does the Minister see our schools having in making sure that our youngest generation still get these opportunities, and what more can we do to encourage more participation in school sports?
Jayne Bryant: Diolch, Llywydd. As Members will know, the legislative consent memorandum scrutiny timetable gives committees very little time to gather evidence. On 18 January, we, the Children, Young People, and Education Committee, and the Health and Social Care Committee, wrote jointly to the Minister for Social Justice and to organisations in the fields of children's health and social care, children's...
Jayne Bryant: I'd like to begin by placing on record my thanks to the Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Welsh Government officials who provided evidence to us on the Children, Young People, and Education Committee to support our scrutiny of this year's draft budget. As well as appearing before committee, the Welsh Government provided us with extensive and detailed written information. We're grateful for...
Jayne Bryant: ...by Jane Dodds, and I'd like to thank Jane for agreeing to give me a minute of her time. I agree with her on many of the points raised today. The area I would like to focus on is the issue of school transport. Particularly, I'd like to see free school bus transport introduced, perhaps as a start, to both encourage more children to travel by bus to school, normalising that behaviour, but...
Jayne Bryant: ...riots started in Newport and involved 5,000 people before spreading to Cardiff and other parts of Wales and the UK. The brilliant Historic Dock Project and Bigger Picture linked with local primary schools in Newport to mark the centenary, but more must be done to ensure that this part of our Welsh history is not forgotten. What steps will the Minister take to ensure that significant...
Jayne Bryant: Diolch, Deputy Llywydd. I'm pleased to speak in this Plenary debate for the first time in my capacity as Chair of the Children, Young People, and Education Committee. I hope to build on the work of the predecessor committee and Chair, who, throughout their five-year term, demonstrated the value of effective committee scrutiny in driving through important changes to improve the lives of...
Jayne Bryant: Thank you for that, Minister. The Everyone’s Invited website, where pupils are able to anonymously report abuse and harassment, has shone a light on a significant problem. More than 90 schools in Wales have been named in the online campaign, but the reality is likely to include far more. The Everyone’s Invited testimonies are deeply upsetting, with some pupils saying girls as young as 11...
Jayne Bryant: 1. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to ensure that pupils are protected from harassment in schools? OQ56975
Jayne Bryant: ...in Wales has been unprecedented. Pupils have faced huge upheavals and many have seen their best laid plans and career paths disrupted through no fault of their own. In a recent study on the further education sector, the International Public Policy Observatory found that vocational and apprenticeship courses have been disproportionately hit by the pandemic. Across the UK, take-up of...
Jayne Bryant: 1. What measures is the Welsh Government taking to support further education during the pandemic in Wales? OQ56895
Jayne Bryant: ..., could the Minister go into a little bit more detail about his plans to ensure this happens? And encouraging planting of hedgerows in our urban areas is also important, whether around our homes or schools, so could the Minister say how this will fit into the strategy as well? A national call to arms and encouraging everyone to get involved is an excellent idea and something that has been...
Jayne Bryant: Thank you very much for that answer, Minister. The education sector has faced the most disruptive year in a lifetime, and time and time again teachers and senior leadership teams have been required to totally transform how they operate: online learning, virtual lessons, year group bubbles, key worker provision, exam grading, mass testing, monitoring well-being and adapting buildings. They've...
Jayne Bryant: ...programme in Wales, which is the quickest of all the UK nations. These women are leading in their fields, but, sadly, we all know that women and girls are far less likely to pursue STEM subjects in school, and, as such, do not follow on into these careers. The pandemic has elevated our scientists and engineers onto a public platform, and highlighted how important their work is for all of...
Jayne Bryant: Thank you, Minister. I fully appreciate the measures that have been taken to suppress the spread of COVID in schools and how difficult it is for headteachers and staff to keep bubbles even as small as whole year groups. However, in the last few weeks, we are starting to see this problem across larger secondary schools in particular, and in my constituency there have been a number of schools...
Jayne Bryant: ...outlets limited or closed. Public facilities and essential services, where many escape the feelings of isolation or found solace in being creative, have struggled. Our theatres, music venues, dance schools, museums, art galleries and community centres, even choirs, bands and art classes, have all had to severely restrict their activities. They've been working hard to keep people in touch,...
Jayne Bryant: Thank you for that answer, First Minister. The dedication and flexibility that the education sector has shown throughout this pandemic has been remarkable. Online learning, extensive health and safety protocols, bubbling, and the whole arrangement of school buildings has seen teachers and staff do everything in their power to ensure that pupils have as little disruption as possible. Despite...
Jayne Bryant: 8. How is the Welsh Government supporting schools throughout the COVID-19 pandemic? OQ55846
