Bethan Sayed: Thank you, Deputy Llywydd. First, I'd like to say that this issue has garnered widespread public interest, and while we're not the education committee, having conducted a public poll on what the public thought that we as a committee should investigate as a committee, this matter came to the fore. Over 2,500 people responded to that poll and 44 per cent said that we should look into this...
Bethan Sayed: ...here in Wales. So, my question to you, my final question, is: what are you doing differently to ensure that we can turn that around and encourage many more people to stay and to have their education in Wales? And I will say, just to end, it's not about not encouraging people to go elsewhere to study, but we have to acknowledge, for a successful and vibrant HE sector here in Wales, we have...
Bethan Sayed: ....] In terms of worst-case scenarios, I asked the First Minister yesterday, which you were here for, in terms of contingencies that can be made, specifically in terms of the possibility of further education and higher education institutions here working directly with European institutions. And so, can you tell me what discussions you've had with EU partners about doing that? I understand...
Bethan Sayed: ...aspirational, would even consider or hint at the possibility of taking us out of Erasmus next year. If the UK Government doesn't participate in the successor programme or complete negotiations on education partnerships quickly enough with the EU, our participation could be compromised and thousands of students, especially from lower income backgrounds, as Lynne Neagle said yesterday, will...
Bethan Sayed: Will the Minister provide an update on discussions held with Neath Port Talbot Council regarding re-opening Godre'r Graig Primary School?
Bethan Sayed: ...little, if any, sympathy for them in that regard. Recommendation 10 is one I'm passionate about, talking about digital inclusion, talking about financial inclusion, for not only young people in schools, but for people across the board. I know, for example, if we all had the power to understand our finances much, much better, we might not need to go and enter that bank, or we might not need...
Bethan Sayed: ...Government should no longer request regional skills partnerships—or regional skills advisory boards, as we propose to call them—to make operational recommendations on learner numbers at further education institutions, even at the current sector subject level. Instead, Welsh Government should require further education institutions to have regard to the more strategic and...
Bethan Sayed: Prior to this question today, I spoke to a number of people with autism. They were telling me that they're often drawn to higher education, and some of them are often overqualified because they feel safety in having that academic background, and safety in learning, as opposed to facing a job market where, potentially, they are stigmatised, and they find that job application processes don't...
Bethan Sayed: ...of course, that this is an area that is in the economy and transport brief, but in my view—and I'm sure you would agree—an apprenticeship for young people should be viewed as an extension of an educational process rather than something separate from it, and when I speak to those in the apprenticeship world, they seem to feel a bit disassociated from the college set-up. So, I'm just...
Bethan Sayed: ...consult on changes to post-16 transport earlier this year, which they had to scrap because of the outcry, and now Bridgend council is consulting on abolishing free transport for post-16 learners in school or college, as well as abolishing free transport for nursery-age pupils. So, I do welcome this review. But, I'm also sure you're aware of the fact that there are wider issues with regard...
Bethan Sayed: 1. Will the Minister outline how the Welsh Government's education department co-operates with the economy and transport department to improve transport options for young people in education and training? OAQ54767
Bethan Sayed: This matter has been raised with me as higher education spokesperson for Plaid Cymru by the NUS, who are concerned about how fast some of these flats are being built, and the boom that is happening also here in Wales, and how that affects students. They've told me that, sometimes, students are put into flats without the whole accommodation having been finished, and therefore fire safety...
Bethan Sayed: Thank you for that. Just to clarify, I wasn't saying that they weren't doing their jobs effectively; I was saying they've approached me actually, saying, 'Look, we know we're doing work in further education, but we are struggling because of the patchiness of that', and so it's about how they can be helped to be more effective when they go into those institutions, not to say that they're not...
Bethan Sayed: ..., so I know and I saw and I implemented those particular policies. But many in FE are still not experiencing that student voice or are not able to access that student voice as much as their higher education peers. And while we are going to be reducing the vote to 16—we agree on this—they will need to have access to student support services just as people who are in higher education do....
Bethan Sayed: ...£2 million your Government announced earlier this year for mental health initiatives in university was much needed and welcomed. And you told me in July that this funding was to develop a whole-school approach that would support staff as well as students. But, at the same time, I believe you gave ColegauCymru just £175,000 for the same purpose, with regard to implementing this in further...
Bethan Sayed: ...too late, well, I can understand why they would feel compelled to get to direct action to make their voices heard and to make those voices heard now. If children and young people want to miss school to strike on this issue—. Call it whatever you want: call it direct action; call it a protest. Let's not deflect from what it is: it's young people getting out there, having a voice, and I...
Bethan Sayed: ...when I first heard that we were being recalled. Just as a 16-year-old Greta Thunberg might have thought she would have no power to make climate change a worldwide priority when she started her school strike campaign, we too may think that we don't have the power to influence the UK Government in the toxic climate that is politics at the moment. But we underestimate ourselves if we start to...
Bethan Sayed: I wanted to ask whether you have had any conversations with Neath Port Talbot council with regard to the decision to close Godre'rgraig Primary School after the Earth Science Partnership report reported that there would be a medium-level risk of a landslip. I know that local people there have been potentially alarmed, and even though the report says that the mountain hasn't moved, the school...
Bethan Sayed: ...been willing to contend seriously enough with racism or respond with enough gravity to reports and recommended actions. They also believe there is a wider cultural problem, particularly in certain schools of the university. So, I don't want to take away from many of the positive experiences that students from all backgrounds and cultures will have at this university, and I note that the...
Bethan Sayed: ...university. I'm sure that many people may have read the report, but after the 'Anaphylaxis' show, BME students complained and were met with abuse, and some BME staff also faced abuse at a medical school party. Students chanted 'anaphylaxis' to the BME students. Now, I understand the role of universities entirely, but could you give assurances to students who have concerns and have had to...
