Hefin David: ...and outcomes for children and young people.' In order for that to be successful, I think it's going to be a huge test of the Welsh Government. It must be fully funded and must also link seamlessly education, social care and health together, and I think that in itself is a challenge and we mustn't see education only shouldering the burden that will come, and the amount of work that will...
Hefin David: Can I just take the opportunity to welcome your announcement, and also all the work that you've done as education Minister? Since I was first elected in 2016 I've often sat in awe of the work that you've done, and we're very proud to have you as part of this Chamber. With regard to this decision, can I just press you a little bit more on what David Rees asked? And perhaps you could say a...
Hefin David: Two things related to that. First of all, I've had questions from parents asking for justification for the fact that year 9 onwards won't be in school during the lockdown the week after half term. Can you just reiterate the reasons for that and why that's taking place? And associated with it, the advice to schools is to keep classrooms ventilated. A number of parents—and in fact,...
Hefin David: 1. Will the Minister provide an update on the actions expected of schools to limit the risk of spreading COVID-19 infections? OQ55750
Hefin David: I've not been able to contribute to this report as I normally would, as I've been unable to attend the meetings of the Children, Young People and Education Committee because I've been looking after my children, which is something of an irony. I have a 13-year-old stepdaughter who is currently struggling with schoolwork, and a four-year-old autistic daughter, and a three-year-old very...
Hefin David: With that in mind, I've been contacted by a resident who had questions about the 30 free hours—she's already eligible as one of the people who are already eligible—through the school holidays, which they're entitled to. Can you confirm and put it on the record that that will continue for those people already eligible? And, with regard to September, she's working from home and her partner...
Hefin David: ...itself a magic bullet, and I suspect there are a number of concerns the Government has behind that. But I've been contacted by a Caerphilly resident who is concerned to not send her child back to school until she sees face masks more widely available, and particularly in a school setting. What reassurance can you give her today, and when will we have further information about PPE and face...
Hefin David: 6. Will the Minister make a statement on the use of personal protective equipment in schools? OQ55430
Hefin David: ...'ve sent me on my Facebook page, and an awful lot of the questions that they've asked have been answered, but I want to specifically focus on those that haven't. First of all, I've been asked about education settings and support for children with additional learning needs. For those children with particularly difficult learning needs that require extra support, the education Minister's...
Hefin David: You know the rules better than I do. Just with regard to committees, we've got a Children, Young People and Education Committee tomorrow where the education Minister is giving evidence, which I find very useful. What are the longer terms plans for committees? I don't think you mentioned committees in your statement.
Hefin David: When I tabled the question last week, my intention was to celebrate those improvements in standards, particularly in Hendre Infants School, Trinity Fields School, Nant Y Parc Primary School, St Cenydd Community School, and, most recently, Cylch Meithrin Tonyfelin. These improvements are very welcome, but things are changing with schools as we've seen with the discussion we've had today and...
Hefin David: 5. Will the Minister make a statement on school standards in Wales? OAQ55257
Hefin David: ...times continued, and were publicised during the general election campaign, now don't have to go ahead—things like, because of this Welsh Government, Caerphilly council won't be forced to cut school budgets; won't be forced to remove school crossing patrols; won't be forced to reduce CCTV cameras; won't increase school meal prices; and won't have to reduce the highways maintenance budget....
Hefin David: ...point about idling vehicles—one of the points that I've heard as well, from public health officials, is it isn't just idling vehicles; the actual act of turning off your vehicle while outside a school could be just as polluting when you turn it back on again. So, you might as well leave it idling as turning it off and on in many cases; it depends how long you leave it idling for. So,...
Hefin David: ...Rhun ap Iorwerth said: we need to be better at monitoring the impacts of air quality. Monitoring is something that can and must be done more thoroughly. Whether it can be done continually outside schools—. I'll give you an example. When I was a councillor, in my council ward, we had air quality monitoring over a period of six months. The cost was enormous; there was a huge cost to air...
Hefin David: ...of strategic hubs. But let's be positive—there are some things in the concept that say that these things should connect into anchor towns, and those things are: hospitals and health boards, educational institutions, local government, other public bodies, such as government offices, and housing associations. So, if I look at my constituency, I can see, in Ystrad Mynach, Ysbyty Ystrad...
Hefin David: ...to stay as long as I make it interesting, so, if he does go, we know what he's thinking. And the definition within the report—they describe anchor towns as sub-regional centres of employment, education and key services with strong transport links, and they support new and growing businesses and provide a large enough customer base for local businesses such as food shops, restaurants and...
Hefin David: In the evidence that the Minister gave to the Children, Young People and Education Committee last week, she made a clear budgetary commitment to meeting £15 million of spending towards implementing in particular recommendation 2 of the Reid review. But the Reid review recommendation 2 was an additional £30 million a year to incentivise researchers to win greater funding from business and...
Hefin David: ...year. So, this is something that is welcome and as other Members have said—I'm not going to rub it in, Minister—beyond timely. It's very, very welcome. When young people come to the Senedd from schools, one of the things that I try and impress upon them is that we are doing real things that will affect their lives. In Tir-y-Berth, Circus Mondao exhibited wild animals there and there...
Hefin David: ...been spent on new bathrooms and kitchens, and overall £2.5 million in addition with regard to the Welsh housing quality standard. I think some of the things we've talked about today with regard to education and the improvements the Welsh Government has planned there will make a difference in Lansbury Park—Flying Start makes a difference to that community. What more can the Welsh...
