Jeremy Miles: For 2022-23 we are providing £270,000 to the Supporting Service Children in Education Cymru programme. This funds a package of universal support, including resources for schools, local authorities and families; research, networks and events; and focused, targeted support to schools where most needed.
Jeremy Miles: I thank Ken Skates for those two really important questions. On the first of the two questions, actually, we have already had contact from a number of high-profile Welsh musicians—some in Wales, but some beyond our borders—who have been terribly excited by this announcement and have been getting in touch to say, 'How can we help?' So, referring back to the question that Jack Sargeant...
Jeremy Miles: I thank the Member for that, and I think that his point about inspiring the next generation is really at the heart of this. Whether your experience of music is just to have a go at an instrument at primary school, or whether it becomes a lifelong passion, or whether it becomes your career, I think that part of the offer here is to make sure that we connect young people who have a particular...
Jeremy Miles: I thank the Member for that. When I was on the committee that looked into this in the last Senedd, we took evidence from a range of music services. So, the ambition of the plan isn't to stipulate the form of the service delivery; that will remain a function for the local authority, but all music services will be able to work together with the WLGA to deliver the plan overall. But, one of the...
Jeremy Miles: Can I commend Members generally for having been restrained in their use of musical puns in their contributions today? But, I'll just say, Carolyn Thomas, that your contribution hit the right note. I hope Members won't feel this is too orchestrated. [Laughter.] But, just to say, I think the point that she makes about the variety of experience is absolutely at the heart of this. I started off...
Jeremy Miles: Thank you, Heledd Fychan, for those questions. She's right to say that the situation has been something that we've wanted to address for years. I remember when I was in school taking advantage of free music lessons and, as the Member was able to, I was able to borrow a brass instrument, without our having to buy one as a family. Unfortunately, the landscape has changed significantly since...
Jeremy Miles: I thank Laura Anne Jones for the constructive questions that she has raised today and for the support that she's given to the proposals that I've announced in my statement. She asked whether the proposals were the right way of going about ensuring consistency of provision across Wales, and I can confirm to her that they are. The model that we've adopted to deliver the National Music Service...
Jeremy Miles: The National Music Service will be made up of key partners and organisations working together as a hub, with the Welsh Local Government Association, as the lead body, responsible for co-ordinating the activities of the service and its work programmes. They will ensure that the work programmes are diverse and accessible to all children and young people, and allocate funding to local...
Jeremy Miles: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Experiencing he joy of music, in all its forms, should be at the heart of every school and education setting. But we know that, for too long, learning to play an instrument has been for the few who can afford the tuition costs, and that is not acceptable. No child should ever miss out through a lack of means. Every child, regardless of their background and...
Jeremy Miles: I thank Jayne Bryant for those remarks and those questions. When I made my statement, I want to be clear about what we are doing: we have never at any point, in fact, changed the law in relation to fixed-penalty notices. She may remember that we decided not to do that, but that we would express a view, if you like, about the extent to which they should be used in the context of the last two...
Jeremy Miles: I thank Heledd Fychan for those questions. There is nothing in the statement that I made that suggests that the important issues that she raised in her comments should be ignored. It is, of course, important that we tailor the way that we respond to these challenges according to the circumstances of individual pupils and the situations of the different families, and she gave many examples and...
Jeremy Miles: I thank Laura Anne Jones for her questions and I think she makes some very, very important points in her contribution, if I may say. I think it is right, as she says, that this is a set of challenges where moving from a pandemic to an endemic state in terms of the school system's response to COVID is absolutely not going to guarantee that we revert to the levels of attendance that happened...
Jeremy Miles: Our emphasis on community focused schools will play a key role in responding to this challenge. Family engagement officers are vital in ensuring that positive partnerships are created and that bespoke support is offered. Schools that know their families well can ensure that measures are put in place that will help children maintain good engagement and attendance. We've recently provided...
Jeremy Miles: Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. We are all familiar with the challenges the pandemic has presented to our education community. One of which has been the increase in learner absence, across all year groups and across all characteristics of learners. We know there are a range of reasons or underlying causes for learner absence, and this has been further exacerbated over the last two years. This is a...
Jeremy Miles: The work that local authorities in parts of Wales are doing to reimmerse some of our learners who've had the experience of losing some of their Welsh during this past period is important, and I'd also like to thank partners, such as RhAG and others, who have been working with us to do our level best to decrease that detrimental impact on the language.
Jeremy Miles: Jenny Rathbone made an important series of points in relation to the impact on the non-maintained sector. The report talks about the financial fragility of a number of settings. She will know that we committed £8 million between March 2020 and 2021 through the Recruit, Recover and Raise Standards programme, and we're working closely with stakeholders, including with Estyn, to understand...
Jeremy Miles: We will be supporting the Plaid amendment, which Heledd Fychan spoke about. It reflects our focus and priority as a Government, and the efforts, indeed, of the entire education workforce. She made some important points in relation to the costs of the school day. She will be aware of the work that we've been doing with partners to provide guidance to schools in relation to that, and I know...
Jeremy Miles: Thank you, Llywydd, and thank you to all Members who have contributed to this debate. Although what is noted in the Estyn report shows that we have a great deal to be proud of in our education system, the report, of course, also sheds light on some of the elements that we need to continue to tackle. I agree that this includes some of the issues that Heledd Fychan talked about in her contribution.
Jeremy Miles: I know that many schools have already made good progress in implementing this framework and putting in place strategies to support children and young people through an inclusive whole-school approach to their health and well-being. To support schools further, we've commissioned Public Health Wales to develop an evidence-based toolkit that will help them identify what works to promote mental...
Jeremy Miles: Thank you, Llywydd, and may I begin this debate by thanking Claire Morgan, the interim chief inspector of education and training in Wales at the time, for her annual report? This independent report is an important record of the way in which schools and education and training providers responded to the challenges that arose in the academic year 2020-21 as a result of the pandemic. It also adds...
