Jenny Rathbone: So, we shouldn't be surprised that, in the first week of term, only just half the reception children at Tredegarville Church in Wales Primary School in Cardiff were eating the school lunch they were entitled to. It's difficult to understand the complexity of the reasons why the others weren't taking it up, but some of it is to do with the anxiety of the parent, who wants to ensure that the...
Jenny Rathbone: ..., Deputy Presiding Officer. I've agreed to give a minute of my time to each of Joyce Watson, Peter Fox and Luke Fletcher to enable them to contribute to this debate. As rolling out universal free school meals to all primary schools is one of the most important and radical proposals in the partnership agreement with Plaid, and we've allocated £260 million to make it happen, we have to...
Jenny Rathbone: Behind every threat, there is an opportunity, and I've long been an advocate of community-focused schools. So, I've already had conversations about heat banks in schools, in community centres, in churches, and people are really pulling together. And I just wondered if we can somehow extend the remit of community-focused schools to enable us to offer community learning, community-focused...
Jenny Rathbone: ...la reine', because she is the Queen of the whole world. She is the most recognised person in the world, despite social media. So, it was a little bit disconcerting for me when I visited a primary school in June to be asked by this child was I the Queen. But my office said, 'Of course, you won't have that problem any longer.' Her passing, we have to remember, marks the final break with...
Jenny Rathbone: ..., but that is a good reason for having 20 mph for cars. Surely you understand that it will take over a year before this actually becomes the default option, and that gives us plenty of time to educate people that it is going to be a default 20 mph, except where we designate 30 mph.
Jenny Rathbone: ...much for your statement and your description of all the varied things that you're doing to try and capture all these young people. Because I agree with you that 13,600 young people who are not in education, employment or training is a really worrying statistic, because everybody needs to make some form of contribution to society, and if you're between 16 and 24 and you're not doing...
Jenny Rathbone: Last week we heard that some pupils are not attending school because families can't afford the bus fare. Obviously, that's an example of the acuteness of the Tory cost-of-living crisis. In light of the climate emergency and some of the tragic events we've read about in the last few days, I hope that we can agree that laying on more and cheaper bus transport isn't the solution for urban areas...
Jenny Rathbone: 4. What progress has the Welsh Government made to increase the number of pupils travelling to school by bike, scooter or on foot? OQ58328
Jenny Rathbone: It's always very sobering when you go into schools in September and you hear the children who are asked what did they do over the summer holidays and they recount what they did on the school trip in the summer term, because it tells you that they didn't do anything very much in the school holidays, and the numbers who won't be going anywhere outside the area where they live will, obviously,...
Jenny Rathbone: Well, I certainly defer to the expertise of Vikki Howells and agree with her that the value added by schools is the most important measure, because you could have a brilliant child starting school aged four or five, brilliant at maths—you want to ensure that that progression continues, otherwise they'll be sitting at the back causing trouble, because they'll be bored. And, equally, you want...
Jenny Rathbone: ...versus 5 per 10,000 across Wales, though the numbers were the same in the previous year across the country, 5 per 10,000. But, behind these small numbers there are other strategies that some schools use to get rid of pupils they no longer want to be responsible for. Managed moves is one strategy. Looking the other way when challenging pupils fail to turn up is another. Deregistering a...
Jenny Rathbone: ...minute of my time to Heledd Fychan. I represent a very diverse constituency, with both some of the poorest and some of the richest households in Wales. I've long been intrigued by the way different schools in Cardiff and elsewhere deal with pupils' behavioural difficulties and the efforts, or not, they've put into avoiding excluding pupils. About 10 years ago, Julie Morgan and I visited...
Jenny Rathbone: ...the M4 relief road. Members of the Senedd had ample opportunities to scrutinise the decision by the then First Minister in 2014 to use new borrowing powers not to build more homes, hospitals or schools, but to have another stab at tackling congestion via the M4 relief road—
Jenny Rathbone: ...award in July, and I very much welcome the statement you've made today. I'm very glad that you have announced that you're going to extend the anti-racism activity to early years and further education, because, obviously, when children start in early years, they don't bring any racist baggage with them—it's learned from adults or older siblings. So, this is a great place to start, because...
Jenny Rathbone: ...isn't just about social responsibility. And as public bodies prepare to invest many millions of pounds, quite rightly, in the healthy eating habits of children as we roll out the universal free school meals programme, what role do you expect this Bill to play in ensuring that this particular additional procurement strengthens a prosperous, cohesive and resilient Wales, fundamental to the...
Jenny Rathbone: ...from them and losing their homes. And we need to learn from other Scandinavian countries where people go to prison and their families go with them: the families go about their normal lives, go to school, go to work, and they themselves have to work during the week, and then they are in prison at the weekend. That is their punishment, and that seems to me a much more effective way of...
Jenny Rathbone: I'd first like to draw everybody's attention to the St Teilo's Estyn report, which said that the needs of pupils with additional learning needs are met exceptionally well. Unlike in some schools, pupils who need bespoke support get bespoke support to thrive and achieve to the best of their ability. I saw that last week when I visited. I'd also like to pay tribute to Bridgend College, which is...
Jenny Rathbone: ...today—she's here for her work with the tourism board—because she, above all, put this on the agenda. And now, as a result of Suzy's interventions particularly, we have menstrual well-being education for boys and girls in all our schools so that girls are not suffering in silence about something they don't realise is not normal in the way they menstruate. And boys will be able to...
Jenny Rathbone: ...any minute now, because the court order to evict them has already been allowed. They could be sent absolutely anywhere in Cardiff, and meanwhile, one of the children is in year 6 in primary school, and she faces either several miles to get to school or having to move at this late stage in her school career. This is completely devastating, and this is one of the primary reasons why private...
Jenny Rathbone: I just wanted to follow on from what was said by the Tory spokesman on the foundation stage and primary schools. I just wanted to look at the most important sector, in my view, which is the early years sector, because that is when you can make the most difference in terms of disadvantage. I suppose the first thing I'd like to say is that I am concerned about the reduction in non-statutory...
