Lynne Neagle: We are taking a whole-system approach to improve and support the mental health and well-being of children and young people. This includes actions across health, social care, education and youth work, with a focus on prevention and earlier intervention, whilst also ensuring specialist services are available when needed.
Lynne Neagle: ...is a very complex question, because, as I said when we discussed this earlier in the week, these things are all about balance of harms, aren't they? And as much as it harms children not to be in school, it also harms children if COVID rates are really high and lots of family members get affected. So, all these things are about weighing up a balance of harms. We have invested huge sums of...
Lynne Neagle: ...across many programmes, although I'm not convinced that that approach is consistent across Wales. I've therefore asked officials to ensure that the perinatal mental health network works with Health Education and Improvement Wales and training providers to strengthen and standardise this approach. And I should say that perinatal mental health is a priority area for HEIW too. We'll also...
Lynne Neagle: ...across the UK to consult on the labelling of manufactured infant food, which can currently be misleading and at odds with public health policy. We will be revisiting our Welsh network of healthy schools scheme, which will help embed a more targeted and outcome-focused approach, of which tackling childhood obesity will be a key priority. And we will work with national campaigns such as Veg...
Lynne Neagle: ...in this area is a determination to save young lives. I've got no doubt that the embedding of mental health on the face of the curriculum Bill, mandatory inclusive RSE for all pupils, and the whole-school approach for mental health will make a huge contribution to saving young lives in Wales, and there can be no more significant or important legacy than that, and I do thank you for that. If...
Lynne Neagle: ...Minister. I was delighted to see the framework published yesterday. And I hope to speak next week in the statement and to say some words about you then. As you know, the Children, Young People and Education Committee recently held a brilliant session on the impact of COVID on the physical and mental health of children and young people, and I would like to thank Professor Ann John,...
Lynne Neagle: 6. What steps will the Minister take to promote pupil well-being in the return-to-school plans? OQ56453
Lynne Neagle: ...say that if re-elected, I look forward to working with her successor to ensure that the new duty is supported by strong guidance and clearly linked to the work that is being undertaken on a whole-school approach to mental health. But in closing today, I'd like to thank the Minister for bringing forward—and the whole Welsh Government—this landmark piece of legislation. I have absolutely...
Lynne Neagle: ...to follow scientific evidence and advice. I am however very concerned that decisions in the coming days to ease other restrictions will remove the vital headroom necessary to return children to school fully. What assurances can the First Minister give that ensuring that all children can return to school on 15 April after Easter will remain his top priority, and what assurances can he give...
Lynne Neagle: ...was the very clear link made in the report for the continued need to see action on both 'Everybody's Business', the health committee's suicide prevention report, and the Children, Young People and Education Committee's 'Mind over matter' report. I wanted to place on record again my thanks to Dr Dai Lloyd for the strong partnership that has been established between the Health, Social Care...
Lynne Neagle: ...quality, developmentally appropriate, inclusive, equality-based RSE for all children in Wales. Those Members who have read our Stage 1 committee report will know that the Children, Young People and Education Committee gave our unanimous support to the plans, having listened carefully to the evidence we heard. The fact that a cross-party committee of Members of the Senedd came to such a...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Llywydd. One of the highlights of my time as Chair of the Senedd's Children, Young People and Education Committee has been the opportunity to watch the Youth Parliament develop. To work with its Members on the scrutiny we undertake as a committee and as a Senedd has been a genuine privilege, and I'm in no doubt that the establishment of the Youth Parliament has enriched the debate...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, First Minister, and it was absolutely fantastic to see our youngest children going back to school yesterday, and unlike Andrew R.T. Davies and, it seems, Boris Johnson, I think it's really important that Governments should follow their own scientific advice, which means that our children in Wales will be learning at home for a longer period, as we manage that return to school...
Lynne Neagle: ...on how the recruit, recover and raising standards money has been used so far. We've also called for such data to be published on an ongoing basis. This is to ensure that our children's return to education remains a priority for Government investment over the years ahead. It is vital that we make sure that the money going in delivers the intended outcomes for children and young people. We...
Lynne Neagle: The Children, Young People and Education Committee has worked hard to ensure that children’s rights have been at the heart of all our work during this fifth Assembly. Children’s rights matter in everything we do. This has been the case whether we are scrutinising Government policy on youth services or mental health, whether we are considering the need for legislation about the physical...
Lynne Neagle: ...of the Child when exercising any of their functions. What’s clear is that this legislation has never been more important. The COVID-19 pandemic means that our children are not going into their schools. Their playgrounds were shut at the start of the pandemic. They can't hang out with their friends, and they've got restrictions on going to their usual clubs and leisure activities. Some...
Lynne Neagle: Thank you, Llywydd. Minister, I very much welcome the findings of the Education Policy Institute, which said that digital devices in Wales had been rolled out much more quickly than in other UK nations, a finding of course that they also made in relation to school meal provision, which has certainly been brought into very sharp relief this week. As you know, though, the situation, as we...
Lynne Neagle: ...to our NHS and social care staff, who are dealing with an unprecedented public health emergency. You referred in your earlier comments to the importance of keeping children and young people in school, which I entirely concur with, but, as you'll be aware, the evidence about a new variant emerging has caused a lot of anxiety, both for families and for school staff. Can you say a bit more...
Lynne Neagle: ...discussed the shortcomings in this service area, and I am absolutely determined that by the time we get to the end of this Senedd, we will be in a position where things are much better, not just in education, but across the whole system that is so crucial for our children and young people. Diolch yn fawr.
Lynne Neagle: ...at the preventative end of services, to stem the flow of mental health problems earlier, and to prevent the distressing—and in many cases, unnecessary—escalation of issues. We said that a whole-school approach was needed, as part of a whole-system approach, to support the mental health and well-being of our children and young people. We made it clear that we were unwilling to allow...
