Siân Gwenllian: ...and I agree with you on that—it is crucially important. There is clear evidence, of course, that the one most effective thing that we can do in delivering this aim is to provide a nutritious free school meal to all school pupils as an addition to the formal education programme provided. But it's very disappointing to see in the programme for government, published yesterday by the...
Siân Gwenllian: ...I’m pleased that you recognise that it is quite a substantial amount of extra work in some cases. And there is funding in the system, because I’ve been made aware of a case where one secondary school is paying a great deal—around £100,000—to the external examining bodies, although they, of course, are not delivering the same functions in this year’s examination round. It’s...
Siân Gwenllian: ...the first time in quite a while. We are following a different regime again this year in terms of GCSE, A-level and AS examinations. It is an assessment standardisation exercise led by individual schools and teachers, to all intents and purposes. Earlier this year, the Scottish Government announced that they would provide a one-off payment of £400 to teachers who were engaged in additional...
Siân Gwenllian: I would like to focus on one very important area, namely childcare and early years education—a sector that's crucially important for recovery post COVID. Children the length and breadth of Wales have missed an important formative part of their lives, and there is increasing evidence that this is where the educational focus should lie. But it’s disappointing to see an appalling lack of...
Siân Gwenllian: ...you're aware, with far too much being spent on locums and far too many vacancies in surgeries. I am very pleased that you have supported the consistent calls made by Plaid Cymru for a new medical school in Bangor, and you've just confirmed that once again, and that this is now being implemented. So, will you confirm that the new medical school could open in the year 2025? That's in four...
Siân Gwenllian: ...have already said, but, unfortunately, COVID has not gone away, and there is a risk of a third wave, and that is becoming increasingly likely. That, of course, could lead to further disruption in education. Unfortunately, there are gaps in the data and information available in terms of the India variant in schools. We've heard that teaching unions in England are very concerned about the...
Siân Gwenllian: ...—the Welsh language, the arts, culture and sports—need to be at the heart of public policy and action by central Government and local government and drawn into economic development, to health, education, the environment, and so on and so forth. Do you, therefore, agree, in terms of the arts specifically, that we need a new, holistic strategic direction that is inclusive in order to...
Siân Gwenllian: ...and also individuals with care or work responsibilities that mean that they can't be available to sit in front of their computer at a specific time? And secondly, in terms of the fund, performance schools have failed to make full use of the support available from Government across the various sectors. It seems that they don't tick the right boxes in order to benefit from the funds that...
Siân Gwenllian: ...to be brushed under the carpet, and can you tell us what arrangements will be put in place in order to mitigate some of these concerns? At the moment, there are around 100,000, or 21 per cent, of school-age children who are defined as having special educational needs, as was the term in the old system. The Welsh Government expected that the number of school pupils who would receive support...
Siân Gwenllian: ...nutritional needs for them. And this includes the provision of zinc, vitamin D, iron, selenium, protein, iodine and other key nutrients. As you will know, Plaid Cymru is in favour of expanding free school meals to 70,000 children, and ultimately to all children, in order to ensure the children eat a healthy meal at least once a day. So, my question is this: shouldn't free school meals be...
Siân Gwenllian: ...also thank you very much for your willing collaboration through this Senedd, and particularly for our regular meetings during the pandemic? We certainly share the same passion for the importance of education in the lives of our children and young people, and I'd like to thank you for all your hard work over the years, and particularly for focusing on the deprived children of Wales. I think...
Siân Gwenllian: ...funding on any occasion, I do feel that a lack of planning and arrangements does account for the money being released so late in the day, and perhaps this, of course, gives an unfair picture of school budgets and the amounts carried over from one year to the next.' Now, I understand entirely and accept entirely that the situation is even more unstable than usual this year because of the...
Siân Gwenllian: ...Presiding Officer. One of the issues that is of concern to the majority of teachers is the workload that they are having to deal with in addition to the work that they are trained to do, namely to educate and to lead. According to some, the additional burden, the daily bureaucracy, has got worse over the past five years. What's your response to that claim?
Siân Gwenllian: Thank you for the statement and the update. In discussing twenty-first century schools, you continue to use this concept of a building to describe a school. New buildings, well designed, can contribute towards creating an environment that encourages creativity and learning, and I myself am familiar with a number of brand-new school buildings in Arfon that have been warmly welcomed and have...
Siân Gwenllian: Plaid Cymru supports the direction that the new education curriculum takes us in. The young people of Wales have wanted to learn skills appropriate for life and modern workplaces for some time. We also believe in empowering teachers and giving them the freedom to teach creatively. The emphasis on the development and progress of the individual is also to be warmly welcomed. Enabling every...
Siân Gwenllian: I fear that the motion and the Conservative amendment take certain issues for granted without evidence to support them. There are a number of large schools in my constituency providing excellent education to the pupils. There are also many small schools in my constituency providing excellent education to their pupils. It's also true to say that the size of a school can have a negative or a...
Siân Gwenllian: ...and we did consider some deep spiritual issues on the role of faith in the lives of people in Wales today. Wales is an inclusive nation that celebrates diversity. Equipping our young people through education to understand diversity and to fully understand the nature of the different religions and cultures that provide huge wealth to our nation is crucial. That's how we can entrench values...
Siân Gwenllian: Our amendments in group 5 relate to the teaching of Welsh in our schools, and passing them would provide far more detail, and would provide consistency and an assurance that every child will have an equal opportunity to acquire our nation's language. The Welsh Government is committed to establishing a single continuum for the teaching of Welsh and to scrapping Welsh as a second language, and...
Siân Gwenllian: ...of Colour History' to the list of mandatory elements within the areas of learning and experience. It would be in addition to what we've just been discussing, namely relationship and sexuality education, and be in addition to RVE also as mandatory elements on the face of the Bill. Supporting amendment 44 would make it a requirement for the 'what matters' code to note how an understanding of...
Siân Gwenllian: Plaid Cymru is also fully supportive of making relationships and sexuality education statutory. We support the Government fully on this issue, and I too would wish to praise the Minister for her commitment to this area. And here we are today, seeing the Welsh Parliament at its best, being progressive, working together, being robust on a crucially important issue. We also support adding...
