Kirsty Williams: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Amendments 30 and 32 are minor and technical changes to update the Bill. I have introduced amendment 33 to amend section 68 of the Bill. As drafted, the Bill does not allow regulations to modify the Bill's provisions when applying them to detained children and young persons. Given their circumstances, some modifications could be necessary. This minor amendment will...
Kirsty Williams: Extra guidance for teaching Welsh already exists in the literacy framework, and this can be used by teachers in Welsh-medium schools to teach Welsh. It is clear to me, and this is where I agree with Siân Gwenllian, that the main issue here is not the teaching of Welsh, as such, but an improvement in the teaching of Welsh in some of our English-medium and bilingual schools, and I have...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Presiding Officer. I was very pleased to be able to respond positively to the CYPE committee's recommendation to make English compulsory from seven to 16, while Welsh remains compulsory from three to 16. In Stage 2, I laid Government amendments that will allow the practice of Welsh immersion education to continue without any disapplication process. I also laid an amendment that...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Presiding Officer, for that. And can I thank Siân Gwenllian for opening this group of amendments' debate, and also for Siân's support in the previous group, which has been steadfast throughout this entire process? So, I'm grateful to Siân and Plaid Cymru for their commitment in that regard. Can I start with amendment 43? I urge Members to resist this amendment. As I have...
Kirsty Williams: High quality RSE has a vital role to play in supporting learners in recognising healthy, safe relationships and understanding, and developing respect for, differences between people, and the diversity of relationships that we see reflected around us in a modern Wales. Now, RSE will gradually enable our children and young people to develop an understanding of the importance of those...
Kirsty Williams: If I can therefore then turn to the other amendments in the group, can I ask the Senedd to resist amendment 41? There is a strong focus on developing healthy relationships in the new curriculum, and becoming healthy, confident individuals is of course one of the four purposes of our new curriculum, to enable learners to develop those healthy relationships that are so fundamental to all of us....
Kirsty Williams: Then, turning to amendments 2 and 4, which are related to the issue of menstrual health. Can I thank Suzy Davies and Jenny Rathbone for their comments in the debate today about the importance of ensuring that all of our children, both boys and girls, are well educated and have the information that they need to understand this perfectly natural process? For too many years and for too many...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. This is a large group of amendments with quite a variety of potential impacts on the legislation, so I'm going to try to go through them not necessarily in order, but in groups, if that's okay, starting with the easiest first. That is amendment number 40 in the name of Suzy Davies, which enables learners in years 12 and 13 in schools to request RSE, and...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I make it absolutely clear to all Members that life-saving skills are an aspect of learning that forms part of our new health and well-being AoLE? The statutory guidance as drafted emphasises the importance of learners developing the ability to respond to a range of conditions and situations that affect their physical health, and, indeed, the...
Kirsty Williams: To be absolutely clear, and for the avoidance of doubt, I recognise the importance of educating our children and young people about climate change, its causes, its impact, both here at home as well as globally, and the action that is needed to safeguard all of our futures. And of course, in Wales, we have a strong basis on which to build. We have been supporting two key climate and...
Kirsty Williams: Oh boy, Presiding Officer. I am sorely tempted to riff on the concept of false equivalence and to debate Mr Hamilton on his interjection this afternoon. What I am able to assure Senedd Members is that concepts such as false equivalence, fake news and propaganda will indeed form part of the new Curriculum for Wales, and we will indeed be equipping our children and our young people to debate...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Presiding Officer, and I thank colleagues for their contributions to the debate this afternoon. Can I say that I am very proud of how the Welsh Government and local authorities have reacted to the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring that those who rely on free school meals have not had to go without whilst they are not in school? We have now made...
Kirsty Williams: Formally moved.
Kirsty Williams: I move, Deputy Presiding Officer.
Kirsty Williams: Can I thank Mark Reckless for his comments? As I said, it's an important principle to me that there is portability of the package, allowing students to make choices about where they study. I don't know about deliberately trying to weaken the bonds of the union, but I think where the Welsh system does compare very favourably to Scotland is in terms of social mobility—I don't know about...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you to Bethan. She is right—I don't believe any political party can say that they have completely clean hands when it comes to the issue of student fees, and I would remind her of which parties were in Government in Wales in 2009 when the top-up fees were introduced. So, I think all of us have got parties where we've had to make some really difficult decisions, whether it be at...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Suzy, for those comments, and can I thank you for your acknowledgement of the hard work of university lecturers and staff the length and breadth of Wales, who have done everything that they can in the most challenging of situations to support their students? And I'm sure all of us in the Chamber would want to associate ourselves with the comments that people have been working...
Kirsty Williams: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Back in autumn 2016, I came to this Senedd to announce the biggest change to student finance in Wales in a generation. As all of us know, student finance reform is a complex and controversial issue. Political parties and Ministers of all stripes, across the United Kingdom and further afield, have taken difficult decisions, and sometimes faced the consequences. Over...
Kirsty Williams: You're right, Dai. We don't need to wait for the delivery of those additional 54,000 devices. At this time, any device that is sitting in a classroom that is not being used on a daily basis needs to be allocated to a family. I have to say, Dai, if you would write to me with those families that are continuing to have difficulties, we can explore that with local authorities. We have done a...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Dai. Since the pandemic began, the Welsh Government has made available over 138,000 devices to schools. A further 54,000 devices will be delivered in the coming weeks, and my officials are in regular contact with colleagues in all local authorities, including those that make up the region of South Wales West, providing support and guidance where that is required.
