Janet Finch-Saunders: ...a simple and smooth process. However, it has been found that only 43 per cent of children and young people in Wales would be confident seeking help from a mental health team, and 39 per cent from school counselling. Regional partnership boards, of course, are required by law to prioritise the integration of services for children with complex needs. However, we now know that two health...
Janet Finch-Saunders: ...unsubsidised employment of less than two weeks. Therefore, Plaid Cymru's proposal is not the answer. Last week, Professor Ewart Keep stated that, come the end of July, loads of people are leaving school, college and their university courses, and a lot of them are not going to find jobs. He has identified work experience as utterly critical. I agree and believe that young people could...
Janet Finch-Saunders: ...on 6 May of £26 million to support our small charities—still great uncertainty as to how this will be allocated and to whom. The Welsh Government is also responsible for mixed messaging on education, self-isolation and support for businesses. I would stress that we will reject the amendment by the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd. Her amendment and suggestions to remove 'Welsh...
Janet Finch-Saunders: ...eligibility for local government candidacy to allow council employees to stand for election. However, I would urge the Minister to consider whether it really is necessary for individuals such as school teachers, cooks, swimming instructors to have to stand down from their paid employment should they be elected. If one looks at our education system, one can be a teacher and be a governor of...
Janet Finch-Saunders: Thank you. And, again I'd like to put on record my thanks to everybody involved with the schools and teachers. As you quite rightly point out, it's a very anxious time for everyone. In the short time—. My questions were completely different but as things are changing by the minute and by the hour, already I've been asked—. Some teachers are expressing concerns regarding coursework...
Janet Finch-Saunders: ...reduce the number of children going into care'. For those children who do enter the care system, the Welsh Government has a long way to go on improving life chances for these children. In terms of education, at key stage 2, just 58.3 per cent of looked-after children achieve the core subject indicator, compared with an 87.8 per cent average across Wales. At key stage 4, just 10.9 per cent...
Janet Finch-Saunders: ...to setting up 12 institutes of technology across England, a Welsh Government spokesperson stated the following to the North Wales Weekly News: there is capacity within the existing further education estate to provide excellent learning in subjects such as engineering and digital close to people's homes in the north. So, therefore, given the apparent opposition to the creation of an...
Janet Finch-Saunders: ...and mental health and well-being? As you know, you've rightly pointed out previously that younger people are very likely to report feeling lonely. Your consultation highlighted that many feel that schools have a key role to play. This has fed into the strategy before us today, including priorities 1 and 4. Calls have also been made, though, for pastoral sessions to be introduced into the...
Janet Finch-Saunders: ...see a rise in child poverty in 2017-18. And of course, poverty is considered a contributory factor to children ending up in care. Last week, Cardiff University published the results of a survey of school students aged 11 to 16. They show: that young people in residential care had the lowest mental well-being score; that 56 per cent are being exposed to bullying; that more than a third had...
Janet Finch-Saunders: ...Public Policy found that 'there is good evidence that skills…are important factors in driving growth in lagging regions.' Central to strengthening skills, of course, is fair funding for further education. ColegauCymru has highlighted that the current one-year funding cycle hinders longer term planning, and the Graystone review recommended that you should move towards a three to...
Janet Finch-Saunders: ...thank the Deputy Minister for providing an updated regulatory impact assessment ahead of Stage 3 proceedings today, yet the Deputy Minister admitted to the Chair of the Children, Young People and Education Committee in a letter of 7 January that she is still unable to produce a complete estimate for referrals for physical punishment at an all-Wales level. Now, this is crucial to determine...
Janet Finch-Saunders: ...review, but first I would like to thank the Deputy Minister and her team for assisting us with those amendments, as outlined in her letter of 11 December to the Children, Young People and Education Committee. Both my colleague Suzy Davies and I welcome the constructive tone of our discussion with the Deputy Minister. Second, I very much welcome the Deputy Minister's letter of 11 December...
Janet Finch-Saunders: .... I simply cannot accept that the Bill's objectives would be merely considered as part of developing the new curriculum. We need a clear response from both the Deputy Minister and the Minister for Education on how this is going to work. This legislation will precede the curriculum legislation, so we cannot be assured that it will be included in every school. The Deputy Minister also...
Janet Finch-Saunders: ...Cymru, less than one in 10 people survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, and nearly a third of UK adults would not have the confidence to intervene if they saw someone in need. Now, improved education of our youngsters is definitely the answer to this cardiac catastrophe. Children in England will be taught CPR and other lifesaving skills from September 2020, and every local authority...
Janet Finch-Saunders: ...by focusing on welfare and income transfers, we are treating the symptoms of the issue rather than addressing the deeper causes of low income and poverty, including: unemployment, poor standards of education, a lack of skills and social issues such as substance misuse. Tackling these issues requires a more community-focused response from Government. The Welsh Conservatives have...
Janet Finch-Saunders: ...two thousand and—? [Interruption.] No, no, but it was still a referendum: the people spoke, the people decided on the voting system they wanted, and for me as an Aberconwy Member, with health and education and the concerns they have there, it doesn't figure highly on their Richter scale as to what we should be doing here. But you mentioned greater scrutiny. Now, another disappointment I...
Janet Finch-Saunders: ...as to what constitutes a travelling circus. The definition used within the Bill should be tightened to prevent circuses from attempting to circumvent the legislation by re-branding as an educational attraction rather than an entertainment attraction. RSPCA Cymru recommends that the definition could be aligned with the Welfare of Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (England) Regulations...
Janet Finch-Saunders: ...' report, over the past two decades, PISA has become the world's premier yardstick for comparing quality, equity and efficiency in learning outcomes across countries, and an influential force for education reform. This premier yardstick has seen Wales record the worst results of any nation in our United Kingdom. Science is at 488 points here; maths, 487; and reading, 483. These are all...
Janet Finch-Saunders: ..., and Wales is the only UK nation to score below the OECD average in all PISA measures. But also, it's a constructive motion. We call upon the Welsh Government to acknowledge its failure to improve education in Wales and we want to see a guarantee that additional resources arising from increased spending on schools by the UK Government will be invested in our schools in Wales.
Janet Finch-Saunders: What you've said is very credible, but I have a question for you: how many schools have you visited in your constituency in the last six weeks?
