Kirsty Williams: No, it's my fault, sorry. It's working on this one—I'll borrow Lesley's.
Kirsty Williams: I'll have to clean it for her later.
Kirsty Williams: Perfect.
Kirsty Williams: I'm ever so sorry, but I don't have the translation, Presiding Officer. I'm very sorry.
Kirsty Williams: Sorry—
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much to Suzy Davies for those observations and questions. I think it is important to recognise the role of the committee in this regard. When the committee looked at the curriculum, this was the committee's No. 1 recommendation: that we needed, as a Government, to address the professional learning needs of the staff, if the objectives of the curriculum were to be developed. I...
Kirsty Williams: Diolch, Llywydd. As we move closer towards the realisation of our new curriculum for Wales, we are accelerating the pace in developing the professional learning culture and infrastructure to ensure that curriculum reform becomes a reality. Recognising and promoting teaching excellence is one of the priorities in my agreement with the First Minister. It is a key objective of 'Our national...
Kirsty Williams: Siân Gwenllian raised the issue of school funding in general and, of course, I'm not responsible for the day-to-day funding of our schools—that is the responsibility of our colleagues in local government; a function and a responsibility that they hold very dear indeed. Now, the upshot, perhaps, of what Siân is saying is that it is Plaid's policy to have a national approach to school...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I say I welcome this report and I'm very grateful to the committee and its staff both for the report and for the constructive and collaborative approach taken during the inquiry? The report is fair and balanced, recognising the challenges we face and noting where improvements have been made, whilst also suggesting where we might go further to...
Kirsty Williams: We were the future once.
Kirsty Williams: Yes.
Kirsty Williams: As I said earlier, Rhianon, we will look at the recommendation with regard to the plan as part of the feasibility study. What concerns me is that music education doesn't just happen in isolation within the school setting. We have to look at the opportunities in the round, but that's what the feasibility study will look at. To sum up, Deputy Presiding Officer, the committee has set the Welsh...
Kirsty Williams: What I am very pleased to say, though, is that when the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development have looked at our Creative Learning through the Arts programme, they have described it as 'world-leading' and have used it as an example of good practice to other nations that want to do exactly, Lee, what you talked about: introduce elements of creativity within their curriculum,...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, acting Presiding Officer. Before I reply to the points that have been made in the debate and outline the Government's work in this area, I just want to reassure Members across the Chamber that I rarely visit a school where I am not greeted by the musical talents of the pupils in that school—choirs, samba bands, steel bands, violin quartets and a myriad of solo...
Kirsty Williams: I suspect all Members in this Chamber have the equivalent of your eight-year-old nephew who assists them in these matters. I know I certainly do. The Member is absolutely right to draw our attention to the importance of ensuring that our children are well equipped to take advantage of these economic opportunities that are becoming increasingly available. That's why we have invested £1.3...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, David. 'Education in Wales: Our national mission' sets out our approach to ensure our young people are digitally competent and evolve into enterprising, creative and critical thinkers. These skills will feature strongly in our new curriculum and are already embedded in everything a learner does in school through our digital competence framework.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Jack. As you are aware, currently the full package of student support is only available for students who study in the United Kingdom, either full-time, part-time, or at undergraduate or postgraduate level. However, I recognise the benefits some students have from pursuing a period of study abroad. That's why I'm very keen that students should continue to have access to...
Kirsty Williams: Can I say, Presiding Officer, I took the time to sit with the call handlers at Llandudno Junction to watch how they operate and the service that they deliver? And can I say, I was hugely impressed by the dedication of those staff and their commitment to getting it right? So, I certainly, when I was there, didn't witness any silences at the ends of lines, and I'm surprised that the Member...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Jayne. I am very sorry to learn of the difficulties some of your constituents have experienced whilst dealing with the Student Loans Company. I met, the week before last, with the new chief executive of the Student Loans Company at their offices in Llandudno Junction to discuss with her and other senior members of staff my expectations of what we want for Welsh students, and we...
Kirsty Williams: The Student Finance Wales satisfaction rate for the year to date was at 86 per cent, as of 1 October. I remain committed to ensuring that Student Finance Wales provides a service of the highest quality.
