Kirsty Williams: Well, Andrew, I don't disagree with you. As I said, we are using the experience of Scotland to guide us in this particular area. So, we are working with the Electoral Commission, who have a duty to provide public information on all elections. The Electoral Commission is developing a toolkit to help people register because that's an important part of the process, that young people understand...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Mick. Well, I've got a 14-year-old at home and she is delighted at the prospect of being able to cast a vote at the next set of elections. But you're absolutely right—[Interruption.] I don't think so. [Laughter.] You're absolutely right that we need to ensure that our children are given the information that they need to be able to exercise these new opportunities. We...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you. Pupils currently study politics and current affairs within the Welsh baccalaureate and through personal and social education in the current curriculum. Our new curriculum has four purposes, including supporting young people to develop as ethical, informed citizens of Wales and the world, who can exercise their democratic responsibilities and rights.
Kirsty Williams: Well, first of all, can I thank David for his own personal commitment to the national mission by serving as a governor? As I said to Mark Reckless, there are some really innovative suggestions in the report authored by Professor Mick Waters and others. What we do know is that good leadership is key to a successful institution, and he has interesting things to say about how we can deploy our...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Mr Reckless. I've been very clear that, following the devolution of these powers, teachers in Wales will not be disadvantaged in comparison to their colleagues in England. Because of the ongoing nature of austerity, the opportunities for pay are perhaps at this point limited, but I think there are some very exciting opportunities around the issue of conditions. Of course you will...
Kirsty Williams: For me, this is the last piece in the education jigsaw and I'm very glad indeed that we've been able to come to this position where those powers are now formally devolved. For too long, we have seen the teachers' pay and conditions regime respond to an agenda from a different Government to support a different education system. This allows us to tailor-make our teachers' pay and conditions to...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Joyce. Presiding Officer, I understand that you've given permission for question 3 and question 5 to be grouped. So, these powers were devolved on 30 September. The first teachers’ pay and conditions to be set by Welsh Ministers will apply from 1 September 2019. These will be informed by a mechanism including in-depth discussion with a stakeholder partnership forum and...
Kirsty Williams: First of all, can I just correct—? It's a technical thing, but it does need to be corrected.
Kirsty Williams: There is not a Barnett consequential to pay for teachers' pay rises. In England, that money has to come out of the Department for Education. These are resources that we have persuaded the Westminster Government it was their duty to provide for us, so it's not a Barnett consequential. Although that seems like a minor thing, actually, it is, in the big scheme of things, quite an important...
Kirsty Williams: —of all kinds.
Kirsty Williams: ALN and children with neurodifferences who may present in school with different sets of behaviours that perhaps could be a point that a bully decides to focus on. So, our new professional learning development, both in initial teacher education and continuing professional development for staff already in the school—it partly does address the ALN, because if we can get it right for ALN...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Suzy. Let me be clear: there is hardly a day goes past when I am not asked to put something in the curriculum, so, believe me, there is a lot of demand for very many subjects to be a statutory element of the curriculum. I don't know if I've ever had falconry, but I have had other things of that ilk that have been suggested to me should be mandatory for all schoolchildren. On the...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Suzy. I had indeed anticipated, at some stage, you would ask this question, because of your times campaigning in this regard. As you quite rightly identify, 'Successful Futures' has challenged us to rethink our approach to the curriculum, and it makes very clear that a high degree of prescription and detail at a national level inhibits, and I would quote from Donaldson's report,...
Kirsty Williams: Clearly, the Member did not particularly listen when I was recently at the Children, Young People and Education Committee giving evidence in this regard. If she had listened, she would be aware of the £2 million-plus investment that has been given to Global Wales via the European transition fund to assist them in marketing HE institutions abroad. In September, I hosted, alongside the...
Kirsty Williams: I have to say, Presiding Officer, that the Member, and perhaps her colleagues around her—but I can never tell whether there is consensus amongst the members of the UKIP group—are the only people who I know, in the FE and the HE sectors, who are approaching Brexit without trepidation. I would urge her to listen to Universities Wales and the FE sector about the very real challenges that are...
Kirsty Williams: I'm very pleased that Cardiff and Vale College are looking to explore new opportunities. International students are very important to both our FE and HE institutions, and I would like to send a very clear message to students across the world that, in coming to study in Wales, they can be assured of a very positive experience. If only I could convince the Home Office not to include their...
Kirsty Williams: Presiding Officer, could I thank Leanne Wood for raising this really important topic? I too was appalled, but not surprised, by the findings of that Plan International UK survey. I want to ensure that education settings in Wales are a place of safety, a place where all girls can be confident and undertake their studies and activities without this threat. And I say that as the Cabinet...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Jane. As you rightly identified, the money that was made available via my colleague the leader of the house was split into capital and revenue streams. The £700,000 capital has been used to invest in school toilet facilities, to ensure that they are designed and have the facilities available to enable girls to manage their periods with dignity. The revenue aspect of the grant has...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Jane. The welfare and safety of all learners is of paramount importance. Our national mission makes clear our objectives to deliver strong and inclusive schools committed to excellence, equity and well-being for all.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Paul, and thank you for the invitation and the opportunity that I had to visit Ysgol y Preseli with you to hear first hand from the staff and the students at the school that participate in that scheme. Since that visit to Ysgol y Preseli, I have been very fortunate indeed to visit the PEAR Institute at Harvard University, which is the partner with Ysgol y Preseli in delivering that...
