Kirsty Williams: Paul, I'm sorry to hear that some of your constituents feel that the English language GCSE paper that was set this year was not appropriate for their children's needs. I am aware that a number of the questions on that paper, for instance, referred to explaining what a 'selfie' was, explaining what 'going viral' was, and the whole issue around social media. Of course, there may be some...
Kirsty Williams: I will indeed, Paul. I remain fully committed to meeting the needs of all of our learners, including those with autism. Our ambitious additional learning needs reforms will completely overhaul the existing system for supporting learners and will put in place an integrated, collaborative process of assessment, planning and monitoring of support that is delivered.
Kirsty Williams: As I said earlier, we are investing £100 million over the course of this Assembly term in raising school standards. We are investing over £2 billion with regard to school buildings, as well as a large number of initiatives aimed at addressing specific needs within the curriculum. But I have to say, Presiding Officer, that it's only a few weeks ago that the Conservative members of Powys...
Kirsty Williams: The Welsh Government, regional consortia and local authorities are collectively supporting schools in Powys to improve educational standards, in line with our priorities set out in 'Our National Mission'.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you. As you said, Mandy, last year we announced investment of over £1 million in developing code clubs across Wales, and we have seen an increase in that. I will write to the Member with the exact figures for participants if we are able to get them.FootnoteLink Only last week at the national digital learning event I was able to meet children from the length and breadth of Wales who are...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you. Schools from across Wales are now embracing digital learning ahead of our new exciting curriculum. I was delighted to see schools from north Wales contribute to our recent national digital learning event, and these schools are supporting others to realise our national mission to make all of our learners digitally competent.
Kirsty Williams: Well, Bethan, this is an issue of social justice for me. No child's educational outcomes should be dictated to because of the circumstances of their birth or of their family's ability to support their education. That's why I make no apologies, as I said, for spending over £90 million this year on the education of those learners. Now, what we know is that schools find this resource...
Kirsty Williams: Well, firstly, can I correct the Member? It's no longer called the pupil deprivation grant, it is now called the pupil development grant. The Member is correct to say that after a number of years where we have seen an increase in the level 2 plus attainment level at GCSE for our children on free school meals and our looked-after children, unfortunately that cohort of children coped less well...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Caroline. We continue to invest unprecedented amounts of funding through the pupil development grant: £187 million over the next two years will support schools across Wales to improve the outcomes for our disadvantaged learners, and this includes more than £25 million in the South Wales West region alone.
Kirsty Williams: The Member does raise an important point. Where a child with additional learning needs is able to travel safely with their peers on school transport, then that is something to be considered, but we also need to consider the entire safety of the cohort on school transport. That's why we have behaviour codes that parents and children have to sign up to if they're travelling on school transport....
Kirsty Williams: Well, I have to say, with regard to compulsory school education, all local authorities have to abide by the learner travel Measure, which states very clearly who is and who is not entitled to free school transport. It also sets out that expectation with regards to access to Welsh-medium education. It also says that any route undertaken by a child, especially if that route is a walking route,...
Kirsty Williams: Firstly, can I say that a great many children travel to school on public transport and they do that successfully and safely every day? School transport actually comes under the portfolio of my colleague the Cabinet Secretary for the economy, and the rules regarding school transport are set out in the Learner Travel (Wales) Measure 2008, which was passed by the Assembly a number of years...
Kirsty Williams: Well, of course, Darren, I absolutely accept that there are funding pressures within the education system, because I have the unenviable task of having to make those tough choices, but I'm afraid this is what a Tory austerity agenda looks like. You cannot say on the one hand that you want austerity and on the other hand say you want further investment in our public services, when your...
Kirsty Williams: Well, Darren, of course, when one in four parents expresses less than perfect satisfaction with their children's secondary education, then I want to see that figure improve. I want all parents in Wales to feel that their secondary schools are doing a good job by their pupils. That's why we are reforming our GCSEs; that's why we are reforming the way in which we train our teachers; that's why,...
Kirsty Williams: Darren, I'm sure that you are aware of 'Education in Wales: Our national mission', a mission that is to raise standards, close the attainment gap and ensure that we have an education system in Wales that is a source of national pride and enjoys public confidence. That's why we've embarked on this radical programme of education reform in this nation.
Kirsty Williams: Well, as I said, Mark, the door is open, and I would very much welcome a continued discussion about how we can improve data collection for adopted children, as long as we don't force parents to divulge information that they may not want to divulge. What's also important is that we continue to look at the education of these children in the round, and that sometimes does mean that we need to...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Dawn. It is important that we recognise that resources aren't necessarily the answer to all the issues that are faced by looked-after and adopted children in our education system. But the looked-after children element of the pupil development grant actually stands, for 2018-19, at approximately £4.5 million, and that is available to support the education of adopted...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Dawn. 'Our National Mission' is clear on our commitment to deliver real and lasting improvements in the educational experience and outcomes of our disadvantaged learners. Adopted children can often face challenges and barriers in their education, and improving their well-being, alongside that of all learners, is a key theme running through our educational reforms.
Kirsty Williams: Admissions authorities must comply with the Welsh Government’s school admissions code. The code aims to safeguard the interests of children, parents and schools by ensuring that school admissions are administered in the fairest and most equitable way possible.
Kirsty Williams: In 2016, the Welsh co-operative and mutuals commission did a review, which recommended a co-operative ethos should be the central organising principle of the education system in Wales. Our national mission of education reform, developed through co-construction, is building an inclusive and equitable education system which supports every learner.
