Kirsty Williams: Dai, you're absolutely right: we need to look at these issues beyond simply the health and well-being AoLE. Financial education will be a key element within the new curriculum, offering robust provision to help learners develop their financial skills, including the management of their money. I was very fortunate recently to attend a pioneer school in your own region, Olchfa, a year 8 maths...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Darren, for that. I would expect all examination questions and Welsh baccalaureate tasks to be written in an appropriate way. Can I be absolutely clear that what we're talking about here is problem gambling and recognising that as a health issue, an addiction issue, just in the way that there are other addictions? I think we need to be slightly careful when we equate playing the...
Kirsty Williams: I understand your concerns, Mick. You'll be aware that the leader of the house and the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services recently agreed to write to the Advertising Standards Authority with regard to that specific point about the prevalence of gambling adverts. Gambling sponsorship is an issue because many, many children are getting to see those. I am very pleased to let you...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Mick. Education is just one of the means to address problem gambling. One recommendation in the Chief Medical Officer for Wales’s report was to provide those responsible for the health and well-being of children and vulnerable people with further information on the potential harm that gambling can bring.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Oscar, for that question. I am very keen to address the impact of disadvantage on children's education in a variety of ways, and for some families, assistance with school uniform is really important. But as we heard yesterday, in a question to the First Minister from Julie Morgan, there are other ways in which more deprived communities cannot take advantage of the full range of...
Kirsty Williams: It's now called the pupil development grant, because we want to focus on the primary purpose of this grant, and that is to develop the opportunities for some of our most disadvantaged learners. What we do know, Rhianon, is that by targeting investing in our early years, with our very youngest learners, we can address the effects of deprivation on their educational outcomes even more...
Kirsty Williams: That is indeed the question.
Kirsty Williams: Through the regional pupil development grant, we continue to invest unprecedented amounts of funding—in this case, £187 million over the next two years—to support schools across Wales to improve outcomes for our disadvantaged learners. Islwyn are benefiting from the regional allocation to the Education Achievement Service of more than £19 million per annum over this period.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, David. I would agree with you that there is still more work that we can do to ensure that more children take the opportunity of studying modern foreign languages at GCSE level. One of the projects that is proving particularly successful in achieving that aim, which the Welsh Government funds, is the student mentoring project run in conjunction with Cardiff, Swansea, Bangor and...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, David. The teaching of languages is highly valued in our schools, which is why the 'Global futures' plan was published in 2015. Three years into this plan, there is continued commitment and ambition across the education system to improve the teaching and learning experiences of modern foreign languages for all of our learners.
Kirsty Williams: The Member will be aware that rules regarding access to school transport are defined under the Learner Travel (Wales) Measure 2008. All children who live two miles from a primary school are entitled to local authority transport. All children attending secondary school who are three miles away from a secondary school are entitled to local authority transport.
Kirsty Williams: I would encourage all parents everywhere, if they do indeed live within walking distance of their schools, to ensure that their children use active travel measures to attend local schools. Welsh Government supports that by providing a safe routes to schools grant—it's not my grant, it is my Cabinet Secretary colleague who has resources for that—which enables—. I know in my own...
Kirsty Williams: I would refer you to the answer that I just gave Darren Millar. I have made it absolutely clear that my intention is to revise the current school organisation code to create a list of named rural schools and to establish a presumption against closure of those schools. Importantly, as well, with regard to rural education, we cannot just rest on our laurels by keeping institutions open....
Kirsty Williams: Darren, whilst I recognise that the new code cannot be applied retrospectively, as I have said quite clearly, my expectation is that local authorities should be working with the grain of the new code. They are well aware of my intentions and my policy intentions. Any application that is submitted by a local authority, under either the existing code or the future code, is looked at...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Darren. All 22 local authorities have had the opportunity to respond to the consultation. It is fair to say that some have responded more positively than others regarding my proposal to establish a list of rural schools and to ensure that there is a presumption against closure, as a starting point for local authorities. What I would say to local authorities that are...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Darren. My intention is to publish the code before the summer recess. Subject to approval by this National Assembly for Wales, I would expect the new code to be in operation for the new academic year.
Kirsty Williams: Well, Lee, I can confirm that all education department approvals for business cases that are submitted by local education authorities, across Wales, are not to prejudice any processes—statutory processes—that are needed. Schools in Carmarthenshire will have seen investment of £87 million in the band A programme, and a further £130 million will be invested as a result of the band B...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Simon. You'll be aware that the Welsh Government considered the outline business case for the project in April 2017 and that I gave my approval to the local authority to move forward with the business case. I am aware of the delays, but, because of the rules around planning applications, it would not be right for me or, indeed, any other Welsh Minister to comment on those plans. I...
Kirsty Williams: Diolch yn fawr, Simon. I have had no direct discussions. It is local authorities, in this case Carmarthenshire County Council, who identify the preferred sites for their school building projects.
Kirsty Williams: Nineteen schools have closed since May 2016. Three of these schools had no pupils.
