Kirsty Williams: Deputy Presiding Officer, I open this debate today by thanking Meilyr Rowlands for his third annual report as chief inspector of education and training in Wales. As well as providing evidence on performance and standards, the chief inspector's report will inform policy development and drive improvements in education. Estyn's 2016-17 annual report looks at progress over the past seven...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Mark. And I really do welcome—and I mean this sincerely—your interest in this programme. I know this is a particular area that you are keen to see develop and work well for Welsh students, and I welcome the extra scrutiny, which keeps me on my toes to make sure I'm in a position to answer your questions. We are looking at the effectiveness of all the interventions, and, as we...
Kirsty Williams: Can I thank Caroline for her questions? The first evaluation that we've had of the Seren network made a recommendation that we should look to bring Seren earlier into a child's schooling career and I think there are real benefits and the network is well placed to do that. For instance, in choosing GCSE subjects, that can have a profound effect on a student's ability to go on and study...
Kirsty Williams: So, this is a first in the FE sector. We've already produced that guidance in that sector, and now we are looking at what we can do in the schools, because, Llyr, you talked about the issue of identification. One of the problems that we have is that what more able and talented looks like in one school is different in another school, so we need to get a universally understood definition of the...
Kirsty Williams: Could I thank Llyr for his questions? Can I start by going back to the point about further education? I'm committed to meeting the needs of more able and talented learners within the further education sector as well as in the schools sector. We have for the first time produced guidance tailored to the needs of FE learners. This is not just for those whose ability lies in the more traditional...
Kirsty Williams: Darren is right to say that there is an inconsistency in approach to Seren. He says that we don't know how many of those pupils have gone on to study at our top universities. There is a reason for that, because it is the students that are sitting their A-levels this summer who are the first complete cohort of Seren support. We do need, I acknowledge, to improve the way in which we track...
Kirsty Williams: If I could deal with the points that Darren has made—Darren, as you well know, I am not satisfied with current Welsh performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment. What a close examination of the PISA results tells us is that one of the reasons we are not doing as well as I would like is because the attainment of our more able and talented pupils in Wales does not...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. This Government’s action plan for education, 'Our National Mission', commits us to a system that combines equity with excellence. It is these values that ensure that we succeed for all pupils and teachers, with an inclusive, innovative public service education. We can be rightly proud of the success of the pupil development grant in raising aspirations...
Kirsty Williams: I thank the Member for that. I've been very clear that, in order to protect front-line delivery for schools, I am prepared to make difficult decisions, and, in that regard, as governor support is already provided through local authorities and regional consortia, as the Member has said, we will be ending the grant to Governors Wales. We're not seeking to replace or replicate the support...
Kirsty Williams: The Welsh Government will support governors by working with the regional consortia to strengthen the national model for regional working and we will also respond to the consultation on school governance with proposals for a revised and simplified regulatory framework.
Kirsty Williams: Perhaps there's one silver lining to the predicament I find myself in: at least the Welsh Liberal Democrats can claim 100 per cent female representation in this particular Assembly term. [Laughter.] Although, I must admit that's not a particular silver lining I would have welcomed. I have always, throughout my political career, paid tribute to other political parties that, I believe, took...
Kirsty Williams: I think, Suzy, you're absolutely right: we need to really challenge some stereotypical images that people have. That's why I'm aware that my Cabinet colleague, Julie James, only this week was involved in the This is Me launch at a local college, really challenging what it means to be male or female and what that might mean in terms of the expectations you have of yourself, or that your peers...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Jayne. I was delighted to listen to reports on the media yesterday of the unveiling of the plaque. It's sad that it's taken such a long time, really, for this amazing woman to be recognised by her home community when the French Government, over many, many years, at the time, recognised her immense contribution. There is a variety of ways in which we work with a number of...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Jayne. We want our young people to be ethical, informed citizens of Wales and the world, and healthy, confident individuals, ready to lead fulfilling lives as valued members of society. That means promoting positive female and male role models in the classroom.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Mark. I want to take this opportunity to recognise your personal commitment to this agenda. You will have heard in my answer to Julie Morgan that I'm being as good as my word in opposition as I am in Government in the fact that we have given a grant to Welsh Women's Aid to help develop resources for schools with regard to what safe, respectful and nurturing relationships look like....
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Julie. Any Member who spends any time visiting children and asking them about their current experiences of education in PSE lessons will have heard a similar complaint. Currently, what we're delivering for children in terms of sex and relationship education is not what they want and is not equipping them, in many cases, with the information that they need. You're right to say...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Julie. I am committed to improving sex and relationship education in schools in a variety of ways. That is why I have given £50,000, for instance, to Welsh Women’s Aid to develop SRE resources. I am also considering how the recommendations of the SRE expert panel can inform plans to improve SRE delivery now and in the future.
Kirsty Williams: The planning of school places is primarily the responsibility of individual local authorities, who I would expect would be able to ensure that when dealing with, for instance, new housing developments, they have taken into consideration the ability of people who may live in those areas to be able to respond to educational needs. If the Member has any examples where she feels that that is not...
Kirsty Williams: On the issue of paperwork, we are carrying out a bureaucracy project to look to see what paperwork we can take away from teachers. We're employing business managers via our pilots so that those tasks that are not related to teaching and learning can be taken on by another professional in the school, and we have sent out a myth-busting document that demonstrates quite clearly our expectations...
Kirsty Williams: Well, the Member is right to say that workload is a continuing concern for the workforce and, indeed, for me. Workload concerns vary greatly across the education family, however. Different issues and priorities are raised depending on a variety of factors, including which school phase somebody finds themself working in, rurality, deprivation, subject area or the role that they have within an...
