Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Laura. You're correct to say that access to digital devices is one part of the challenge. Since the pandemic began, we have made available approximately 106,000 devices for schools, which they can lend out to children. In the autumn term, we established with our local authority partners a distance learning working group to further understand the barriers to children accessing...
Kirsty Williams: ...investment in devices, and the enhanced £29 million accelerated learning programme. Building on guidance to support blended learning, further guidance has been published today to enable schools to effectively support learners.
Kirsty Williams: ...to meet their full potential, regardless of their background or circumstances. We continue to provide additional investment to ensure that all children and young people have equal access to an education during the pandemic and beyond.
Kirsty Williams: I continue to be guided by the latest scientific/medical advice. In addition, schools and colleges are being given the opportunity to perform serial testing of close contacts from this month. This will help to reduce the need to self-isolate and reduce the risk of asymptomatic transmission within schools and colleges.
Kirsty Williams: We remain the only Government in the United Kingdom to provide universal breakfast for primary school pupils and of course, we have plans to see what we can do to extend that provision for year 7 pupils. We were the first Government to confirm funding over the Easter and half-term holidays in 2020 and funding for the provision of free school meals from September 2020 through to Easter 2021,...
Kirsty Williams: ...We do indeed, as has been referenced in the debate, have the most generous Government in the UK when it comes to providing support for those who need it the most. Ensuring the continuation of free school meal provision has, and will, continue to be a key priority as we respond to the coronavirus pandemic. And it may be useful to remind everyone of what we've been able to achieve so far.
Kirsty Williams: ...be absolutely clear: a new curriculum is at the centre of that, but a curriculum on its own can't do all the heavy lifting, and that's why the curriculum is part of a wider set of Welsh Government education reforms that focus on improvement in pedagogy, that focus on a reformed initial teacher education programme—the largest single investment in professional learning that we have ever...
Kirsty Williams: ..., and that provides a very clear signal as to the priority that we give to this. Members will also be aware that we have launched a consultation on the draft non-statutory guidance for categorising schools according to their Welsh-medium provision. I sympathise greatly with the calls for this to be made statutory. However, that is beyond the scope of a curriculum and assessment Bill, and...
Kirsty Williams: ...our new curriculum and assessment arrangements. The Curriculum for Wales, supported by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and at the very heart of our mission to reform education, will help raise educational standards for all and close the attainment gap. I would like to thank the respective committees for their thorough and constructive approach to scrutiny, and...
Kirsty Williams: Certainly. With regards to primary schools, we have to recognise—I have to recognise—that the responsibility for primary schools lies with individual governing bodies, advised by their local authorities. Welsh Government's advice has been clear that primary education should continue to the end of term, and I'm very grateful for all teachers who have worked incredibly hard over this...
Kirsty Williams: ...there were no objections from either. We have previously discussed, from our learnings on the firebreak situation, some of the issues that we need to be cognisant of, with a special regard to the education of vulnerable learners, and we have sought to give flexibility to ensure that those vulnerable learners can be catered for in their high school or FE colleges during this week. Moving...
Kirsty Williams: ...Presiding Officer. I formally move the motion on the order paper. As I set out last week, following advice from the chief medical officer and Public Health Wales, it was recommended that secondary schools move to remote learning from 14 December until the end of term. As everybody in this Chamber is well aware, rates of transmission are currently increasing, and we are sadly on course to...
Kirsty Williams: ..., indeed, this precise point that you made, that, now more than ever, attention to children's well-being, both their physical and their mental well-being, is at the forefront, and that's why many schools are anxious to continue to pursue the new curriculum, because, under our area of learning and experience entitled 'health and well-being', and the 'what matters' statements that lie...
Kirsty Williams: ...you to tell her 'thank you' for what she is doing at the moment? Our NHS and social care staff have done tremendous work for us during this pandemic, and people often forget that our teaching and educational professionals and our youth workers are also on the front line. So, please tell her 'thank you' for me and 'thank you' for her enthusiasm and the promise that the new curriculum...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Helen Mary. All our schools have faced, as I said, unprecedented challenges this year, and many in mid and west Wales, though, are making good use of the new curriculum guide and thinking about their future curriculum developments. I understand schools' access to support and professional learning is increasing in the region as we move towards 2022.
Kirsty Williams: Well, Jayne, the best thing we can do to minimise disruption to education is to get community transmission levels down in all of our communities, because it is community transmission that is leading to cases in our schools and the disruption that you discussed. We are working and providing best advice and examples of good practice to all schools with regard to bubbling and what constitutes a...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Leanne. I recognise the immense strain that teachers have been under since schools returned to full opening in September, just like the immense strain that all of our public sector workers have faced. I want to say that evidence to date from the latest Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies paper and the technical advisory cell paper says that, when looking at the teaching...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Leanne. I continue to be guided by the latest scientific and medical advice. We have recently agreed with higher education institutions across Wales the opportunity of piloting asymptomatic testing of students and staff, and we also intend to offer testing to students and staff in secondary schools, as well as the local college, as part of the mass testing programme in Merthyr Tydfil.
Kirsty Williams: ...who continue to live with the consequences of that violence day in, day out. And that is precisely, precisely why we need to ensure that every child—every child—has the right to relationship education within our curriculum. It is an integral part of how we can ensure that those purposes of the curriculum, including healthy confident individuals who are ready to be active citizens and...
Kirsty Williams: Well, Laura, you are absolutely right—it is the priority of this Government to minimise the interruption to children's education in the light of this pandemic. Undoubtedly, there has been a significant impact on schools at this time, but, as Estyn has confirmed, there remains a great deal of enthusiasm and support for curriculum reform, and they also advise that important gains have been...
