Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Presiding Officer. There has never been any dispute about our collective support for the principles of both conventions. The commitment to advancing the rights of children, young people and those with a disability is a priority I know that we all share. The Bill is drafted with children’s rights at its very core. The legal duties it contains already safeguard and promote the...
Kirsty Williams: Turning to the advice element of the duty, the Bill is already clear that it must be impartial. Section 6, together with section 7, requires the local authority, in making arrangements to provide information and advice, to have regard to the importance of children, their parents, and young people being provided with the information and support necessary to enable them to have full...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. May I start also, like Darren Millar, by taking a brief moment to thank all of those involved in getting the Bill to this point? In particular, I'd like to thank the previous Minister. I know delivery of the Bill and the transformation programme was a priority for him. I would also like to thank the Assembly committee involved in scrutinising the Bill,...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Simon. Can I put on record how fantastically I think the new vice-chancellor at Aberystwyth, Elizabeth Treasure, is doing? We've seen some really impressive student satisfaction results from the university and the example of that partnership working with London to establish partial veterinary education in Aberystwyth is very welcome indeed. I've yet to have discussions with the...
Kirsty Williams: Diolch yn fawr, Simon. The reforms that we are implementing in response to the Diamond review will create a sustainable and progressive higher education funding settlement for Wales that supports students when they need it the most, and enables our universities to compete domestically and, as we've just heard, internationally also.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Joyce. We are currently working with the sector to promote the profession, as I said, and our incentive scheme for priority subjects that is available to eligible students now. My recent announcement regarding amendments to the scheme, such as including computer science as a top priority, will be available to eligible students from September 2018. We are also working...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Joyce. We want teaching, as I said to Caroline earlier, to be a first-choice profession so that we can attract the very best to Welsh schools. In addition to our incentives, we are working with the sector to actively promote teaching, to recruit the very best and brightest individuals into the profession.
Kirsty Williams: Presiding Officer, the Member is just too modest to tell us about his time spent at Harvard. I myself got as far as sitting on the steps of the library of Harvard this summer whilst on holiday, but I had to settle for a year at the University of Missouri in Columbia, which is perhaps not quite as auspicious as the Member's time at Harvard. But the Member makes a very good point: Seren isn't...
Kirsty Williams: Come on, say it. [Laughter.] Go on. [Laughter.]
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Caroline. I'd be very pleased to share with the Chamber, if Members are not aware, the latest Universities and Colleges Admissions Service data on applications to Oxford and Cambridge universities and also to vet courses and medical courses, where the applications have to be made by 15 October. I'm very pleased to say that there has been an upturn in applications to that....
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Caroline. The Seren network has been established to support young people in their ambitions to apply to leading universities across the UK and internationally, and that includes Oxbridge. Feedback this year suggests that many more applications are now being made to both Oxford and Cambridge universities, who are active and strong supporters of our Seren programme.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Andrew, for what I think is a very fair point. We have resources allocated to continuous professional learning of our teaching and non-teaching staff. We are developing a national approach, so regardless of where you find yourself employed in Wales, you will have access to moderated and robust training programmes. It is right to identify the challenge of creating the space for...
Kirsty Williams: I have made a commitment in 'Education in Wales: Our national mission—Action Plan 2017-21' to ensure our teachers are well supported by a range of learning support professionals who can provide the additional capacity that is needed to meet the needs of every child. Let me be absolutely clear on the opportunities that are available. Support is available for teaching assistants to access up...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Mr McEvoy. There are a number of opportunities for teaching assistants to undertake vocational courses endorsed by Qualifications Wales up to level 3. There are level 5 courses, which are foundation degrees and are delivered by higher education providers. Individuals can access a range of funding sources to undertake these courses.
Kirsty Williams: I think it's important to remember that as a Welsh Government we do not directly employ teachers; that is a matter for individual schools and governing bodies. I would expect any teacher who had concerns about how they were being treated in their workplace to be able to raise that with the headteacher, but if that was not appropriate, then with their governing body and within their union, as...
Kirsty Williams: I thank the Member for that. In our national mission, we establish a new priority, which is the issue of well-being, recognising that children cannot make the most of their educational opportunities if issues around their well-being are not being addressed. I also want Wales to be the place to be an educational professional. Issues around work-life balance, respectful workplaces and workload...
Kirsty Williams: I would be very happy to give the Member that absolute assurance. I have a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of bullying in Welsh education.
Kirsty Williams: I'm very glad, Presiding Officer, that Darren Millar supports the Welsh Government's policy of the pupil development grant, which this year will be worth some £91 million to our most deprived children's education. Despite the severe pressure that this Government finds itself under in terms of budgets, we've been able to maintain our commitment to those children who are on free school meals...
Kirsty Williams: Believe me, Darren, in arriving at the budget, I have carried out a line-by-line examination of the resources available to me and to match them to the national mission. The Member will also be aware of this Government's commitment, across Government, to put resources to the front line, via the revenue support grant to local authorities. I'm having very robust conversations with...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Darren. What I'm doing in Government is to coping with extremely difficult financial constraints that have been placed upon us primarily by the austerity agenda that is being pursued by your colleagues in London. If we want to do something about education funding in the round, then I would urge the Chancellor, in his budget next week, to follow the advice of the NAHT...
