Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, acting Presiding Officer. The independent regulator, Qualifications Wales, yesterday presented us with clear recommendations on the issue of early entry for GCSEs. They engaged widely with teaching professionals in the course of their work and have come to firm conclusions. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank them for their report and considerations. I would also...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Paul. It is really important that there’s a shared understanding around the expectations between school leaders and their staff. Sometimes, those expectations are driven by external accountability measures, so the school leaders are putting work onto staff because they think that’s what is expected from them, either by their regional consortium, by the local education authority...
Kirsty Williams: Joyce, you’re absolutely right. It should not be the job of headteachers to be spending their time trying to source paper or toilet rolls, managing cleaning contracts, or trying to deal with issues around the building or the IT. We need those professional people to focus on teaching and learning, developing the curriculum, and supporting their staff to deliver outstanding experiences and...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Joyce. Reducing unnecessary bureaucracy and enabling teachers to spend more time supporting pupils’ learning is a priority for me and the Government. We are continuing to work closely with the profession to build capacity and reduce workload, through reducing bureaucracy, improved policy delivery and better and smarter ways of working.
Kirsty Williams: The Member makes a very worthwhile point, and we need to consider, always, how we can break down barriers that affect people’s ability to learn. We have, as a Government, developed our youth homelessness pathway, which was launched by the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children late last year, which sets out a comprehensive approach for helping young people to avoid homelessness, and...
Kirsty Williams: As I said, Darren, the establishment of the ACE hub is to help support schools to support children who are suffering from ACEs, and homelessness is a significant ACE. I’ll tell you what, Darren, maybe we could have a deal. I’ll, perhaps, consider issuing statutory guidance when your Government in Westminster stops taking such a draconian view of housing policy towards 16 and 17-year-olds,...
Kirsty Williams: Wales’s progressive legislation on homelessness prioritises households with children and requires all local authorities to find them a home. Homelessness constitutes a significant adverse childhood experience. The establishment of the ACE support hub will help ensure that schools are equipped to provide the most appropriate support to these very vulnerable learners.
Kirsty Williams: I want to be absolutely clear: the EWC has played a part in the development of the professional standards, together with Estyn and the workforce unions, and they have been kept informed throughout the process. It is not my intention at present to extend their remit to professional teaching standards. With regard to the other issue you have raised, my officials have asked the EWC for hard...
Kirsty Williams: Presiding Officer, the Member asks who should own these standards: the profession. The profession should own the standards, and I’m pleased to say there is broad support from the profession for these new standards. Our new proposals replace 55 previous standards with five new key standards, and, of course, the EWC have had a very important role in helping in the development of them. At...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Llyr. The new professional standards for teaching and leadership have been published on Learning Wales and in the professional learning passport, which is, as you will know, hosted by the Education Workforce Council. Newly qualified teachers starting induction from this September are using the new standards, and serving teachers and school leaders will adopt the new standards by...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Oscar, for that question. I want to make it absolutely clear: I do not accept—and I take a zero-tolerance approach to—any bullying within our education system. We cannot expect our children to make the most of their opportunities and to fulfil their potential if they do not feel safe and supported in our schools. You will be aware that the Welsh Government is...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Eluned. You raise some really important points. What we do see if we look at the patterns is a drop-off, at each stage, of young women deciding to choose to study science. So, it drops between GCSE and A-level, it then drops again when people go on to university, and drops again at postgraduate study at university. We recognise that and we are working with my colleague...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Eluned. We have put the well-being of our learners at the heart of our education system and that is reflected in ‘Education in Wales: Our National Mission’. ‘Successful Futures’ contains a specific health and well-being area of learning and experience in recognition of its important link to increased educational attainment.
Kirsty Williams: Let me be absolutely clear, because I’m not quite sure if the Member understands. All students in Wales next year will qualify for a £1,000 non-repayable grant. For students from our poorest backgrounds, they will have the equivalent of a living wage whilst they study to pay for the very accommodation that you just talked about. This is the most progressive system anywhere in Europe. You...
Kirsty Williams: One announcement that has been made by the Conservative Government in Westminster that I welcome very much indeed is that they have agreed to change the repayment threshold for student loans. In fact, I wrote to Jo Johnson, the Minister for universities and science, back in July and in September of this year outlining my concerns about the amount of interest that was being paid on loans, and...
Kirsty Williams: The Welsh Government has been clear in its belief that the English and Welsh higher education systems do not operate in isolation, and we must provide the financial and the regulatory framework to allow our institutions to compete both domestically and internationally. On that basis, I am watching the policy position in England very closely, and I will consider the implications of any changes...
Kirsty Williams: At the heart of my approach to education is the issue of equity. No child should be disadvantaged whether they choose to study through the medium of English, whether they choose to study through the medium of Welsh or whether they choose to attend a bilingual school. I held a summit back in the spring to address this issue around Welsh-medium resources. You were invited and you didn’t come,...
Kirsty Williams: Can I be absolutely clear with the Member with regard to GCSE pass rates this summer? For 16-year-olds, the pass rate was 66.7 per cent, and that is consistent with historic high levels that we’ve seen over the last three years. Importantly for me, results at A* level—the very highest-performing students—have remained stable, and there were improvements in the summer results at A* to C...
Kirsty Williams: What I’m going to do is implement the contents of ‘Education in Wales: Our National Mission’, which was published last week, and which I answered questions on last week in this Chamber.
Kirsty Williams: As I said, the employment arrangements for individual supply teachers are a matter for schools. One of the more interesting examples of an alternative model that the task and finish group looked at was a co-operative model that was set up by teachers themselves in the south-west of England, and I’m very keen to see whether there are any lessons that can be learned from that. With regard to...
