Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Jenny, for that. I am aware that my predecessor, Huw Lewis, met with campaigners on this particular issue and statements were issued at that time. I am also aware that my colleague Rebecca Evans is actively pursuing this case and we’ll be working across Government to look at evidence and to look at ways forward.
Kirsty Williams: Can I thank Michelle for her questions? Key to the first set of questions is the issue around professional learning and, as I’ve outlined to previous speakers, there is a comprehensive timeline associated with what we expect to deliver for a national professional learning model, as well as improved initial teacher education. The new teaching and leadership standards are an important part of...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Lynne. The whole purpose of the document is to respond to the OECD’s criticism about a previous lack of communication from the centre, and we have to listen to that and hold ourselves accountable for clarity around that communication and a coherence about all the strands of reform that are going on at the moment. There’s lots of reform, and sometimes people ask the question,...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Llyr, for that set of questions. Could I say that what we have got in the document, I believe, is a very clear set of actions associated with whom we expect to deliver them, whether that be central Government, whether that be tier 2 of our system, the regional consortia, the LEAs and other partners such as Estyn and the Education Workforce Council and schools themselves? And those...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Andrew, for the comprehensive list of questions. The strategy that was announced by the First Minister is the overarching plan for the Government. This document that is launched today adds the meat on the bones that you were asking for just last week, about how the ambitions that are in ‘Prosperity for All’ will actually be delivered. And I make no bones about it:...
Kirsty Williams: Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. I am pleased today to publish the Government’s action plan for education in Wales: our national mission. The global experts on education performance, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, recognised earlier this year that Government and the sector are working closely together with a commitment to improvement ‘visible at all levels of the...
Kirsty Williams: We are building on strong foundations set out in previous plans and programmes. But we can be even better, setting high expectations of our young people and teachers. We are clear about the way forward. Since the OECD’s report, I have reflected on its recommendations. I have spoken to hundreds within the education workforce and listened to the challenge and advice from the scrutiny...
Kirsty Williams: The Member tempts me, Presiding Officer; the Member really does tempt me. But, you’re right, we do need to promote modern foreign languages within our schools, and that’s why we have extended the student mentoring project with Cardiff, Swansea, Bangor and Aberystwyth universities. We have over a quarter of schools working in that programme, where bright, sparky, enthusiastic...
Kirsty Williams: The Member makes an interesting point. I’m not sure that we should be adding more to the Welsh bac. Indeed, listening to professionals, actually, they say they want less in the Welsh bac, so I don’t know whether we’re in a position to add more input into the Welsh bac. What we do need to look at, potentially—there is some anecdotal evidence to suggest that modern foreign languages,...
Kirsty Williams: Well, I would refer the Member to the answer I gave Lynne Neagle with regard to how we are following up on Global Futures. But can I just take this opportunity—I think we’re all, and rightly, concerned about the numbers of students who are taking modern foreign languages, but it’s not all bad news. GCSE results in 2016 showed that Wales had higher A* pass rates and A* to C pass rates...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Lynne. I have noted the language trends survey and I have asked the Global Futures steering group that I referred to in my first answer to review the report at its next meeting, which will take place on 14 July, and report back to me on what more we can do to improve the take-up of modern foreign languages. There is a whole host of reasons why the drop may be happening, but the...
Kirsty Williams: The implementation of the Global Futures plan is overseen by its steering group, which comprises key stakeholders from across the education sector in Wales. The steering group monitors the delivery and the outcomes of the plan, and encourages partnership working to improve and promote modern foreign languages in Wales.
Kirsty Williams: I’m very sorry to hear that there are tensions around the Bae Baglan area. I officially opened the school. It is an impressive, impressive facility, and the expectation, as I said, in our twenty-first century schools programme, is that we build buildings that are flexible assets, with the expectation that the wider community will be able to benefit from the significant investment that Welsh...
Kirsty Williams: Presiding Officer, can I correct the Member? I don’t represent one of the largest rural constituencies in this Assembly; it is the largest single rural constituency, geographically, in this Assembly. It is because of that that I have a deep interest in the subject. And that’s why my previous experience as a backbencher led me to be determined that this Government can take the issue of...
Kirsty Williams: The Member highlights a very important point. After the quality of teaching, a family’s engagement with their child’s education is the second biggest factor that will determine that child’s educational outcomes. So, when I talk about community-focused schools, I am clear that it is not just access to a building. It is an ethos within that school that sees its role as engaging with...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, John. I support the use of schools as community assets. We are working to progress the recommendations from the Public Policy Institute for Wales report on the use of school facilities by communities. The twenty-first century schools programme encourages the construction of flexible assets, especially those that can be used by the school and the community as a whole.
Kirsty Williams: Can I thank Bethan for her question and the intense interest that the Member has shown on this subject over a number of terms here in this National Assembly? I welcome very much the review by the committee that she chairs, and the interest that they’ve taken with regard to this. I’m very concerned that a young person with obvious talent should not be able to participate at a level that is...
Kirsty Williams: The Member will be aware that £1 million has been made available jointly from my department and the department for economy and infrastructure for the establishment and the seed funding of the endowment. The Arts Council of Wales is currently in the process of setting the endowment up, but I will write to the Member with more details about the specific question that she has.
Kirsty Williams: Well, I can certainly agree with the intervention behind me, having sat through a Wagner opera once. It indeed was very, very, very, very long. Can I agree with the Member that we have much to celebrate with regard to music and creative learning through the arts here in Wales? But there is more to do, especially with regard to local education music services, which have gone through a very...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Rhianon. In Wales, all children benefit from music education during the foundation phase and at key stages 2 and 3, when it is a statutory part of the curriculum. Furthermore, the Welsh Government is collaborating with stakeholders across the education and culture sectors to deliver a range of measures aimed at enhancing that provision.
