Kirsty Williams: Darren, let’s be absolutely clear what I was able to do on coming into Government: it was to find the additional £20 million that had been taken out of the budget whilst I was in opposition, and we’ve been able to make that money available to higher education. But, seriously, I will take no lectures from a Conservative politician with regard to the funding of higher education. You have,...
Kirsty Williams: Darren, let’s be clear: education as a whole in Wales faces a very difficult time given the constraints of the budget that the Welsh Government has available to it, and very difficult decisions have to be made. But I’m sure, having taken such a great interest in the press notice, you will have read the words of David Blaney, the chief executive, who has explained that these cuts are a...
Kirsty Williams: The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales made that announcement. As Darren Millar would well know as the spokesperson for his party, HEFCW is an arm’s-length body and the delivery of that particular announcement was nothing to do with me.
Kirsty Williams: Let us be absolutely clear: in radically reforming the way in which we support children with additional learning needs, that is integral to our national mission of raising standards in Welsh schools and closing the attainment gap. The performance of those children is crucial if we are to see the changes in Welsh education that we need. Now, undoubtedly, there is a resource implication for...
Kirsty Williams: Well, Llyr, I don’t disagree with your analysis of the impact of days lost to teaching. The issue is what to do about it. As I said in my first answer to you, we have a variety of work streams looking to try and avoid that problem in the first place—i.e. not to be reliant on supply teachers, but, actually, to keep teachers well, resilient and in front of our children in the classroom. I,...
Kirsty Williams: Well, Llyr, as we rehearsed in the committee this morning, one of my priorities is to ensure that we have an excellent and outstanding workforce in all aspects of education, and workload concerns are very real. They vary greatly across the education workforce; they’re not just confined to teachers in schools, as you have recognised. Different issues and priorities arise depending on a...
Kirsty Williams: I think what’s absolutely crucial is that we take into consideration what young people themselves will find useful. And I’m sure all of us will be aware of situations where people have found themselves perhaps doing the photocopying for a week, and that isn’t necessarily the most useful or stimulating or inspiring kind of placement. So, we do have to focus on the quality of those...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Rhun. First of all, I welcome the fact that we both recognise that work placements and work experience have a valuable role to play. I hope you will be pleased to note that I have identified some resource, some £2.4 million over the next four years, to support stronger work between schools and employers, and I will make an announcement shortly on how that is to be spent. I...
Kirsty Williams: Diolch yn fawr, Rhun. Well-planned, structured work experience placements can provide young people with a valuable insight into the world of work. Schools and local authorities are responsible for providing pupils with work-focused experiences as part of the delivery of the careers and the world of work curriculum framework.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, David. The revised Welsh baccalaureate highlights the importance of developing the essential skills and presents opportunities for the co-operative and mutual sector to engage, through the enterprise and employability challenges, and the community challenges. Organisations are therefore being encouraged to develop or become involved in the delivery of those challenges, within...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Jeremy. As part of their rapid policy review, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development identified our comprehensive schools system, which emphasises equity and inclusion as one of the strengths of Welsh education. We are making considerable gains towards a self-improving system in Wales. And we must build on these foundations and continue to develop those...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Jeremy. Our national mission of education reform is building an inclusive and equitable education system that supports every learner. We are continuing to strengthen our approach to policy co-construction across the three-tier model, and will work closely with our partners to develop our new curriculum and our new professional teaching standards.
Kirsty Williams: Gross schools expenditure in Cardiff last year was budgeted to be over £288 million, 3.8% higher than in 2015-16. Cardiff delegated over 88% of the funding to schools giving a delegated budget of over £254 million - a 5.7% increase from the previous year, the highest percentage increase in Wales.
Kirsty Williams: A strong and vibrant higher education sector is crucial to the future wellbeing and prosperity of Wales. The reforms I announced in November in response to the Diamond Report will create a more sustainable higher education sector in Wales and provide the most generous student support package in the UK.
Kirsty Williams: The Welsh Government is committed to improving the continuity and progression in learning for all learners moving from primary to secondary school. We have legislation in place requiring secondary schools and their feeder primaries to draw up transition plans to support the transition of learners from primary to secondary school.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Michelle, for the comments and the questions. I think what is absolutely crucial is that we enable our children to have the knowledge of how they can stay safe online, how they can use technology in everyday life, but also, crucially, as you said at the end, that their knowledge goes beyond that and they actually understand the workings of how that technology is being put...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Lee, for that. As you said, implementation is everything and the document in itself will not get us there. I think what is absolutely clear is that, in ensuring successful implementation, we need a number of factors. We need individual teachers who feel confident and skilled in the use of the DCF, and I outlined to Llyr some of the proactive ways in which we are making...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Llyr, for your support for the importance of digital competency and recognising that if we are to give our children the very best opportunities to compete in the global market place, being digitally competent is absolutely crucial to them. With regard to Hwb—and apologies for not answering Darren Millar’s question in the first session—it is very encouraging to see the...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Darren, for your comments and your questions. As I said in my statement, equity of access to these facilities is very important to me, and you are right to say that, until recently, some schools were not in a position to access the DCF and do the kind of work they wanted to do in digital terms because of a lack of infrastructure. The previous Government had made a...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Presiding Officer. As I have said before in this Chamber, education reform is our national mission, and I am determined to ensure that our young people have the opportunity to reach their full potential. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development recently published a report on our reforms, acknowledging the widespread commitment to improving teaching and learning in...
