Kirsty Williams: First of all, can I suggest to the Member, if he has not done so already, to read the draft curriculum and assessment Bill? There is no conundrum at all. Teachers cannot, and schools will not be able to, prioritise individual areas of learning and experience because they have equal status within the law. With regard to consultation, I have to say again to the Member that there have been ample...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, David. I published 'The journey to 2022' document just last month to help schools prepare for designing and implementing the new curriculum. I intend to publish a curriculum implementation plan in early 2021 to set out the wider steps that we will take to support schools.
Kirsty Williams: ...an independent capacity review for neurodevelopmental services. It has already been commissioned and that will help us inform the development of further services, both inside and outside educational settings, and that review will commence early in 2021.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Jack. The creation of strong and inclusive schools that are committed to excellence, equity and well-being is a key objective of the national mission. Our additional learning needs reforms will ensure all learners will be able to access a high standard of education to ensure that they reach their full potential.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Jack, for giving me the opportunity to put on record my sincere congratulations to all of those involved at Ysgol Tŷ Ffynnon in Flintshire, which is indeed the very first school in Wales to receive this accolade. It is a testament to the hard work and the dedication of the team of that school to become the living embodiment of that promise of the national mission of fully...
Kirsty Williams: ...to services for children with additional learning needs. But I agree with you, the situation on the ground was patchy in terms of different levels of support. I'm aware of excellent practice, schools that never closed and had their students attending on a daily basis. It is exactly because of that reflection on the experiences in the first period of lockdown that, during the firebreak, all...
Kirsty Williams: ...to them, will also have been making decisions to ensure that the resources are spent in a purposeful way. With regard to data collection, we are awaiting the final returns from some individual schools, and some individual local education authorities, but I'm delighted to say to the Member that I'm very satisfied indeed that our initial targets of approximately 900 full-time equivalents...
Kirsty Williams: Operational guidance is available to all schools and all local education authorities, that includes reference to ventilating buildings. Each member of staff should be subject to a risk assessment. So, any vulnerabilities pertaining to that individual should be taken account of by that individual risk assessment and by the employers. With regards to the rota system that the Member has...
Kirsty Williams: Well, we're rolling out lateral flow testing in the education community as quickly as they are being made available more widely to Wales. So, all of our universities are taking part in the pilot programme, ahead of the end of the academic year, and we have now the Merthyr Tydfil programme, where we are looking to deliver lateral flow testing at school, in our high schools and in the local...
Kirsty Williams: Certainly. And can I say to the Member, she talks about huddling—we've got a lot of huddling going on in schools. As you can imagine, we've received numerous reports from our local authorities about adults huddling together at school gates. And indeed, within the playground setting, the idea that all children are running around and keeping 2m apart, that's a lovely idea, it's a beautiful...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you for that, Suzy. As you have quite rightly identified, we are continuing to see a considerable period of disruption, because of the pandemic, on our education. We are working with schools to minimise that disruption as much as we can. I'm delighted that Pembrokeshire schools that were closed at the beginning of this week are now in a position to reopen. I met yesterday with the chief...
Kirsty Williams: ...the current situation.FootnoteLink I should say that we are encouraging those who are willing to work supply to take up opportunities. Some of the enforced closures that we've seen in some of our schools have been because of an inability to find agency staff to keep schools going. I understand that people may be reluctant to take up a position in an area where they feel that COVID...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Alun. Can I say that supply teachers form a very important part of the education workforce in Wales? But under local management of schools, governing bodies have the flexibility to appoint and deploy supply teachers as they see fit. There is nothing, nothing at all, to prevent local authorities and schools, as the employers of teachers, working together with other key...
Kirsty Williams: ...to universities—the University of South Wales and, indeed, all our institutions of higher education—that have worked incredibly hard over the start of this academic year to maintain quality educational experiences, to look after the welfare of their students, and to play their part in managing public health risk in the middle of a global pandemic. And I'd like to thank the students...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Andrew. You asked about emerging themes; clearly, I'm determined to minimise disruption to students' education, but, obviously, we need to monitor that as part of the overall Government public health response to the pandemic. We’re working very closely with our universities and our student union bodies, and many of the elements that will allow students to return home for...
Kirsty Williams: COVID-19 has had a massive impact on our education system, and our priority is to continue to provide the best for education services. Welsh Government has responded by providing an overarching single fund to support local authorities dealing with the impacts, providing financial assistance for additional costs incurred in dealing with the pandemic.
Kirsty Williams: The operational guidance sets out the mitigating measures schools and settings should take. In responding to the latest SAGE and TAG report, I have strengthened the mitigating measures. All learners and staff in secondary schools and colleges should now wear face coverings everywhere outside of the classroom, including on school transport.
Kirsty Williams: ...most learners have been affected, with the most vulnerable most affected by the pandemic. In response, through our Accelerating Learning Programme, we are providing an additional £29 million to schools to support learners.
Kirsty Williams: Welsh Government has provided Pembrokeshire local authority with a £562,788 grant to recruit, recover and raise standards. This will help Pembrokeshire schools provide extra support at years 11, 12 and 13, as well as for disadvantaged and vulnerable learners of all ages.
Kirsty Williams: ...right to talk about the not insignificant challenges of making real the promise of the ALN Act. And certainly, the impact of COVID-19 on the work of the Government and, indeed, on the work of schools is not insignificant. However, I'm sure she would agree with me that we must make progress and the regulations before us today allow us to do that. With regard to financial resources, the...
