Kirsty Williams: There’s also a consensus amongst parents and, indeed, teachers, that class sizes makes a real difference. Indeed, in the most recent industrial action that we’ve seen from teachers across the border in England, growth in class sizes was their largest concern. Now, I recognise that class sizes alone is not the only thing we that we need to address to raise educational standards in Welsh...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Darren, for that question. As I said prior to the summer recess, officials and I are studying the evidence of how best we can implement such a policy, especially as we know that smaller class sizes have the potential to make the biggest difference for children who are from our most deprived backgrounds, for children whose first language is not Welsh or English, and where we know...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Mark. As I’ve said to previous Members, the Outdoor Education Advisers’ Panel guidance is a web-based resource that is kept up-to-date constantly with changes in legislation and good practice by a working group of experts in the field. That website also has links to other relevant advice, whether that be from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or from the Health and Safety...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Julie. I’m grateful to both you and Steffan for recognising the importance of school trips and foreign visits as a part of an exciting curriculum that we can offer children and young people in Wales. They are an important part of education. Schools and local authorities that organise school trips should be aware of their duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974,...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Steffan. Can I take this opportunity to offer my condolences to Glyn’s family for the tragic loss that they have suffered? I know that they are moved out of a sense of altruism to ensure that regulations are as good as they can be, so that no family should have to go through what they have been through. I am aware that the First Minister’s office continues to look at some of...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Steffan. Up-to-date advice on foreign trips is produced by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. This advice is also signposted in all-Wales guidance for education visits, written by the Outdoor Education Advisers’ Panel for Wales and the Health and Safety Executive. This advice is accessible from the Welsh Government’s website.
Kirsty Williams: Yes, I can confirm that we will monitor issues around postgraduate numbers very closely. The Member is absolutely right, the Coleg Cenedlaethol has been a great success. It has been wonderful to see the opportunities afforded to students across Wales to be able to study law in Welsh, journalism in Welsh, and a range of other courses. As you will be aware, we are in the process of setting up a...
Kirsty Williams: Can I thank the Member for her questions? International students are vital to the health of Welsh higher education, and they are very welcome here in Wales, whichever part of the world they come from. I issued a statement to that effect immediately after the referendum. We welcome international students to our universities. They contribute to the rich tapestry of people who gather together to...
Kirsty Williams: Can I thank Jenny Rathbone for her questions? As I stated earlier, I believe the recommendations and the principles endorsed by the Cabinet keep faith with the Labour Party manifesto, in that the Labour Party said that the system would be more generous than in England, and if we implement this, that will be the case. With regard to people who are looking to study part-time, this is one of the...
Kirsty Williams: Can I thank the Member for his questions? He asked whether we will be able to make the scheme available for part-timers straight away. I’m now caught in a dilemma: Members expect this to be delivered as a package and now some Members want little bits of it to be delivered earlier than others. I think the issue is, David, that we see this package in the round and I want to be able to move...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Simon, for your questions. Can I absolutely assure you that I in no way at no point had any conversations with Sir Ian Diamond or the panel about changing its remit? You really, really should know better than to believe everything that is sometimes stated. So, I can assure you. So, by all means, FOI as much as you like. There was no instruction to Sir Ian Diamond to change the...
Kirsty Williams: Could I thank the Chair of the Children, Young People and Education committee for her warm welcome of Sir Ian’s work? We will be unique in the entirety of the UK in offering a system that is both portable and equal to all modes of study. We’ve already talked about the importance of part-time students, but it’s also right that we should be in a position to assist postgraduate study....
Kirsty Williams: Thank you to Mr Reckless for his series of questions. I know that you are relatively new to Wales, but there is an honourable tradition in Welsh public policy of the principle of universalism in a progressive system. It is one that has enjoyed a consensus of many of us in this Chamber, and I am delighted that Sir Ian has continued with that principle in the report today. I firmly believe that...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Darren, for that. Can I, too, join you in thanking the Conservative nominee for his participation in the work of the review? Again, I’m very grateful for that. You raise a very good point regarding cohort protection, and I want to make it absolutely clear today that students who are already in the system and enter into the system on one specific student support package...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Llyr. Can I thank you for the courtesy that you have extended to Sir Ian? Sir Ian and his colleagues on the review panel, I think, have done an impressive piece of work, and I’m grateful to the Plaid Cymru representative on the panel for his assiduous work with Sir Ian. I’m grateful, indeed, for that. Sustainability is a key element to the Government’s response to...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Presiding Officer. Today, I have published the final report from the review of higher education and student finance in Wales, chaired by Professor Sir Ian Diamond. I am very grateful to Professor Diamond and to all the panel members from across the political parties, the sector and industry for the time and effort that they have dedicated to the review since it began in April 2014....
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, acting Presiding Officer. Could I begin by thanking Vikki, Julie and Rhianon for the contribution to this important debate this afternoon? I’m very pleased to have this opportunity to reinforce our commitment to the importance and the unique value of outdoor learning for children and young people the length and breadth of Wales. The evidence, as Vikki has said, is...
Kirsty Williams: Mr Hamilton, I read with interest your comments on my parents’ choice. I think it’s very remiss of you to attack my parents, who are no longer alive and therefore can’t answer for their decisions. Surely, what would be much more relevant, Mr Hamilton, are the choices that I’ve made for my children, and I’m very proud that they attend comprehensive schools in my constituency.
Kirsty Williams: And those pupils have access to a broad-based curriculum in our schools at the moment. But I for one am not prepared to rest on my laurels, Mr Rowlands. I want even better schools in Wales—for my kids, and for all the children of this country. We’ve got some great examples of schools collaborating with FE colleges, which, as Lynne Neagle says, seems to be completely forgotten in the...
Kirsty Williams: If I could make some progress, please. As well as focusing on quality of teaching and learning, Wales actually has a very positive story to tell on the vocational offer. For some years we’ve had a very strong policy in the 14-19 learning pathway, which provides learners with a broad-based curriculum. I’ll give way.
