Kirsty Williams: On behalf of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, I would like to express my deepest condolences to Her Majesty the Queen, the royal family and all of those that feel the passing of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, most keenly. The Duke of Edinburgh dedicated his long life to those that he loved, to our country, and to the many causes that he championed. Those causes were...
Kirsty Williams: Well, Presiding Officer, I rise for the final time as one of the originals, the class of 1999 still here, uninterrupted by acts of God, the electorate, or the lottery of the regional list system. But, in all seriousness, it has been a pleasure. But, Llywydd, it has become a little too fashionable to decry politics, to do down democracy, to undermine our own Parliament and Government. And I...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Could I thank colleagues for their comments and acknowledge the work that Alun Davies did on the ALN Bill when he was serving as my deputy in the education department? I'm very grateful for that and I know his own personal commitment to this agenda. Suzy and Siân Gwenllian raised a number of issues. Can I just try and respond, as briefly as I can,...
Kirsty Williams: Apologies. I move the motion.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and apologies. I was going to explain to colleagues about why we needed to suspend the Standing Orders, but I'm grateful for colleagues allowing that to happen so that this debate can now go ahead. I'm very grateful for the work of Mick Antoniw and his committee that have turned around their scrutiny of these Orders just yesterday. I'm grateful to them. In...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. The Additional Learning Needs Code for Wales 2021—
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, David, for your kind words. Can I say I'm very sorry to hear of the experience that your constituent has had? If you would be good enough to let me have further details, then I can assure you that I will ask officials to pursue that with Neath Port Talbot local authority and I would be very pleased to do so, because what we do know is when parents ask for help, sometimes that puts...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Lynne, first of all for your kind words. I guess serving an apprenticeship before becoming a Minister for some 16 or 17 years on committees perhaps gives you a perspective that isn't always present, sometimes. By engaging with you and your committee, I think we have achieved more than if the Government had just tried to move along this path on its own. And can I say, a lot of that...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Siân, for those points. Whilst I in no way disagree with the importance of nutrition for children and the important role that that plays in their education, I think it is just a little naive to think that, and that alone, can tackle the challenges of promoting good well-being and mental health in our schools. Can I say, one of the things that we do know that causes a great deal of...
Kirsty Williams: Deputy Presiding Officer, could I, first of all, thank Suzy Davies for her comments and questions? With regard to the summer, I think the holidays provide a wonderful opportunity to look to support a number of activities to ensure that our children, who have really missed that social contact that Suzy talked about, have an opportunity to do just that. The Member will be aware of our very...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. Colleagues, the last year has been tough for us all. Our way of life changed beyond all recognition as we learned to live with the ever-present danger of coronavirus. The cumulative effect on our wellbeing has been enormous, and even more so for our children and young people. The fear of illness, the impact of furlough or job losses on the adults...
Kirsty Williams: Bethan, as I said, actually, in terms of first degrees that are being studied on a part-time basis in Wales, there's been a 40 per cent increase.
Kirsty Williams: Indeed. Mike, as I said in my opening question, there is nothing to stop local authorities creating a supply list of their own, and may I suggest perhaps the best way forward is to discuss that with Councillor Jen Rayner in your own local authority? I'm sure she'll be very happy to oblige.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Bethan, and this is probably the last question that Bethan will ever ask me, so I just want to wish Bethan all the best. Bethan, since the introduction of our student finance reforms, which are unique in Europe, there has been a 40 per cent increase in first degree part-time students in Wales, and we've also seen a 21 per cent increase in Welsh part-time students from the most...
Kirsty Williams: Supply teachers in Wales can be employed either directly via local authorities or schools, or via commercial supply agencies. Headteachers and governing bodies are responsible for all staffing decisions and for ensuring that they have an effective workforce in place under the Staffing of Maintained Schools (Wales) Regulations 2006.
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Angela. Whilst inspection activities have been suspended during the pandemic, I want to reassure you, and indeed other Members, that Estyn continue to engage with schools that were previously identified as needing an additional level of support. Clearly, that has been done remotely and has been done in a sympathetic way, recognising the conditions under which those schools are...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Angela. Welsh Government has so far provided Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire local authorities with £1,649,000 to recruit, recover and raise standards, supporting learners at crucial stages in their education. I recently announced an additional £72 million to support learners, taking our total support for learning—I was going to use the word 'recovery', but after what I've...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you, Delyth. I think you have hit upon one of the aspects of the interruption to education that has really impacted upon children and young people, and that is a sense of isolation and the inability to spend time with their friends. And that's why schools the length and breadth of Wales have been focusing on that when they have seen the foundation phase return. And, indeed, that...
Kirsty Williams: Thank you very much, Lynne. I, too, am absolutely delighted that the framework has now been published and will be there to support schools in this really, really important aspect of their work, because if we think about the interruption to education that we have all witnessed and our children and young people have experienced, we're not going to be able to move forward from that unless we...
Kirsty Williams: On 15 March, we published our framework on embedding a whole-school approach to emotional and mental well-being. It places well-being at the heart of learning and, together with funding of £2.8 million to deliver well-being support to learners in the current year, to ensure that their return to education is all that it should be.
