Michelle Brown: What assessment has Welsh Government made of the most effective ways to help children catch up on the education they have missed during the pandemic?
Michelle Brown: ...as a breach of anti-bullying policy or standards is on an occasion when the complaint has been motivated by political gain. And anyone who thinks that bullying doesn't go on here needs to really educate themselves about what passive-aggressive bullying actually is. If we genuinely want Wales to be governed by people from a more representative cross-section of society, rather than a...
Michelle Brown: ...is essentially nothing to do with furthering justice for them, and unfounded because history shows us that, when a matter is devolved to this Government, far from improving, it gets worse. Both education and the NHS have been devolved to Wales for years, and every year are shown to be worse for the people of Wales than education and the NHS is for every other UK nation. A while ago, I...
Michelle Brown: ...answer, First Minister. On the eighteenth of this month, Qualifications Wales stated that the GCSE brand is 'valued and widely recognised', and should not be ditched as part of the Government's education reforms. This is in direct contrast to the future generations commissioner, who wants GCSEs to be scrapped. I agree with Qualifications Wales, and think that, although GCSEs may need...
Michelle Brown: 1. How does the Welsh Government intend to improve academic outcomes for school children? OAQ54771
Michelle Brown: ...them in this place. I have had no correspondence from the electorate asking for prisoners to be allowed to vote. I do, however, hear from voters concerned about the failing NHS, the failing education system and the failing social care system. No wonder Labour want to change the electorate and allow those who have little or no concern for how fairly society functions to be able to vote for...
Michelle Brown: Thanks for that answer, Minister. On the day GCSE results came out over the summer, school leaders said that they were extremely concerned at the fall in the percentage of 16-year-olds passing Welsh second language at A* to C, and their association called on the Welsh Government to work with them to find out what has caused the 10 per cent fall in grades. But it wasn't just Welsh they were...
Michelle Brown: 1. What assessment has the Minister made of how effective the teaching of the Welsh language is in schools? OAQ54370
Michelle Brown: ...there's a Senedd and a Welsh Parliament, and the proposed new names set out in sections 3 to 8 don't make our roles or those of the bodies of this place any more understandable. And, yes, you can educate people, but the more unclear you make the names of the bodies and Members of this institution, the more taxpayers' money will be needed to educate the population. The intention of the name...
Michelle Brown: ...speaks volumes about their opinion of the Welsh bac. I would therefore be very concerned if I thought that steps had been taken to make the Welsh bac a compulsory part of our young people's education. All the available evidence shows that there are serious problems with the qualification that are nothing to do with a lack of awareness of it, but, in fact, the contrary. That's not to say...
Michelle Brown: ...colleges don't properly understand what it is. However, looking at some of the information in the full report, it's clear that the actual problem the Welsh Government faces is that universities and educational professionals do understand the Welsh bac but don't like it very much. Durham University examined the Welsh bac closely in 2016 after it had been changed a year earlier, and...
Michelle Brown: ...of others? Labour say that they're the party of the NHS and the vulnerable, yet we have a health and social care system that increases inequality. Children of wealthy families won't have their education or career hampered by having to care for a family member. Their life chances will continue to increase, while the child from a poor family will be held back—not by the fact they have a...
Michelle Brown: Thank you for that answer, Minister. There's no denying that teachers are very, very busy during term time, and are possibly feeling under more pressure because of the pressure on education spending, but having INSET days spread throughout the year, forcing many parents to use up a week or more of their annual leave in a way that is basically useless to the family, does make some working...
Michelle Brown: Thank you for that answer, Minister. You'd like to add an extra in-service training day to the Welsh school calendar. It doesn't seem fair that the state can deny a child five or six days of schooling, but if a parent does it to take them on a holiday they might otherwise not be able to afford, they face being fined. If schools are to have INSET days, would it not make sense to have each...
Michelle Brown: Thank you, Presiding Officer. Relating to your earlier announcement about covering the funding for the pension changes, I think schools across Wales are going to be breathing a sigh of relief on that one, so I welcome your announcement. Last year, a review showed that fining parents for taking children out of school in term time in Wales has had no effect on overall absence rates. Is it right...
Michelle Brown: ...that Wales should be a place where there is equal sharing of power, resources and influence between the genders. But none of these very laudable objectives can be achieved without a top-class education system that not only gives girls the academic and social skills needed to excel in life, but gives them the confidence to take up positions of power and authority and challenge the outdated...
Michelle Brown: ...was that it will raise awareness of disability and how little it should matter in modern Welsh life. Surely the same can be achieved for deaf children, if all children were introduced to BSL at school. How many deaf children avoid using play areas because of the difficulties they face when another playful child tries to speak to them? How many more deaf children would get to meet and play...
Michelle Brown: ..., 'The girls are unable to report, the cut heals quicker and prosecution is much harder once evidence comes to light and the girl is older.' That's the end of the quote. So, simply telling girls in school that they should report anyone trying to do it isn't going to work. Increasingly FGM is happening here in Wales, in the UK, so just keeping a note of those girls who are likely to go on...
Michelle Brown: Thank you, Presiding Officer. Good afternoon, Minister. Minister, you've recently announced a new sex and relationships education regime, which is to be imposed on schools and that parents won't be able to opt their child out of. Will you make sure that the new SRE curriculum covers identifying what constitutes abuse, why it's wrong, how to prevent it, and what to do if it happens?
Michelle Brown: ...we have a moral obligation to assist those fleeing persecution and war, but resources are finite, and everyone needs to remember that, for every economic migrant who takes a place in housing, school, hospital and so on, that is one fewer place for a person with nothing, who is fleeing persecution or war, perhaps in fear for their life. This Welsh Government can claim until the cows come...
