Dawn Bowden: ...with projects that have been delivered from studio sites in Newport, which you've already highlighted. And I thought it was particularly interesting you talking about the cross-over with education, and that fits very much with our support for the national film and tv studios that we have based in Cardiff as well. Skills and training are absolutely crucial and central to everything that...
Dawn Bowden: To turn to Welsh, the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language has already spoken in the Chamber this afternoon about the significant work that’s being done to promote the Welsh language and culture across Wales.
Dawn Bowden: ..., and I know that one of their priorities is to increase the use of Welsh amongst families, and to provide more opportunities for children and young people to use their Welsh outside of the school, as well as increasing opportunities for the wider community and learners to use their Welsh. The Menter Iaith has opened a unit in a prominent position in the market with the intention of being...
Dawn Bowden: ...enables them to make greater choices about how they utilise their funding. Specific capital funds are also provided by Welsh Government for replacement and extensive refurbishment of remodelling of schools and colleges—for example, through the sustainable communities for learning programme. Such projects are now required to deliver net-zero carbon, and often include sports facilities....
Dawn Bowden: —and how it could be developed. A couple of recommendations were focused on improving access to school and community facilities, and Members will be aware that the Minister for Education and Welsh Language has announced £24.9 million to support schools to operate and develop as community-focused schools, reaching out to engage with families and pupils, particularly those disadvantaged by...
Dawn Bowden: ...scheme operates. I was struck by the similarities to what we are already doing here in Wales. Our pupil development grant is designed to help eligible children cover the costs associated with the school day, including school sports kit and equipment, which is primarily what the Kia Tū scheme is about. But other interventions that are already in place that Active Me—Kia Tū is mirroring...
Dawn Bowden: ...while I was there, because the work that they do is very much about participation and physical activity, and they have a scheme there that is funded on a kind of tripartite basis between health and education and Sport New Zealand and so on. And although that is a very successful scheme, and it has achieved the kind of statistics that you're talking about, it's not a million miles away from...
Dawn Bowden: ...a number of organisations that have benefited. St Asaph football club, for instance, has been able to form a new girls under 16 and a new boys under 16, thanks to funding for equipment and coach education. Bala Sailing Club has been able to purchase equipment to improve the transportation of boats to and from the water, which, in particular, will help those participants who are older or...
Dawn Bowden: ...into the national curriculum. And I'll just give you an example. I was very proud to have been invited to an event at the National Museum Wales at Saint Fagan's recently, where a whole range of schools had been engaged in projects about their local communities, and that was a very good example of how you will engage very young children in finding out about their own area and bringing it to...
Dawn Bowden: ...Slate Museum site at Llanberis. To be clear, Heledd, because it may not have been in my statement, the redevelopment of the museum will focus on providing new, improved visitor welcome facilities, education facilities and community facilities to support the international profile that the UNESCO world heritage site will bring. But the redeveloped museum will become the north Wales...
Dawn Bowden: ...Railways, one of the core partners in the site, to restore its buildings at Boston Lodge. An important responsibility for world heritage managers is to transmit the values of the sites through education and interpretation, and here also good progress has been made. A Welsh Government grant of £150,000 has funded unified signage and interpretation across the world heritage site. Work is...
Dawn Bowden: ...Royal Welsh has played a leading role in the development of agriculture and the rural economy in Wales for well over a century. Its work includes providing support to business, social welfare and education in rural communities as well as delivering its charitable objectives. The Royal Welsh estimates it contributes in excess of £40 million per annum to the economy of Wales. The three main...
Dawn Bowden: ...to remember that sports facilitates are not just about the money that goes in through Sport Wales. We have to think about the amount of money that goes into multi-centre sporting facilities in our schools, for instance. So, if we look at the amount of investment that we've had in the twenty-first century schools programme and the current incarnation of that—again, in my own constituency,...
Dawn Bowden: ...points from my kids you wouldn't believe, when I went back and said I'd played esports with JakeyBoyPro. But the point I'm making is there is a huge crossover: sport, entertainment, and, actually, education as well, because of the development of esports games. But, in terms of esport, we do have the crossover between Sport Wales and funding for the development of the professional aspect of...
Dawn Bowden: ...purpose and delivers the media that Wales deserves. Now, I shouldn't have to convince this Senedd that broadcasting is hugely important in Wales. It plays a crucial role informing, entertaining and educating. It's a vital contributor to the growth of our creative industries, to our economy, to our language, and to our democracy. And if its value was ever in doubt, the unprecedented period...
Dawn Bowden: ..., and if we don't come in at a very early age—and I'm sure that my colleague Jeremy Miles will be dealing with this in his statement—if we don't start that at a very early age, through our education system, then we're in very difficult territory. To go back to some of the other points that you've raised, I think what is important, particularly in the areas of representation in terms of...
Dawn Bowden: ...of sport for everyone in Wales, from the grass roots to elite sportspeople. Modern, accessible and sustainable facilities are crucial to encourage people back into sport or into sport. The education estate, through our schools and colleges, also provides an important platform for our sporting facilities. Our sustainable communities for learning programme, formerly the twenty-first...
Dawn Bowden: ...for national listing, this does not mean that it is not of value for its contribution to the local area. The Vale of Glamorgan Council has a local list of county treasures, and while the former school is not included, I would strongly encourage all local authorities to produce a local list and keep it up to date frequently. Unfortunately, this school is not on the Vale of Glamorgan's list,...
Dawn Bowden: ..., the criteria are not met in this instance. The assessment—contrary, Darren, to the point that you raised—did recognise the historical importance of the introduction of intermediate schools for girls, but architecturally, this building has undergone extensive change, both historically and in more recent times. The better preserved a building is architecturally, the better it is able...
Dawn Bowden: Thank you. Can I first of all thank all those Members who have spoken in this debate this afternoon, and for highlighting the strength of feeling towards this former school? And I do understand the strength of feeling that has been expressed, and I've had a similar issue myself, in my own constituency, with the Hoover building, which is hugely important to Merthyr Tydfil for all the reasons...
