Leanne Wood: ...fully devolved? Do you agree that more needs to be done in terms of giving teaching staff not just the resources but also the confidence to tackle and challenge racist attitudes when they arise in school? Do you accept that you haven't acted fast enough in tackling these inequalities that I've referred to? And while I commend an approach that commits to an anti-racist Wales, do you accept...
Leanne Wood: Over the last week, I've been inundated with complaints from parents in the Rhondda who've been unable to secure a place for their child or children at the school's breakfast club. Now, this is an issue that came to my attention towards the end of last year, when the last round of breakfast places were all snapped up very quickly, leaving many parents not just disappointed but in despair. At...
Leanne Wood: ...issue and not a criminal issue, where that's relevant, but we can't do that without responsibility over police and crime. How can we properly address adverse childhood experiences when health and education are devolved but policing and criminal justice aren't? Scotland is showing us how, with devolved police, you can take a whole-systems approach, focusing more on crime prevention, early...
Leanne Wood: Can we have a statement on the number of pupils who are without either a device or internet access in order to do their home schooling? Does the Government have an idea of the number of children without the means to participate in online school lessons? Because if the Government is serious about eliminating the link between school attainment and poverty, then this issue should be a top...
Leanne Wood: ...Cynon Taf council tell me that they are acting upon Welsh Government guidance, but if children with additional learning needs and, in some cases, statements as well, are adversely affected by home schooling, then surely the guidance has to change. A number of third sector organisations agree that the current guidance doesn't make it sufficiently clear that children with additional learning...
Leanne Wood: What additional steps can be taken in schools to protect staff and pupils from asymptomatic COVID-19 spread?
Leanne Wood: Will the First Minister provide an update on education provision for the most disadvantaged children and young people?
Leanne Wood: ...that Government announced that they would provide financial support to the parents of children who have to isolate. Why was this issue not considered before? Is it not telling that, aside from education issues, this is the first debate in which children and babies have been placed in the centre? Becoming a parent is a challenge when there is no pandemic; the accounts of the additional...
Leanne Wood: ...off work and it's not okay that clinically vulnerable people in Wales don't have the same protections as they do over the border. And finally, will the Government give consideration to prioritising school staff for vaccination? I've already talked about the need for mass testing in schools, because we know that COVID is spreading in schools. These front-line education workers deserve all...
Leanne Wood: I have, in the last month or so, repeatedly raised concerns about the need to make schools safer places for teachers and pupils. Most parents in Wales will now have had direct experience of their child being off due to a positive case in class, or they will know someone else whose child has been off as a result of the pandemic. The prevalence of COVID in schools has had fatal consequences for...
Leanne Wood: ..., teachers and staff should be tested for coronavirus given the high numbers of people that are asymptomatic, especially in the younger age groups. This should have been a key priority when the schools reopened before the summer. Now, the current situation is not sustainable. As one teacher told me, just last week, 'We are expected to adhere to COVID guidelines, which is absolutely fine,...
Leanne Wood: 6. What is the Welsh Government doing to prevent the asymptomatic spread of coronavirus in schools to protect teachers and pupils? OQ55940
Leanne Wood: ...workers who die of COVID. It's not right that their families should have to worry about finances at a time of grief. We have to recognise this and support them. It's time now that we accept that schools are playing a higher role in transmission than was initially thought. The ONS modelling and data suggests that children are more likely to be the first case in a household. Children and...
Leanne Wood: ...board has very high rates of COVID-19, with the Merthyr area having the highest rate in the UK. Given these figures, I can't understand why we've not seen additional protective measures in our schools, where asymptomatic spread is taking place. Why are there no masks in the classroom? What is being done to reduce the risk of spread on school transport? How are we preventing children from...
Leanne Wood: ...that go with this kind of choice cannot be overstated. The clinically vulnerable need more protection at work and this is especially the case if people work in high-risk settings like hospitals, schools, prisons and other closed settings. Now, I understand that the details of future regulations are still being worked on, but will you give us a commitment today that you'll undertake to...
Leanne Wood: ...tell us what you can do to prevent refugees in Penally from being attacked, and what steps you can take to stop the far right from gathering there? And, finally, what resources can you provide to schools and community groups to enable them to challenge the relatively low-level behaviours that can morph into hate crime? We're clearly not doing enough to tackle this at source, otherwise we...
Leanne Wood: Many parents have contacted me with concerns about the restricted bus places for schools. There are problems on all buses affecting key workers too, but the school bus places shortage is causing particular stress to those parents with children in different schools, to some parents with children in Welsh-medium schools, to those people who've previously paid for a place and no longer can. So,...
Leanne Wood: .... We can ensure that that best practice can benefit every child, wherever they live. With the development of the new curriculum, we've got the opportunity to join the front runners in progressive education and to teach all pupils a wider range of history, including Welsh history, which should be inclusive of black, Asian, minority ethnic history makers in and from Wales, because, put...
Leanne Wood: ...consider an idea that has been proposed to the Scottish Government for a national arts force, which would see the arts be a part of well-being and recovery, where musicians and artists can go into schools, hospitals and care homes, and even provide online courses? Imagine the PA firm being able to teach sound engineering skills to young people in the Rhondda throughout the summer holidays....
Leanne Wood: ...you don't, I'm concerned that people may take matters into their own hands, such is the level of anger. Can you also tell us what can be done from a Government perspective in terms of messaging to educate people about about the seriousness of setting grass fires, particularly in the time that we're in now? I wanted to ask about supermarkets as well, and the specialised slots. After a...
