I want to write to Samuel Kurtz
Samuel Kurtz: I'm grateful to the Member for intervening. I can imagine that the autumn budget released extra, additional funding for both education and the health service, by the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, last October. But we are here to debate health services here in Wales. We are elected by the people here in Wales to sit in a Welsh Parliament. I recently spoke—[Interruption.] Well, I'm very happy to...
Samuel Kurtz: ...Talbot County Borough Council, the Port of Milford Haven, Tata Steel, RWE, the University of South Wales or Pembrokeshire College. These are trust ports, private ports, local authorities and higher education colleges, coming together, seeing the benefits that this free-port bid can bring, and that's something that I think is incredibly positive. But the point I'm trying to make, Dirprwy...
Samuel Kurtz: ..., the lack of an identifiable and clear assessment framework has left one local headteacher in Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire concerned about the pupil transition from primary to secondary education. To ensure a correct path for pupil progression and learning, a clear assessment framework is key to establishing distinct targets, yet some teachers are finding the CfW's progression...
Samuel Kurtz: ...or at the office desk. But, to do this, we must bring everyone with us on this shared journey, and we can do that by developing policies that see that all levels of government, the third sector and education work together as one. We need to ensure that Welsh Government policies reflect this. Thank you.
Samuel Kurtz: As has been established, Welsh in education strategic plans are a Welsh Government mechanism in place to ensure that all 22 local authorities are taking decisions in the interests of the Welsh Government's own objectives and targets, in this case, 'Cymraeg 2050'. Local authorities submit their WESPs to Welsh Government, who decide if they are satisfactory or not. Once deemed satisfactory, the...
Samuel Kurtz: ...silos separately. Although I have no objection to what the WESPs hope to achieve, I do have some concerns as to how the Welsh Government and local authorities are working to provide their WESPs in education. The Minister will be aware that I raised some concerns about the current inability to scrutinise local authorities and the implementation of their WESPs. As I've said in this Chamber...
Samuel Kurtz: ...Board signed a long-awaited and eagerly anticipated co-operation agreement at Pembrokeshire College. The agreement is set to strengthen the relationship between the representatives of further education colleges in Wales and the representatives of the construction industry, a recognition that both organisations have a common interest in supporting the construction industry by facilitating...
Samuel Kurtz: ...undermine what we're trying to achieve. Now, we're all highly aware of the challenges in terms of teacher recruitment, particularly in ensuring that we recruit sufficient numbers of Welsh-speaking educators to teach in our Welsh-medium and bilingual schools—a point that is highlighted by the census data. A high percentage of Welsh-speaking teachers are approaching retirement age while...
Samuel Kurtz: ...Romany people, 270,000 disabled people and up to 15,000 LGBT people, and many others from many other groups, were victims—all ordinary people who perished at the hands of pure evil. As a school pupil, I was able to join a trip with my peers to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and death camps—an experience that will live with me for the rest of my life. To see for ourselves the...
Samuel Kurtz: ...funding via the Welsh language grant, having missed out on funding from the Welsh Government's national voluntary youth organisations grant. Given the role that the young farmers movement plays in educating young people about the agricultural industry and the environment, not to mention the host of other skills learnt, will the Minister look at other ways her department can support...
Samuel Kurtz: ...us here, and everyone who wants the language to succeed, to be able to scrutinise the policies and the data used to support them. Local authorities use data to measure the success of their Welsh in education strategic plans, or WESPs, as we heard earlier. If the data is unreliable, it could frustrate their attempts to increase the number of Welsh speakers. During a committee meeting, you...
Samuel Kurtz: ...—. That's the breeding ground for a lot of these jockeys who go on to be incredibly successful. I know Llyr mentioned in opening one certain Pembrokeshire jockey, Sean Bowen, who I was in school with—he's a few years younger than me and a few stone lighter also—but I'd also pay testament to Alan Johns, a good friend of mine, who is another Fishguard school alumni, so there must be...
Samuel Kurtz: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd, and I congratulate Sam Rowlands on his success in being drawn in the ballot and I'm grateful for the opportunity to speak in this debate on his outdoor education (Wales) Bill. As someone who was fortunate enough to grow up in rural Pembrokeshire with the countryside just outside my front door, I was always fortunate to enjoy the full extent of our natural world....
Samuel Kurtz: Minister, the sustainable schools challenge is aimed at upgrading existing school infrastructure to become more environmentally sustainable, but I'm sure you will be aware of the shocking fire that took place at Manorbier primary school in my constituency on Monday, which has caused massive damage to the school building. Thankfully, no-one was hurt. This is down, in part, to the fantastic...
Samuel Kurtz: ...would be interested to know whether the Minister knows about the projections for the total number of Welsh speakers in Wales. A central part of boosting the numbers, of course, is Welsh language education, and specifically from an early age. Despite the increase in opportunities for Mudiad Meithrin, I am concerned that the number of children who are attending cylch meithrin remains much...
Samuel Kurtz: Diolch, Llywydd. Today is World School Milk Day, and I'm incredibly grateful to be given the opportunity to champion this day and the School and Nursery Milk Alliance on the floor of this Siambr. Did you know that a 189 ml carton of semi-skimmed milk can provide 42 per cent of a seven to 10-year-old's recommend daily calcium intake, and 24 per cent of their recommended protein intake? It also...
Samuel Kurtz: ..., we welcome His Majesty King Charles III to the throne. Earlier this summer, I had the pleasure of welcoming His Majesty, then Prince of Wales, to the town of Narberth in my constituency. Local schoolchildren greeted him with song, people lined the streets, and a few businesses were lined up for him to visit. The then-Prince took his time, unrushed, to speak with and shake hands with many...
Samuel Kurtz: ...Minister for introducing this today and giving us sight of the statement beforehand. May I start by welcoming the general direction of today's announcement? As a pupil who benefited from bilingual education, it's good to see that Welsh-medium education for primary school pupils is a priority, because it's important to catch children early if we're to develop the language. I'd be eager to...
Samuel Kurtz: ...farmers are important in delivering the ambitious objectives of 'Cymraeg 2050'. They encourage the learning and development of language skills in the community, and add to the hard work of our schools. Although I am aware of the Welsh Government's support for young farmers clubs, through funding for a Welsh language officer working on a full-time basis, I'm eager to know whether other...
Samuel Kurtz: Thank you for that, Minister, and I'm sure that Ukrainians the length and breadth of Wales will appreciate that answer and your support. In terms of Welsh-medium education, I'd like to thank you for answering a letter I wrote to you about what appears to be the prioritisation of Welsh-medium education over English-medium education. You will know of offers of free transport to pupils from...
