Hefin David: Thank you for that. That's very helpful. Two of those cases that you've identified are in the Caerphilly borough. One is fully in my constituency, Lewis School Pengam, and the other has a campus in my constituency, which is Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni, and there are nine years left to run on the original 30-year PFI contracts. I don't think we would have had the schools without them, and they are...
Hefin David: My question was specifically about that £20 million of capital funding for community-focused schools. It was referenced in the Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee—if I've got that right—which looked into how that money should be spent. The 'Levelling the playing field' report is the one I'm thinking of. I also met recently with Dr Nicola...
Hefin David: 6. Will the Minister provide an update on support for community-focused schools? OQ59083
Hefin David: ...rest of this Senedd term, and I think that is something that needs challenge. Let's just look at some of the proposals that they've had through the debates that we've had so far: comprehensive free school meals, universal childcare, a rent freeze, education maintenance allowance, and that big black hole that we don't know anything about—independence. These are things that they are...
Hefin David: I say to Peter Fox, I'm not trying to score a political point here. I just would like to ask—[Interruption.] No, I'm really not. What is the Conservative policy now on universal free school meals? What is your current view on that particular policy?
Hefin David: ...housing for the first time in a generation, which is something that I think should be praised immeasurably. He also said that, in the development of their plan, he wants to include healthcare, education and infrastructure as key components that go beyond simple housing demand in meeting housing need. Will the Minister therefore support them, using Welsh Government's resources, in that...
Hefin David: ...their independence is threatened by it, so I don't support the amendments in the group. But, I still would like some clarity from the Minister, because you do need some mechanism to dissolve higher education corporations, and that mechanism needs to be included in legislation. The crux of the amendments is that Ministers can still dissolve a higher education corporation without consent if...
Hefin David: .... We are now on the waiting list for CAMHS. The frustration, as I'm sure you can see, is that we asked to go there initially and this time has been wasted.' Now, I've benefited from going to an educational psychologist, school, speech and language support and various different places, but each time the waiting list increases and the end outcome becomes further away, which I mentioned to...
Hefin David: ...disabilities, and also advocates on their behalf. I know she's held meetings across Wales with such people. The question I've got is regarding the point she makes about joined-up services between education, health and social care, and particularly how the action plan is going to address what I called in the debate last week the pinball effect, when you bounce between health, social care...
Hefin David: ...the bridge and we've moved on from there. One thing I want to say about many of the cases that are coming across my desk and people I'm meeting at the surgeries, people I'm meeting at Sparrows, is schools, and how their children experience schools. Exclusion is a huge thing. I was sent by Steffan Davies, who's a PhD student at Swansea University, this report that many of you may have been...
Hefin David: We've also got Trinity Fields special school, of which I'm a governor, but I think we also need another special school in the borough, such is the demand. And I'll be pushing that to the new leadership of Caerphilly County Borough Council. We're also lucky enough to have the Autistic Minds hub, which is a charity organisation, and they allow me to hold surgeries there in Caerphilly town....
Hefin David: ...than that. I know he's better than that. But now he's drawn me into this, let's just clarify what's going on in Caerphilly. Their reserves are being used to build and rebuild twenty-first century schools, they're being used to build council houses and they're being used to ensure that we hit net zero by 2030, and also to say a world-class town reshaping programme that is being seen in...
Hefin David: ...in gender terms with degree apprenticeships. So, there's a further opportunity at that level to succeed with degree-level apprenticeships in the way that stereotypes have been smashed at a further education level.
Hefin David: ...a report by Ellen Hazelkorn and listen to it, or you don't. The Hazelkorn report, which was published on 1 March 2016, was very clear that legislation would be needed in order to provide a seamless education sector prepared for 2030, and I think the Government has rightly taken the decision to listen to the recommendations of that report in creating this Bill. And I think, actually, this...
Hefin David: Will the First Minister provide an update on the delivery of the education reform commitments contained in the Programme for Government?
Hefin David: ...to Sioned Williams, and I haven't got my translation equipment, so I hope my understanding of Welsh was sufficient. But, you talked about the inconsistency, I think, of the fact that further education was responsible to Welsh Government and higher education to HEFCW. But what will happen with the new body is there'll be a huge range of demands for financial and other support from a range...
Hefin David: ...whose son is coming to the end of year eight, and he’s concerned that successive lockdowns have meant his son has fallen significantly behind with his spoken and written Welsh in a Welsh-medium school. He’s contacted the National Centre for Learning Welsh—the NCLW—to ask about extra tuition over the school summer holidays for his son, only to be told it won't be possible as the...
Hefin David: ..., given the exceptional circumstances that exist, in order to allow them to provide support and additional training to those under the age of 18, for example to pupils in Welsh-medium secondary schools from non-Welsh-speaking households?
Hefin David: ...speech just then. I'll come to the things he said in a second, but I just wanted to make a comment about Delyth Jewell's contribution, because I think we were born in the same hospital, we went to school in the same town and I currently live in the place where she grew up, and also, you may have noticed, we also contested the same seat at the Senedd election. So, you can understand why...
Hefin David: You won't believe this, Llywydd, but I was awful at sport in school. [Laughter.] I recently played as a member of the Senedd team against the House of Commons/House of Lords, and we absolutely smashed them, and I rather feel it was my pass to Rhun ap Iorwerth that subsequently went to Andrew R.T. Davies, who went straight down in the ruck, and it went out on the left wing for a try, I think I...
