Diolch, Lywydd. I’m most grateful to you for your statement.

2. Will the Minister provide an update on the challenges facing the newly built Tenby Church in Wales Primary School? OAQ(5)0058(EDU)

The new Tenby Church in Wales primary school opened in September this year, in what the headteacher has described as a state-of-the-art new building. I look forward to seeing the school for myself and speaking to those benefiting from this investment, when I officially open it tomorrow.

I’m grateful to the Cabinet Secretary for that response. Mr Palmer, the headteacher, also said, in addition to welcoming the state-of-the-art school that he heads, that he is trying to build on a blank canvas and that there are insufficient funds for outdoor play equipment and for furniture, that several rooms remain unfurnished, including the meeting room, IT suite, foyer and additional learning areas, and that they have no PE equipment. He also wants planting boxes, raised planting beds, and plants to go in them, and a school that tells people what the institution is and is attractive and welcoming. Perhaps the Cabinet Secretary can tell us what she might be able to do to help them obtain all those essential items.

Can I thank the Member for his supplementary question? Together with the Welsh medium school, Ysgol Hafan y Môr, Tenby Church in Wales primary school has seen an investment of over £8.5 million, supported by £4.8 million from our twenty-first century schools programme. Tenby Church in Wales primary school has been provided with, as the headteacher says, a state-of-the-art building and suitable equipment. This includes the most up-to-date LED touchscreens in the county, Wi-Fi provision throughout, a state-of-the-art sound system, and comprehensive CCTV coverage. I understand that the local authority is keen to work with the school, and its school governing body, to resolve any concerns that they may have regarding equipment in the school. And, as I said, I will be able to see for myself tomorrow, when I visit the school.

When you visit the school tomorrow, I’m sure that you’ll be very impressed with the new additional learning needs dedicated classrooms, which are an enormous step forward for the provision of services and support to children with additional learning needs in south Pembrokeshire. However, the school next door, the Welsh medium school, doesn’t have quite such up-to-date facilities, and I wonder whether you would be able to discuss with those who will be meeting you to talk about the new schools, and the £8.5 million that’s been so welcomingly spent, will you actually talk to them about how we’re going to be able to provide, in the south of the county, additional learning needs support for children who come from a Welsh-speaking home and Welsh-speaking background? Because it will be very distressful for them to be able to only get support through English-speaking medium.

Can I thank Angela for that question? As you’ve said, the new Church in Wales Tenby school does have excellent special educational needs provision within the school. The establishment of a stand-alone Welsh medium primary school in Tenby is a welcome development. It meets the growing demand for Welsh medium education in that part of the world, and I’m very pleased that Pembrokeshire have invested in that school. It is my ambition that we have equality running through everything that we do in education, and access to support for additional learning needs through the medium of Welsh is crucial in establishing that. You will know that I and the Minister for the Welsh Language and Lifelong Learning, do intend to publish an ALN Bill before Christmas, and ensuring there is equitable provision for those students who study through the medium of Welsh will be crucial.

I thank the Cabinet Secretary for the replies she’s given so far. This is one of the first twenty-first century schools in Pembrokeshire, of course, so we need to learn from this experience, which hasn’t been perfect, but that’s a learning process. And I agree with the Cabinet Secretary that, really, it’s now down to the county council to negotiate properly with the school governors, on the provision of the additional facilities, or the facilities that some people feel are missing from a twenty-first century school. And that’s already been raised by my Plaid Cymru colleague, Michael Williams, with Pembrokeshire directly. So, when you go tomorrow, Minister, will you be in a position to view all these facilities for yourself—I’m sure you will—but, in particular, if you do find, and if you do hear, that there’s still an ongoing issue there, will you take the opportunity to talk directly to the county council in order to resolve these issues as soon as possible?

Simon, my officials have already been in touch with Pembrokeshire County Council concerning the statements made with regard to the facilities within the school. The county council do dispute some of the statements that have been made, but acknowledge that in other areas, such as, for instance, the reuse of school furniture from the previous schools, that is indeed a fact. Now, when developing a new school, the county council would usually liaise with the governing body over a period of time to address these particular concerns. Because this is a new school, those usual arrangements were not in place, and Pembrokeshire have assured my officials that they do indeed intend to work collaboratively with the governing body and the head to address any outstanding concerns. I will see for myself the facilities tomorrow, and my officials will continue to work with Pembrokeshire and the school to make sure that the children have what they need.