I now call on the party spokespeople to ask questions of the Cabinet Secretary. The Welsh Conservatives’ spokesperson, Darren Millar.

Diolch, Lywydd. Cabinet Secretary, the Programme for International Student Assessment results showed that Wales has an education system that is lagging behind the rest of the UK and that we’re in the bottom of the international league table for literacy, maths and science. You and I both know that that isn’t good enough, and want to make a difference. Science, in particular, has slipped back, with PISA scores declining in each and every test since 2006. What action are you taking to reverse the decline in science in Wales?

Thank you, Darren. You quite rightly say that neither you nor I believe that our performance in the PISA tests are good enough, and our performance in science has been particularly disappointing, especially our performance in science from our higher performing children, and our lack of representation on an OECD average level 6, level 5, and level 4. And you will be aware that, earlier this month, I announced the creation of a network of excellence for science and technology. That builds upon my previous announcement for mathematics. The network will look to ensure that our science teachers are the best that they can be. It will include working and connecting schools with higher education institutes, where we have some outstanding science departments and technology departments, and also ensuring that children’s experience of science lower down the curriculum, in their primary schools, where people often begin to form prejudices about studying subjects of this nature, can be addressed. So, it’s a comprehensive package to improve science teaching, and the quality of science teaching, across the board.

I’m glad that you’ve been able to shed a little bit more light on the national network of excellence for science and technology, because, of course, it was an announcement that you didn’t make in this Chamber—you made it in a press release, and we still haven’t received a written statement or a letter from you, as Assembly Members, to inform us about this important development. But, nevertheless, I do welcome the extra effort that the Welsh Government is putting in on that front.

But, as you quite rightly said, in your response to me there, we need to raise the performance of science teachers, and have high-quality science teachers. But you know, and I know, that your predecessors presided over a 45 per cent fall in the number of people qualifying to teach science between 2010 and 2015. And, in fact, that fall was greatest in biology, with over 67 per cent in terms of the reduction in the numbers qualifying. So, what action are you specifically taking to address the needs of the teaching workforce in Wales, to make sure that we’ve got sufficient numbers of science teachers in the future?

You are right: quality of teaching is key to tackling this agenda, and it will be the main focus of the work of the network of excellence. I am currently reviewing the graduate incentives that we have available to attract people into the teaching profession, as well as looking at whether we can refresh our graduate entry programme, so that people who perhaps have had a career in science, or technology, who would then want to move into teaching at a later date. So those are currently being reviewed at the moment, so that we can do what we can to attract our best science graduates into a career in teaching.

This is an issue that needs to be tackled, and it can be particularly acute through the medium of Welsh, as well as individual science subjects, and that then precludes the opportunity for students who want to study science through the medium of Welsh from being able to study three separate sciences, rather than being told they only have to do double-award science. It’s one of the issues we have to tackle, but it is an important one.

I’m very pleased that you are reviewing the incentives available. We all know that, if you want to go into a career in teaching science in England, the bursaries are much more generous than they are here in Wales. In fact, if you want to be a physics teacher in England, you can get a bursary of up to £30,000, compared to getting as little as just £11,000 here in Wales.

I wondered if I could pin you down a little bit, and ask you what the timescale for that review is going to be, given that people want to be making these decisions and planning ahead, particularly with other changes in the HE system, as it were, in train. And, also, what action are you taking to inspire those younger children in science? We all know that there’s been a reduction in the grant to Techniquest recently, in the budget. Now, that’s for understandable reasons, in terms of budget pressures, but what are you going to do to ensure that inspiring places like Techniquest still have the ability to reach out and engage people—young people of primary school age and secondary school age—in the future?

Well, thank you, Darren. I hope to make an announcement on the review of graduate incentives shortly. What’s really important is to understand that, if the Welsh Government is going to put money into training these teachers, they don’t then teach somewhere else. We have to ensure we get good value for Welsh investments, and that those teachers then end up teaching Welsh children in Welsh schools and not using those skills somewhere else. I’m confident, having met the chief executive of Techniquest, that despite the reduction in grant from the Welsh Government, they will continue to offer an ambitious outreach programme from the centre here in Cardiff, and there are many organisations, charitable organisations, alongside Techniquest that continue to deliver very good, very practical and very exciting science talks within schools. I’m particularly interested, and will be making an announcement to this Chamber later on, in how we plan to capitalise on what was being said earlier about the world of work, to be able to develop links between schools and industry. The science and technology industries are a perfect example of demonstrating to a student that if you take and excel in science, these are the kinds of careers that you can go on to do in later life, and we will making an announcement of resources to support that work.

UKIP spokesperson, Michelle Brown.

Thank you, Presiding Officer. Does the Cabinet Secretary agree with me that if schools in Wales had more teachers on their full-time staff, they would not have to spend so much money on hiring supply staff?

Obviously, substantive posts, with teachers that know their students and know their classrooms and schools well, is the preferable way of staffing our schools. However, what we also know is that in a self-improving school system, we want some of our teachers to move around institutions so that they can share their best practice. There will be times when it is perfectly legitimate to have a planned absence from work for training purposes—a secondment, for instance, for teachers to develop their Welsh language skills—but we also need to make sure that we’re managing those planned absences and that schools follow Welsh Government guidance. There are, of course, occasions when staff will be sick, just like all of us sometimes get sick, and, again, schools need to manage that appropriately.

Okay. Thank you for that answer. In light of the comments from the director of the teachers’ union ATL Cymru that a substantial proportion of the money spent on supply staff goes to line the pockets of agencies, and that all parties should work together to develop a system that provides better value for money, better rewards for supply teachers, and above all, better education provision for our children, when will the Cabinet Secretary invite me and the education spokesmen of the other parties to work together with her on plans to deal with this problem?

My predecessor, Huw Lewis, actually set up a task and finish group to look at the issue of supply teaching. That group’s work has come to an end. The report has recently been sent to me. I am considering the content of that report and a way forward, and I am always very happy to meet with opposition spokespeople, or indeed people from the backbenches of other political parties, to talk about any good ideas they have to tackle this problem. Supply teaching is an important issue. We do know that sometimes supply teachers are absolutely necessary in classrooms, but we need to make sure that they are well trained, they are properly remunerated, there are proper child safeguarding issues that have been addressed, and that children’s learning is not impacted by having a supply teacher in the classroom, and that can be overcome by great planning and leadership within individual schools.

At the end of 2015, the Labour Government said:

It is important to remember that the employment of supply teachers does not fall within the powers currently devolved to the Welsh Government which means we are unable to set pay rates or compel local authorities to operate pools of supply teachers.’

If she gets these powers as part of further devolution, would the Cabinet Secretary impose a set of rules on schools for dealing with the issue of supply teachers?

As I said, we’re not waiting for the Wales Bill and the devolution of teachers’ pay and conditions to address this issue. A task and finish group was set up by the previous Minister and I am currently reflecting on the work of that group and will make a statement shortly on how we will take this agenda forward. But I am keen that teachers’ pay and conditions be devolved to this institution. Let’s be absolutely clear that there is no such thing as a national set of pay and conditions. When we say we want teachers’ pay and conditions to stay in London, what we’re saying is we want an English system here for Wales, because Scotland already has a different system. I’m very keen to be able to develop, in conjunction with the teaching profession, a made-in-Wales solution to issues around teachers’ pay and conditions. The First Minister has made it very, very clear that no teacher in Wales will lose out, but this is an opportunity to align teachers’ pay and conditions with our national mission of education reform and education excellence.

Plaid Cymru spokesperson, Sian Gwenllian.

Thank you. My questions are to the Minister for the Welsh language. Last Friday, you appeared on the media and said that you believed that the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 was too complex and that we needed to review the way that language standards are drawn up and implemented. Can you expand a little on that view?

Thank you very much. I think that I was clear enough in discussing several times in this place, and in other places, that I believe that it is time to review the current legislative framework that we have, and the standards are part of that. I’ve also been clear that the priority at present is to look at the language strategy and legislation will flow from that. I will be publishing a White Paper on these issues in the spring.

Thank you. Of course, there is nothing wrong with looking at the way in which legislation is working and to simplify it if possible, but we must be guarded because, to date, there may be a question about the willingness and resolve of Government to implement the Measure. So, it’s important that the aim of any review is to simplify the implementation of the legislation rather than weakening that legislation. One could argue that there is room to strengthen and expand the legislation. So, one must ask why only one set of standards has been brought forward in six years. The process may be bureaucratic, but I do think that there is more than just bureaucracy behind this slow pace. For example, it was the Government that decided to reject the draft standards tabled by the commissioner, and it’s the Government that’s cut the commissioner’s budget by 32 per cent in real terms over a period of four years. Do you think that one set of standards in six years is sufficient and when will you, as a Government, publish a timetable that will lead to implementing standards in care, housing, water companies, telecommunications, train and bus companies, and gas and electricity companies, and so on and so forth?

Since I’ve been Minister the only delay that there’s been was from the Plaid Cymru bid to change the standards that were placed before the Assembly on higher education. So, I do take your point, but I’m also entirely clear that there’s no will to slow the pace on this or not to implement the legislation. But, I don’t think that legislation is the kind of legislative framework that we will need in future. I want to ensure that we have legislation that will ensure that we do have the right way to implement policies to support the Welsh language wherever we want to use the Welsh language, and I will be doing that through a White Paper in spring.

You mentioned action there and the Welsh in education strategic plans are one way of taking action. These have now been introduced by all the education authorities in Wales, but apparently they are disappointing to say the least. I don’t need to remind you how crucial it is that we increase Welsh-medium education if we are to reach the ambition of 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050. This was emphasised again today by the Welsh Language Commissioner, who was also calling for a radical chance to the education system if this objective is to be attained.

How will you support these local authorities in strengthening these plans from where they currently stand? Will you consider giving Estyn a role as they oversee education authorities and inspect them? They may have a role in monitoring and enhancing the Welsh-medium provision as part of their core work.

I’m very happy to consider a role for Estyn if that will be of use to us during this process. I will say this about the WESPs: we have received plans here and I am considering those plans at the moment. When I’ve had an opportunity to look at them in detail, and when I feel that I am ready to make a statement, I will do so on how we are going to move forward. I hope that I will be in a situation to do that over the coming month.