Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:42 pm on 7 February 2017.
Well, obviously, you must’ve been living in a different universe, because we had no proposals for cuts in education at the last Assembly elections. Rather bizarrely, you must’ve been living in a different universe. What we’ve had since Christmas are the programme for international student assessment results; we’ve had the Estyn report that has clearly shown that, on your watch, education has either gone backwards or stood still. That’s a fact—that’s Estyn and that is the PISA results, First Minister. That is a fact, and the evidence given to the education committee last week clearly pointed to fewer teachers and less money available in schools here in Wales.
So, the issue you’ve got now, with the news, today, is that the introduction of the new curriculum is also hitting problems when it comes to leadership and strategic direction, as well as the pioneer schools not knowing exactly where they’re going with the introduction of the new curriculum. How can you give any certainty that you’re going to right the wrongs of your first term in office, so that pupils, teachers and parents can see genuine improvement in schools? Or are we actually going to be on the mystery tour that the Scottish education Minister, John Swinney, said that their system is going on at the moment? Are you prepared to allow Welsh schools to go on a mystery tour, First Minister?