4. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on pupil welfare in education? (OAQ51106) [W]

Thank you, Eluned. We have put the well-being of our learners at the heart of our education system and that is reflected in ‘Education in Wales: Our National Mission’. ‘Successful Futures’ contains a specific health and well-being area of learning and experience in recognition of its important link to increased educational attainment.

Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. You’ll be aware that choosing the right subjects to study will make a huge difference to the enjoyment of children in school, but also we need to be encouraging people to study subjects that will lead to good and rewarding jobs. Girls in particular are massively under-represented in studying STEM subjects that lead to engineering qualifications. This morning, I’ve been training with the Scarlets team—[Interruption.] I look like a rugby player, don’t I?—with the Scarlets team and girls from Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire. We were trying to draw attention to the fact—along with Valero, one of the largest engineering companies in Wales—to the fact that post 16, only 220 girls out of a cohort of 38,000, or 0.6 per cent, took up engineering qualifications in Wales. For construction engineering, figures are even worse, with 0.2 per cent of girls studying relevant qualifications. So, can the Cabinet Secretary explain how we can further capture the imagination of, in particular, 12 and 13-year-old girls to ensure that they study STEM subjects, not just at GCSE level, but at A-level and at apprenticeship level? And will the Cabinet Secretary ensure that more women engineers are invited into schools to provide role models for girls to study those important subjects?

Thank you very much, Eluned. You raise some really important points. What we do see if we look at the patterns is a drop-off, at each stage, of young women deciding to choose to study science. So, it drops between GCSE and A-level, it then drops again when people go on to university, and drops again at postgraduate study at university. We recognise that and we are working with my colleague Julie James to look at what more we can do to promote STEM opportunities to young women and making that crucial link for them between studying STEM at school and the prospects of a really well paid and successful future for them. That’s crucial, to make those links. I’m always very pleased to utilise, where we can, role models going into schools.

One of the other issues as well is to ensure that our teaching of science and STEM subjects is as engaging as it possibly can be. You’ll be aware that we have recently set up with new resources our new network of excellence for the teaching of science and engineering, so that people have a really positive experience, crucially, early on in their academic career. That means a positive experience of science at primary school.

Cabinet Secretary, figures from Stonewall Cymru reveal that more than half of LGBT young people in Wales have experienced physical or verbal abuse in school. Only a quarter of bullied LGBT pupils said that the teachers intervened, which I find very concerning and disturbing at the same time. Stonewall Cymru is calling for all school staff to be trained in tackling anti-LGBT bullying and for Estyn to play an active role in ensuring that schools create a safe environment for LGBT pupils. Cabinet Secretary, what action are you going to take to protect LGBT pupils in our schools in Wales, please?

Thank you very much, Oscar, for that question. I want to make it absolutely clear: I do not accept—and I take a zero-tolerance approach to—any bullying within our education system. We cannot expect our children to make the most of their opportunities and to fulfil their potential if they do not feel safe and supported in our schools. You will be aware that the Welsh Government is currently refreshing its policies with regard to tackling bullying in our schools, as well as looking at how we can support teachers to implement that policy within their individual schools. One of the other things we also need to do is ensure that our children have access to top-quality sex and relationship education, because educating children is the best way to try and prevent bullying, and that’s how we can make a real impact. You’ll be aware that Professor Emma Renold from Cardiff University is currently chairing a specialist group looking at this issue, and her report is due to be delivered to me this month, I believe.