9. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on what the Welsh Government is doing to improve education in Pembrokeshire? OAQ51453

Thank you, Paul. Welsh Government, the regional consortia and the local authority are collectively supporting schools in Pembrokeshire to improve education in line with the priorities set out in our national mission.

Cabinet Secretary, there have been concerns from headteachers I've spoken to in Pembrokeshire recently, who feel that pushing pupils into studying the Welsh baccalaureate post 16 can have a detrimental effect on pupils' futures, given that some universities in England still don't recognise the qualification. Now, I very much support the Welsh baccalaureate and, of course, it's not compulsory in its nature. Can you confirm what guidance is issued to schools to ensure that teachers equally promote the full range of options to pupils post 16, so that students in Pembrokeshire and, indeed, across Wales, are able to receive the best possible education?

Thank you, Paul, and thank you for your support for the Welsh baccalaureate. It's important to recognise the increasing recognition of the Welsh bac by universities both inside and outside of Wales. Even where a university won't use the points associated with the Welsh bac in an offer, they recognise that the extended set of skills that students develop as part of undertaking the Welsh bac make them a really rounded, great candidate to have at their university. We encourage all schools, where appropriate for an individual student, to enter into the Welsh baccalaureate, but we recognise these concerns and we want to ensure it's the very best qualification that it can be. That's why Qualifications Wales are undertaking an independent review into the Welsh baccalaureate, and they will be reporting shortly.

Can I return to the case raised by Llyr Gruffydd earlier, on Dylan Seabridge and the lessons we need to learn from that experience? I'll just quote from the case review, which specifically said, 'It is possible that had the child been seen or spoken to by a childcare or health professional in the later stages of his life, they may have been alerted to the fact that he had some health issues that the parents were not seeking appropriate help for.' I think that does come into the realms of educated at home and the register that you've talked about. We also know that the Scottish Government has talked about a named individual for every child, to ensure a continuity of care and to ensure that every child is looked after and has the right safeguarding. Is that something that the Welsh Government is continuing? Or can she add to what she said to Llyr Gruffydd earlier about ensuring that the case of Dylan Seabridge is never repeated again? 

Thank you, Simon. As I said, my primary responsibility in the field of education is to ensure that local authorities that have a current duty to know whether a child is in receipt of an adequate education are exercising those functions, and what extra support they need to exercise those functions adequately. I have accepted the children's commissioner's recommendation for a compulsory register in principle, and officials are actively working on how that could be established and, crucially, implemented. But I also recognise that, for many families that decide to home educate, there are a variety of reasons for that. Sometimes they feel they don't get the support from the local education authority, whether that be exam entrance or access to Hwb, which they currently are not allowed to have. And working across the department—because it has to be a cross-department approach—education can't safeguard every child on its own and we can only ask questions with regards to relationship with education. There's some debate whether that conversation should happen in the home, or whether that conversation could happen somewhere else, whether that conversation should happen in the presence of parents, or whether that child should be seen on their own. These are complex issues where we have to balance the rights of the family against the rights of those children, and we will be looking at good practice across the United Kingdom—indeed, across the world—as we, across the Government, look to take this agenda forward. I think we have to recognise that a register with regards to home education, on its own, cannot provide all the protection that I know that you and I would want to see for our children.

Thank you, Cabinet Secretary.