2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:04 pm on 16 January 2018.

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Photo of Darren Millar Darren Millar Conservative 3:04, 16 January 2018

Can I call for two statements from the Cabinet Secretary for Education, please? It was reported widely in the media yesterday that, last year, teachers from 16 of the 22 local authorities had reported incidents of racism. I'm sure you would be very concerned about that, leader of the house. Also, there's been quite a spike, of course, in religious hate crime that has been recorded in Wales. I think lots of schools are trying to do a good job in educating young people about different ethnic groups and religions, but of course, clearly we're not tackling the problem as effectively as we could be. I know there are some trial lessons that are being conducted in Cardiff, Swansea and Neath Port Talbot schools, which I think is a very positive thing, and I just wonder what assessment the Cabinet Secretary for Education has made of the shape of the new curriculum to come, and whether that is being properly informed about these latest trends so that we can make the changes that might be necessary to that. So, I would appreciate a statement from the Cabinet Secretary on that particular issue.

Can I also request a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Education on online resilience and the support that's being given to young people in schools? There was quite an alarming report from the children's commissioner in England that was published in the new year, which showed that young people are using social media that is designed for older children and adults, and as a result of that, many, particularly when they get to high school, are jumping from a transition where they're primarily playing games on their devices to suddenly being immersed in quite an intense social atmosphere on social media, where they're looking for social validation through likes and responses to some of their posts in an unhealthy way, and they can often have an unhealthy image of the world, particularly if they're following lots of celebrities trying to keep up appearances. It's quite clear to me that this trend is growing, it's becoming an ever-increasing problem in our schools, and we heard in the Children, Young People and Education Committee that self-harm, anxiety and mental health problems—lots of them have their roots in some of the social media that young people are engaging with. So, I think it would be helpful to have an update on some of the work that the Cabinet Secretary for Education has been doing across Wales in encouraging schools to get this online resilience situation sorted so that our children and young people can be protected from these potential harms.