Questions now from the opposition party spokespeople. The Plaid Cymru spokesperson, Llyr Gruffydd.

Thank you, Llywydd. It’s almost four and a half years now since the publication of Professor Sioned Davies’s report on the position of Welsh as a second language in English-medium schools in Wales. In that report, she made it entirely clear that it was the eleventh hour even then in terms of Welsh as a second language, and that attainment levels for pupils in that subject were lower than in any other subject. Had that been true about English or maths, I’m sure we would have long since seen a resolution to that problem. She concludes by saying that a change of direction is urgently required before it’s too late. So, can I ask when the Minister intends the new combined qualification will be available for teaching in school?

Thank you very much for the question. You will be aware that we have had the Donaldson review since then and that we need to consider the changes in the context of Donaldson. So, can I make it clear that I am not prepared to wait until Donaldson is in place? I think that this is something that we have to pursue now and I have asked, today as it happens, my officials to arrange a symposium to bring experts in the area together to discuss the best way for us to teach a second language. I don’t think this is a problem just in terms of the Welsh language, but it is a problem with other languages as well. My focus, of course, is on the Welsh language. I can tell you that it is a fact that I will be concentrating particularly on this issue of increasing the number of people who can speak Welsh by the end of their school years. The intention, of course, is that 70 per cent of people will be able to speak some Welsh by 2050 when they leave school. So, we do have a long way to go.

Thank you very much. I welcome that answer: that you won’t wait until Donaldson is in place because we know it will be 2025 by the time everyone has access to the new curriculum, and that’s potentially another generation of Welsh speakers lost. Can I ask you what consideration will be given to piloting or trialling this new model in specific areas in terms of combined qualification? The danger is that it will take two or three years, if I know how Governments usually operate, when, in fact, there is an appropriate workforce and a willingness in some parts of Wales to turn this around very quickly.

Well, to begin with, we need to look at what is in place today. I think that we do have to look at further resources for teachers who are teaching Welsh as a second language, and I have been talking directly with teachers who are out there in the classrooms and asking them precisely what they would like to see as forms of assistance. So, my officials are looking into what we can do to assist now, this year, and I have had a conversation with the BBC to see whether they would be willing to assist in this area also, because I think that we could do more visually in terms of teaching children in the classroom. So, actions are being taken, but I must say that I do emphasise that I think we can’t afford to lose another generation. I agree on that.

I’m sure you’ll understand the frustration, because hearing a Minister say that we’ll have to see what the situation is today, a full four and a half years after a report stated that action was urgently needed, is a cause of frustration. I do have to make that point.

Now, of course, it’s not possible to move forward meaningfully to share the target that I’m sure we share in terms of a million Welsh speakers and the role of the education system in that unless the appropriate workforce is in place to provide the necessary education. I will refer to the Aled Roberts review of Welsh in education strategic plans, which said quite clearly that,

'We must ask ourselves, what purpose is there to plan for substantial growth for Welsh-medium and bilingual education...without urgent decisions being made to train more new teachers who speak Welsh. This is particularly the case within the secondary sector.'

Now, we know that 6 per cent of the education workforce speak Welsh but don’t teach through the medium of Welsh. So, what is this Welsh Government going to do to bring that group of educators into play in this area? We also know that 80 per cent of students studying PGCE courses have come through the education system in Wales, and if they haven’t been part of bilingual education then they should have had 10 years of Welsh lessons. Okay, there are deficiencies in terms of Welsh as a second language, but there should be a foundation there to develop a qualified workforce in terms of Welsh-medium education. So, can I ask how you’re going to use and build on those linguistic skills and when will we see a Welsh-medium education workforce plan developed and implemented? Without it, we’ve no chance of reaching that million Welsh speakers.

Thank you. We do have a workforce plan in place and we have made it entirely clear how many teachers will be needed over the coming years. My hope currently is to ensure that people are aware that there are £5,000 available in addition if they show an interest in teaching through the medium of Welsh. We must make sure that people are aware of this because now is the time when people are starting to think about what they’re going to do in September. I have asked my officials—. You’ve pressed on the two buttons that I have been pressing. There are two things that are most important to me: they are getting the workforce right—because if we don’t get that right from the beginning, that is going to cause me concern—and, secondly, the need for us to think about what we need to do improve teaching Welsh as a second language.

So, I acknowledge that 6 per cent of people in the workforce currently—perhaps we could have discussions with them. So, that is something that we are paying attention to currently. So, we are very aware that we do need to move on this and I have requested my officials to give me a monthly report about the situation in terms of how many people have applied to go to these colleges, so that we are sure that we’re on the right track.

The Conservatives' spokesperson, Darren Millar.

Diolch, Llywydd. Cabinet Secretary, in 2015 when the new Wales-only GCSE qualifications were being mooted and going to be introduced, my colleague Angela Burns, the then shadow Minister for the education portfolio, said that it was a short-sighted decision and that there would be adverse consequences for learners. It's now 2018, and I'm afraid that some of our concerns are materialising. More than half of pupils who took the new maths GCSEs got a D or below, according to the results that were published earlier this month. Do you now accept, and would you agree with our assessment, that your predecessor's decision to introduce these new qualifications was a mistake?

Darren, for pupils and teachers currently in the system, we have to deal with the reality of today, as do I. I have made it very clear in this Chamber, time and time again, that I want to see education raise standards for all of our children, including bridging the attainment gap between those pupils who are less well-off and ensuring that our education system is a source of national pride and confidence, and by improving GCSE results, that's one of the ways in which we can do that. I've been clear, since coming into office, that we can do better, so with regard to mathematics, for instance, we have set up the new national network of excellence for mathematics, so that we can improve the teaching of mathematics across the country, and also to ensure that, for instance, with regard to early entry, which we know in some cases can be detrimental, it should only be used in schools for those pupils who are in a position to fulfil their maximum potential rather than being sent in early for an exam and not achieve the results that they are capable of achieving after a full teaching of the course.

Those words will be no comfort whatsoever to those learners who got lower grades than they would have done sitting the previous GCSEs. We also warned, of course, that the new GCSEs would confuse employers and were likely to be less accepted by them than were qualifications from other parts of the UK, and, of course, we've been right on that count as well. We know that with applications for apprenticeships in England, which require maths GCSE and English tests—some people are having to resit English GCSEs, because the Welsh GCSE is not considered to be of equal value when trying to access some particular apprenticeships. That's unacceptable and it's young people who are paying the price because of this sop to want to go after Wales-only qualifications, and it's disadvantaging our children and young people.

What are you going to do to ensure that students, learners and people who want to go on to professions, where there are certain entry requirements, and apprenticeships where there are certain entry requirements, and where the English GCSEs that we have in Wales and the Maths GCSEs that we have in Wales are not recognised—what are you going to do to prevent our children and young people from having another barrier to climb over by having to resit GCSEs, because that's what's happening according to the evidence, in order to get there?

Let me just be absolutely clear: the Member can simply not make the assumption that those children would have done better under the old GCSE examination system. I make no apologies, Darren—and I'm surprised that you don't agree—for wanting greater rigour in our exam system, and if maths exams are introducing greater rigour, then that is something that we should be proud of, rather than dumbing down our exam system. Let me be absolutely clear as well—because you are doing a disservice to the children and the teachers of Wales by somehow peddling a myth that our examinations are not comparable to examinations in the rest of the United Kingdom. There is no evidence at all that you can bring forward to this Chamber to back that up. Our examinations, overseen by the independent body of Qualifications Wales, and modified and monitored across UK bodies, are of equal worth to anybody else's, and to suggest otherwise in this National Assembly and not come forward with any hard evidence, you are doing a disservice to those children who have got those exams. 

This isn't just me saying this—this is employers who are voting with their decisions not to take on young people from Wales who have sat some of these qualifications. This is universities—top universities around the UK—who are saying, 'We don't accept the GCSE in numeracy for people from Wales as being equivalent to GCSE maths', which, of course, is what Qualifications Wales are telling us. This is universities who are not accepting the Welsh baccalaureate as being of equal value to the A-levels that children and young people sit elsewhere across the country. So, you can get up and you can posture all you like, Cabinet Secretary—the reality is that these are clearly not of equal value in the market where they need to be of equal value, and that is in terms of helping people to get jobs and to get into those HE courses and onto the FE courses that they need to. And not only that, but one of the reasons that teachers tell me and the pupils tell me that they're getting lower grades is because, of course, they've now got two sets of exams to sit when it comes to mathematics—a numeracy one and a maths one. That is causing problems with timetabling, it's causing problems that are putting a squeeze on some of those other subjects, and it's dragging down their results. Now, I notice that last week it was revealed that there's an expert who you are employing to sell these new qualifications to GCSEs around the country, wasting taxpayers' money, because you are pursuing this differential approach. What action are you going to take to tell us how much that is costing and what has been wasted on these so far, and when are you going to abandon this ludicrous project?   

It is absolutely incredible that the Member would suggest that anybody in this Chamber would oversee an examination system that would do our children down. Darren, you and I both have children in this system. Do you think for one minute that even as a mother, let alone the Cabinet Secretary for Education, I would stand here and let my child or anybody else's child undertake a qualification that was of less value? You have no evidence that you can bring to this Chamber that would back up your assertion that our GCSEs are not of equal value. And I'm surprised—I am very surprised that the Conservatives want to abandon GCSE numeracy, because usually they're here in this Chamber saying that we need to ensure that children have the skills that workers and business are asking for, and that practical application of mathematics that is tested in the GCSE numeracy examination is exactly the kind of skill that I want to see Welsh young people learning.

And let me put the Member straight, Presiding Officer: I am not employing anyone to go around selling these qualifications. Qualifications Wales, which is an independent body, will be employing a person to ensure that universities across the United Kingdom are left in no doubt of the rigour of our examination system, and I would say that any university that turns down the opportunity of taking on a Welsh student, or any employer that turns down the opportunity of taking on a Welsh young person, they are missing out, because our young people are as good as those anywhere else.  

UKIP spokesperson, Michelle Brown. 

Thank you, Presiding Officer. In April last year, a survey conducted by the Education Workforce Council at your behest found that 90 per cent of teachers said they were unable to manage their workload. One of the teaching unions said that the survey showed that many in the teaching profession are at breaking point. At the time, you said that, as a priority, you were determined to tackle the long-running issue of workload and ensuring that teachers have the space and time to teach to the best of their ability. For the sake of the teaching staff, it's vital that something visible is done to address this. What's your assessment of progress on reducing teacher workload so far, Cabinet Secretary?

Well, the Member is right to say that workload is a continuing concern for the workforce and, indeed, for me. Workload concerns vary greatly across the education family, however. Different issues and priorities are raised depending on a variety of factors, including which school phase somebody finds themself working in, rurality, deprivation, subject area or the role that they have within an individual school, as well as individual operating practices demanded or deemed by the leaders of those schools. Our aim is to build capacity and reduce excessive workload leading to improved standards for our children but also a better ability for teachers to manage their workload.

Thank you for that answer, Cabinet Secretary. One way to reduce teacher workload, apart from reducing the amount of paperwork they're required to do, which I didn't hear you mention, would be to reduce class sizes. This is something that I feel quite strongly about. That would be to the benefit of both teachers and pupils and go a long way to delivering the world-class education that I know our teachers are capable of providing if they're allowed to. Do you agree with me? And, if so, what measures have you implemented to reduce class sizes?

On the issue of paperwork, we are carrying out a bureaucracy project to look to see what paperwork we can take away from teachers. We're employing business managers via our pilots so that those tasks that are not related to teaching and learning can be taken on by another professional in the school, and we have sent out a myth-busting document that demonstrates quite clearly our expectations of the teachers.

Now, for the first time ever, there is something that Michelle Brown has said that I do agree with. I agree with you that class sizes are incredibly important, and that's why we have made resources available to local authorities, both capital and revenue, to help them reduce class sizes in the areas of education where we know that that policy will have the biggest impact, and those are our youngest children and classes that have high levels of deprivation or high levels of children who do not have English as their first language. I would be very happy to write to the Member to provide her with an update of the plans that local authorities in north Wales have come forward with, if she's interested. 

I would be very interested, Cabinet Secretary. Thank you for that answer.

Moving on, local authorities are under increasing pressure from Welsh Government to set aside land for housing, and new housing is being built across Wales in anticipation of a rising population. Welsh Government's keen to develop Wales and attract people in. I have no problem with that. What I want to ask, though, is: in light of the likely rising population in Wales, what plans have you put in place to ensure that there are sufficient places in schools to properly educate additional children?

The planning of school places is primarily the responsibility of individual local authorities, who I would expect would be able to ensure that when dealing with, for instance, new housing developments, they have taken into consideration the ability of people who may live in those areas to be able to respond to educational needs. If the Member has any examples where she feels that that is not happening, I'd be very interested to hear from her because we can take that up with individual local authorities.

I recently had the privilege of opening a new school in the Newport area, built in an area of the city that is experiencing a great deal of house building, and in that school, the school is going to grow as the community grows. So, they have an intake of reception and year 1, and as the community grows around it, there are spaces available in that school, and that's an example of a local authority really having some forethought about how they plan for increased housing and demand on education in their area.