Deputy Presiding Officer, I open this debate today by thanking Meilyr Rowlands for his third annual report as chief inspector of education and training in Wales. As well as providing evidence on performance and standards, the chief inspector's report will inform policy development and drive improvements in education. Estyn's 2016-17 annual report looks at progress over the past seven years, back to 2010, when Estyn's current inspection cycle began, and the inspection findings for the sectors. I welcome this long-term approach. It is encouraging to see that the biggest trend over the last seven years has been the move towards a culture of self-improvement, and this remains a key priority for me and the Government.

The report shows increased collaboration between schools, particularly in the way the new curriculum is being developed. We are supporting schools to collaborate and play their full part in a self-improving system, and this effort is facilitated through the educational regional consortia. I welcome the findings that show that many strengths exist in nursery settings, maintained special schools and further education colleges. The quality of education is good or better in most cases, and there has been continued progress with early years provision, literacy and numeracy, behaviour and attendance and the performance of disadvantaged learners.

I am pleased to see that, between 2010 and 2017, there were also improvements in primary school performance, particularly of boys and those pupils eligible for free school meals. It is encouraging that schools and settings are committed to good foundation phase practice. Children make good progress and show increased motivation and enjoyment of learning where settings get it right. I note, however, that the application of the foundation phase has been inconsistent. I recognise that more needs to be done to embed consistent practice across Wales and to ensure that the right framework exists to support effective teaching and learning through foundation phase pedagogy. Last year, I announced the development of a foundation phase excellence network, which primarily will support the sharing of effective practice and work closely with the networks of excellence in science, technology and mathematics.

Deputy Presiding Officer, it's heartening that looking after pupils' well-being, care, support and guidance and the learning environment are strong features of our education system. We know that well-being is strongly linked to educational outcomes, and children with higher levels of emotional, behavioural, social and school well-being, on average, have higher levels of achievement and are more engaged in their schooling.

I note the report's findings that seven in 10 primary schools inspected this year are good or excellent, which is similar to last year. While this is positive, and I recognise the dedication and hard work of our schools in achieving this, there is clearly more to be done. Half of the secondary schools inspected are good or excellent, which is an improvement on last year. I'm also pleased to see the report's findings that there are good and excellent providers in all sectors, including in areas of relative poverty. We are committed to creating an inclusive education system for all learners, regardless of their needs, to ensure that all learners are able to access a high standard of education. The report is clear that we are making progress, although I believe, Deputy Presiding Officer, there is still too much variability in some sectors and challenges still remain in raising standards in numeracy, raising standards in Welsh in English-medium schools, improving pupils' progress in digital skills, and in continuing to reduce the attainment gap.

The report, however, does show that there are now far more examples of schools collaborating to improve aspects of provision, such as literacy and numeracy projects, improving teaching and developing leadership, which will, I believe, all help reduce variability in the system. There is now a more systematic approach to planning opportunities for pupils to apply and practice their numeracy across the curriculum, resulting from schools' implementation of the national literacy and numeracy framework.

Standards of Welsh in many English-medium secondary schools are improving, with the numbers achieving qualifications in Welsh at the end of key stage 4 increasing by over 12 percentage points between 2010 and 2016. However, the chief inspector's foreword notes that some schools focus too much on examination technique rather than on providing broad education, and this is because the secondary schools' accountability system is linked to external examination results, and I recognise this. We are continuing to work with key stakeholders and partners to develop a new evaluation framework and a new model of accountability. We will establish constructive evaluation and accountability mechanisms to reinforce the purposes of reform and bring system alignment to curriculum, assessment and accountability arrangements.

I note that in 2016-17, the number of trainees on both undergraduate and postgraduate initial teacher education programmes fell short of intake targets. Recruitment to primary programmes was around 90 per cent of the target, and secondary programmes only attracted 66 per cent of the target. Therefore, I have established a new teacher recruitment and retention advisory board, which will consider these issues and how we can support a high-quality education workforce, able to meet the demands of the curriculum and wider education reform. Let me be clear: our teachers are absolutely integral to our national mission. A profession that collaborates is always learning and, therefore, always raising standards. It is clear from the report that the policies we have put in place are helping to drive improvement, but it's really important that we maintain momentum to secure further and more consistent advances across our education system.

The Estyn report will play a key role in highlighting areas in need of improvement and supporting the implementation of our wide-reaching reforms. Our focus must continue to ensure that we properly implement our national mission of education reform to drive up standards and help every learner, whatever their background, to fulfil their potential. Deputy Presiding Officer, I'm grateful to all the teachers, the school leaders and managers throughout the sector for their contributions. We all share the same ambition for our children and young people: an excellent education system. Therefore, it only remains for me to thank Meilyr Rowlands and his team for the work that has gone in to producing this annual report. Diolch yn fawr.