On the other hand, she’s also recognised there are less positive elements, and one of the most disappointing elements for me is—. Clearly, half of secondary schools and 70 per cent of primary schools are judged to be 'good' or 'excellent', but that, of course, means that half of the schools—as she recognised and acknowledged—are only 'adequate' or 'unsatisfactory'. And in that context, of course, Estyn reminds us that that is consistent with the results since 2010. So, although she said that it’s an improvement on last year, we haven’t seen the progress that many of us would have liked to have seen—over the longer term, anyway.

Variability, of course, is still a problem. It’s an issue that’s raised every year, nearly, when this report is published, and one does feel now that we should be seeing a little more improvement on that front.

Time is relatively short to deal with all of the issues, so I will just focus on a few specifics.

The comments on the foundation phase are ones that the Cabinet Secretary’s referred to. Everyone acknowledges the importance of high-quality early years education as a priority, and the impact that that has on the long-term achievement of pupils. Seeing statements in the annual report—. For example, the one that highlights the fact that in 75 per cent of schools heads don’t fully understand the principles and best-practice pedagogy of the foundation phase is quite frightening, as I’ve said. We need a greater focus on this, in my opinion, and we do need to tackle the issue, because the foundation phase has had difficulties in the past, as we know. But there’s also a reference in the report to the direct impact that some of the budget cuts are having in that area. For example, there is mention that there are fewer qualified teachers now working within the foundation phase because of some of the budgetary cuts, and that goes entirely contrary to the narrative that we heard and the narrative that many of us want to see delivered, in terms of creating the even more qualified workforce, so that that can have a positive impact on the educational attainment of pupils.

In that context, if I may just ask the Cabinet Secretary about the childcare offer. Now, I know it’s not directly a part of her portfolio, but the implications of the success or otherwise of that policy on the early years in education and in schools will have a direct impact. Clearly, we as a party want to see that as an offer extended to all, not just to working parents. The Cabinet Secretary for health and the Minister for children, in the children and young people committee, refused to share that ambition as a long-term aim. I would just want to know what your views are on that. Do you agree with the children’s commissioner, for example, and Save the Children in Wales, who all say that there is a very real risk that the attainment gap will have widened even further between the most disadvantaged children from homes where the parents don’t work, of course, unless they too have access to the childcare offer—perhaps not immediately, but certainly as a medium-term ambition?

I admit that the Plaid Cymru amendment is possibly one of the least contentious amendments this Assembly has seen for quite some time, but it does summarise for me one of the main aspects that gets to the very heart of the report. I know that the Cabinet Secretary has recognised that, to a certain extent, in her opening comments, namely the need to improve the support in terms of professional development, and also to improve recruitment and initial training for new teachers. There’s almost a list of examples of weaknesses in that area that are having an impact on, for example, numeracy—there’s mention of a lack of confidence among teachers, which is something that needs to be resolved; that teachers aren’t properly prepared with the skills they need to provide the range of information technology required in schools. I’ve already referred to some of the comments on the foundation phase, and also, of course, the lack of planning in Welsh-medium education, which is something that the Minister has referred to—the lack of recruitment of Welsh-medium teachers. 

More of the same problems have been highlighted in the report, truth be told, as we've heard in previous years. So, progress in these areas hasn't happened as swiftly as many of us would've liked. One recognises that the Cabinet Secretary is taking steps to address some of these issues, but the core message that I take from this report is, of course, that unless we truly tackle some of the fundamental problems, such as sufficient funding for schools in Wales, such as recruitment and retention of teachers more effectively within the sector, then the risk is that some of the improvements that we start to see emerge in the sector will be nothing more than building a house on sand.