Well, as outlined by Llyr earlier, and as I will outline later on, there are a number of parenting programmes, support toolkits, et cetera, that the Welsh Government make available, and an important part of that core offer of Flying Start is parenting support, so that parents are able to work with professionals to understand what they need to do, as individuals, to best support their children.

As you know, Flying Start targets some of the poorest, most disadvantaged communities across Wales, and the 2017 qualitative evaluation report notes that parents who had accessed speech, language and communication support thought that it had indeed made a significant difference to their child’s speech and language. They reported that their children were more talkative and learned and used new words, and spoke more clearly, and it is in Welsh Government guidance to local authorities that all Flying Start programmes have access to speech and language therapists.

So, to answer your question more directly, Bethan, to further support parents more widely, the Welsh Government's campaign, 'Parenting. Give it Time', supports the vital role that all parents play in supporting their children's development, and in their speech, language and communication skills in particular. There is a speech and language parent pack on our website, and there are very helpful and interesting support materials available free of charge to parents, including a factsheet on brain development, which explains to parents why it is so important. So, rather than just saying, 'You need to do this,' actually giving those parents the explanation as to why they need to carry out these activities with their children. 

However, we know that parents aren't the only influence on a young child's life, and that's why the Welsh Government has focused keenly on the quality of the early years workforce—as mentioned by Llyr in his contribution—in our 10-year plan. We want to attract the right people into the early years and childcare sector, with the skills and behaviours needed to provide high-quality early education and care. Underpinning this ambition is the development of a new suite of qualifications for childcare and play practitioners, which will be introduced in September 2019. We have recognised the importance of early language development, which is why the new qualifications will include a career pathway and clear progression routes to specialise in this area within that suite of qualifications.

Of course, this is the support that is offered in the very earliest years of a young child's life. Once they reach school age, there is a wide range of comprehensive and coherent support to make sure that all learners develop excellent language and communication skills, and it is a key part of my national mission for education in Wales. There is strong evidence that oracy is a vital building block for developing essential life skills, and importantly for me, a vital building block that all learners need if they're to go on to access the whole curriculum, regardless of their background. 

The Welsh Government has developed the national literacy and numeracy framework for three to 16-year-olds, where oracy is a strand within the literacy component, sharing equal status with reading and writing. The regional consortia are providing direct support to schools on literacy and numeracy, and to strengthen early language and communication provision across Wales, we have invested nearly £900,000 in the foundation phase oracy programme for 2017–2018. Indeed, Estyn's annual report, published in January, notes that the provision for literacy has improved and, overall, that this has had a positive impact on pupil standards.

At this point, I must mention the sterling work being done by the foundation phase practitioners and its approach to teaching and learning. It has been identified by practitioners as a significant strength of our current educational practice in Wales, and rightly so. All our evidence shows that where the foundation phase is being delivered well, it is raising the attainment of all of our children—and I'll say that again: all children—with improvements in overall school attendance, literacy, numeracy and, crucially, learner well-being. Evidence shows that, for early years in particular, it is the quality of teaching that is so influential, and we need to ensure that we're raising the capability of those working in the foundation phase, which is fundamental to developing children's oracy skills. This is therefore a key focus in the foundation phase action plan, which was published in November 2016.