Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:13 pm on 14 March 2018.
I just wanted to address a particular point, really, and it is with regard to the importance of leadership in our schools, which we very regularly hear is vital, and I believe that, indeed, it is. We must have the right leadership skills and the right leadership teams in place if we're going to make the sort of progress that we wish to see in our schools. I want to relate that to the particular challenges in our more deprived schools, where I think particular leadership qualities, perhaps, are necessary.
So, I'm wondering whether the new national academy for leadership, and, indeed, the new professional leadership standards, might have a bespoke element that looks at the particular abilities that have been proven to work in our more deprived schools, where the leadership teams have the necessary skill sets, the necessary characteristics and abilities, to really take those schools forward, and whether we might recognise and identify those particular skills that are working in those schools really making progress in our more deprived communities, and then seek to ensure that there are sufficient of those skills present in our staff, our leadership teams, right across Wales to ensure that all schools serving those more deprived communities succeed in the way that some are—those exhibiting best practice at the moment.
So, I think there is, perhaps, a particular need within the more general leadership skills and abilities that we want in Wales that would more effectively address those challenges in those schools. These are issues that have been discussed, Dirprwy Lywydd, and I wonder whether the Cabinet Secretary and, perhaps, indeed, our Chair might address the progress that could be made on those particular matters.