7. Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education: Digital Skills and Coding

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:32 pm on 1 May 2018.

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Photo of Lee Waters Lee Waters Labour 6:32, 1 May 2018

Cabinet Secretary, maybe I could bother you a little more. I wish you'd said in your statement what you said in the questions, because I do think you genuinely get the problem. I was slightly depressed that the statement puts a gloss on where we're at, and it seems to me that if we've got any chance of addressing the scale of change we need to carry out, it needs to start with an honest analysis of where things are at. You quoted the Estyn report, which said that, in two thirds of primary schools, there are important shortcomings in standards of ICT that should be a wake-up call to all of us. My frustration goes across all departments in the way that we are embracing digital. But in terms of education, I don't think that listing a litany of useful initiatives we are undertaking really does cut it, given the scale of the challenge that does face us. I genuinely am alarmed that we are way behind where we should be.

You mentioned that there are 473 code clubs. I'd be interested to know how many pupils are going through those code clubs. I would be particularly interested to know how many pupils on free school meals are going through those code clubs. Let's not kid ourselves: the amount of people we're engaging with is trivial, given the challenges that we are facing as a society, and I'd much rather the Welsh Government started its statement by saying that, and be honest about where we're at, rather than trying to pretend all was well.

The other findings in the Estyn report are that teachers lack knowledge and confidence. You mentioned that Hwb is a tool on it—a DCF mapping tool—but given the fact that schools are not auditing their digital competence already, they're hardly likely to start using a mapping tool on Hwb. It was also said in the Estyn report that schools lack a clear vision about ICT from senior leaders. That is a profound and damning indictment of the state of our school leadership. If they haven't got the skills and the knowledge and the confidence, they're not about to suddenly start doing this. The items you addressed are some way in the future, and they are going to take a long time to trickle down through all of our schools. That's what we should all be confronting. As it happens, I agree with you on Hwb+. I think Llyr Gruffydd is wrong on that. I think the feedback I'm getting from the profession was that that had lost its way and a new approach needs to be taken.

But I do implore you, Cabinet Secretary, to be honest with us all about where we're really at, and what really needs to change, and the pace and scale at which it needs to do so.