10. Short Debate: Gwlad y gân: datblygu strategaeth addysg cerdd i Gymru

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:00 pm on 2 May 2018.

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Photo of Kirsty Williams Kirsty Williams Liberal Democrat 5:00, 2 May 2018

What's important to remember about how that scheme operates is that it's up to the individual school to work with the arts council to identify creative partners to deliver the project. So, it's for the school to identify the type of practitioners who they want to work with. I wouldn't want to take away from the autonomy of head teachers to be able to plan that provision and to work with a variety of professional artists, but I'm always willing to look to see what we can do to ensure that as wide a variety of professionals as possible can work within our schools. 

What's really important about that programme is that it is raising attainment and aspirations and it's helping us shape our new curriculum. Only last week—and I was really disappointed that commitments here prevented me from attending—at Tate Modern, 32 lead creative schools from Wales had the opportunity to take part in projects and showcase their work. Our focus on creativity in the curriculum was shared to a wide audience outside of Wales with over 1,000 visitors seeing that exhibition at the Tate, and I think that's fantastic.

In conclusion, I want to say that I'm looking forward to seeing the recommendations from the culture and Welsh language committee, which has been undertaking a review of music provision in Wales. But I hope that you can see from the overview that I have given this afternoon that I value and support music education through a range of approaches, and that I'm firmly focused on ensuring that we continue to build upon and enhance music provision for all of our young people—for its own sake and for the sake of our nation.