7. Plaid Cymru Debate: School Funding

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:12 pm on 13 June 2018.

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Photo of Kirsty Williams Kirsty Williams Liberal Democrat 6:12, 13 June 2018

Presiding Officer, I do recognise, even with the additional resources that we are making available, that schools' budgets are stretched. I understand that. It means tough choices to ensure that funding does indeed get to the front line, and I will continue to work closely with heads, teachers, the unions, the regional consortia and local authorities to ensure that we're focused on raising standards for every single pupil in every single school, and I welcome the attention that the children and young people's committee is giving to this issue. Indeed, although we have not heard directly from Plaid Cymru today what their actual proposal would be for an alternative model, I note that Llyr has ruled out direct funding of schools, so it's not that model they're in favour of. But I am happy to work with people across the Chamber to look to see how we can collectively prioritise the needs of the children of our nation. Through that collective endeavour, we will set high expectations, we will reduce the attainment gap and we will deliver an education system that is a source of national pride and enjoys public confidence.