Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:49 pm on 29 January 2019.
No change is not an option—the jobs haven't been invented yet for our primary school children to do, so we absolutely have to change the curriculum. It's pointless learning facts by rote when everybody can look up facts on their mobile phone. So, I completely support the philosophy and the approach of the Government on this matter. I just wanted to confine my remarks to a few questions. First of all, the statutory roll-out in September 2022 is really not very far off. So, I wonder how we are minimising anxiety for staff facing change, which always causes—. I'm not interested in the Welsh Local Government Association and the directors of education; I'm interested in the grass roots. Because we have to be aware that, in England, there is a serious problem of staff retention in schools and because the job is just so all-encompassing if you're a full-time teacher. So, will the more creative curriculum for pupils also offer more creative and flexible career paths for teachers? That is one question.
My second question relates to the rather depressing document, 'Language Trends Wales 2018', which I think hit our desks last week. Relatively few schools—. This is about the massive reduction in the learning of modern foreign languages and the impact of Brexit, which this report touches on. More than a third of schools report that the Brexit process is having a negative effect on attitudes towards the study of modern foreign languages. Of course we should celebrate our bilingualism in Wales, but we can't just be learners of Welsh and English; we have to be learners of other foreign languages so that we are going to continue to be able to deal with the global environment. So, whilst we are embedding the new curriculum—and I wish you well with all of that—how are we going to stop the drain in modern foreign languages, because I haven't yet been able to find anything on that in the White Paper?