Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:21 pm on 12 February 2019.
In the report that was published only a week or so ago, which showed how schools were faring in relation to the additional support that they need, in the Swansea area, part of the ERW consortium, far more primary schools moved towards needing fewer rather than greater hours of support. Twenty-nine schools in that area moved in a positive direction, whereas only four schools were categorised as needing more support—a ratio of more than 7:1 of schools moving in the right direction. That is a tremendous tribute, isn't it, to those people who lead education in that part of Wales and the work that teachers in schools do? So, while I recognise that out there on the front line the pressures of nine years of austerity are absolutely real and are felt every day in the work that people do, the positive message I would want to give to those headteachers is that, together, through the actions they are taking, they are succeeding in providing a better education for the children who are in their schools today, and I hope that they will take some confidence from their own success and that that will give them some of the strength and the resilience they need to deal with the undoubted difficulties that all public services in Wales face.