Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I open this debate today by thanking Meilyr Rowlands for his annual report, the first based on Estyn's new inspection arrangements that were introduced in September 2017. This report provides us with valuable information based on Estyn's analysis of evidence from inspections about performance and standards across Wales. As a Government, we will be using this body of data to help monitor performance, inform policy and drive up standards in education and learning.

The chief inspector is right to say that there is much Wales can be proud of. It is particularly encouraging that Estyn have found that the shift in culture towards a more collaborative and self-improving system continues apace. This is vital if we are to continue to raise standards for all of our young people. The report finds that the positive trend is continuing in non-maintained nurseries, maintained special schools and our further education colleges. And it's extremely encouraging that standards are good or better in nine in 10 non-school settings and are improving, at higher than the percentage identified last year.

Standards are also found to be good or better in eight in 10 primary schools—an increase on last year—with more of them going on to be judged as excellent. The improvements in fundamentals, such as attendance and basic literacy over recent years, are to be welcomed and are paving the way for overall improvements across our primary sector. Yet, whilst I note that half of our secondary schools continue to maintain good or better standards, I accept that that means that half of them do not, and I do not believe that that is acceptable, and improvement is needed. I am in no doubt that there is still much work to do.

Five per cent of primary and 15 per cent of secondary schools have been identified as needing significant improvement or special measures. I believe that the challenge for the system is to ensure that schools that need additional support are identified at an earlier stage and that we work closely with schools and the profession to address these issues. The fact that schools are being placed in an Estyn statutory category year on year indicates, as I've said, that more needs to be done to identify schools causing concern earlier, and then, crucially, to provide them with appropriate support to enable them to improve.

I am currently considering how we will tackle this issue and to identify new mechanisms that could be put in place to provide support to make improvements in these schools. I'm encouraged that our policies such as the new professional standards for teaching and leadership, and the ongoing development of the new curriculum, have driven forward progress and improved teaching and learning experiences for pupils. The professional standards, which have pedagogy at their heart, have been designed to support practitioners to develop in a way that will prepare them to meet the challenges ahead.

I'm also pleased to note that schools and colleges have responded positively to changes in GCSE English, Welsh and maths. However, I do acknowledge that provision for the Welsh baccalaureate is more variable. The Welsh bac plays a key part in our national mission to raise standards by improving both the skills and knowledge of our young people. It has been designed to give young people a broader experience than they usually have through their traditional academic education. Enhancements to the arrangements on implementation of the Welsh bac are being actively addressed through the ongoing work of a partnership group that consists of Welsh Government, Qualifications Wales, and the WJEC, including actions on the key area of clarifying expectations for students at different levels.

As we all know in this Chamber, well-being is strongly linked to educational outcomes. I therefore welcome that well-being and attitudes to learning are good or excellent in two thirds of our secondary schools and have been identified as a strength in our primary sector. It is essential that every school develops an ethos to support the broader mental health and well-being of their learners, which in turn will help to prevent other issues from developing or escalating, including mental health issues.

Our national mission is to raise standards of education for all young people. We are currently developing new evaluation and improvement arrangements that will further support school improvement and raise standards. As you will know, I have issued a written statement today about these arrangements. This includes the work that will be taken forward from the recommendations within the Estyn independent report, ‘A Learning Inspectorate’. Moving to this new model of evaluation and improvement will put us more in line with high-performing systems across the world, and it will support the inspectorate in providing assurances that standards are being met whilst also supporting schools to maintain improvement. The policies that we have put in place are helping to drive improvements, but it is important that we maintain momentum to secure further and consistent improvements, as well as support schools through significant education reform.

Deputy Presiding Officer, I am very grateful for the teachers, leaders and managers throughout the sector for their continued efforts and contributions. We all share the same ambition: an ambition to raise standards, reduce the attainment gap, and to deliver an education system that is a source of national pride and enjoys the confidence of the people of Wales.