Thank you, Diprwy Lywydd, and I’m pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to the debate this afternoon.

We've heard from professionals in the field of education recently that they believe that the low levels of school funding in Wales are preventing them from teaching lessons to the standards that they require. There is a lack of resources, and, increasingly, the lack of a full staffing complement is undermining the ability of schools in Wales to ensure the very highest educational standards. Those aren't my words, but the words of NUT Wales, and the evidence shows that the current funding model is having a real impact on educational standards across Wales, particularly in my constituency.

Unfortunately, earlier this year, school category figures from the Welsh Government showed that Pembrokeshire has the highest percentage of primary schools needing the most support. According to those figures, 10.7 per cent of the authority’s primary schools were placed in the red category, compared to only 3.6 per cent the previous year. That’s a significant jump over just 12 months, and, as Suzy Davies said, by now, more than one in 10 primary schools in Pembrokeshire is in the red category and in need of additional support.

Now, while I accept that the funding model is not the only reason why Pembrokeshire faces a challenge in school standards, it is certainly clear that the assessments based on school services indicators are not meeting the needs of schools in my constituency. It’s clear that funding levels across different parts of Wales are inconsistent and that this inconsistency is impacting standards.

This inconsistency was raised last year by Michael Davies, head of Ysgol y Preseli in Crymych, who said that his school is looking at 'deeper cuts than ever before', including GCSE courses and partnerships with local colleges. He warned, and I quote:

'We've cut everything down to the bone—and now unfortunately we're having to look at cutting that most important resource of all, which is the teaching staff and support staff.'

So, perhaps, in responding to this debate this afternoon, the Minister could tell us what steps the Welsh Government has taken to get to grips with the specific concerns of headteachers in Pembrokeshire over the past year, and also tell us what further steps the Welsh Government will be taking to get to grips with this situation.

Now, in response to school categorisation statistics, the Minister has noted that the system has become more sophisticated over time. Indeed, perhaps this is what has happened, but, to many in Wales, the system appears to be too bureaucratic, and, as the statistics themselves demonstrate, in some parts of Wales the regional consortia are not providing for pupils in some areas.

Figures from the Association of School and College Leaders demonstrate that the school improvement consortium retains £40 million, which doesn't, therefore, reach our schools, at a time when schools are being underfunded. This is simply unacceptable. It isn’t right that vital funding is being kept back when schools across Wales have to cope with smaller budgets. Indeed, the National Association of Head Teachers in Wales has questioned whether the regional consortia are providing value for money, stating that, I quote, 'Over the past few years, schools have faced significant cuts, especially in terms of lower levels of delegated funds, as a result of multi-layered governance in Wales.'

Therefore, it’s vital that the Welsh Government now assesses the effectiveness of the regional consortia to see whether they are genuinely achieving the results that we need to see in schools across Wales. The question is whether these consortia add value to our education system or are they simply a waste of resources, creating an additional level of bureaucracy.

Dirprwy Lywydd, at the heart of this debate is the desire to see schools in Wales flourishing and we, on this side of the Siambr, believe that the Welsh Government needs to evaluate its funding formulae so that we can better understand outcomes for learners and value for money. The current situation makes it very difficult to discover how effective school funding is in Wales, and without understanding the effectiveness of expenditure, very few levers remain to the Welsh Government to achieve the improvements that are needed in the education system. Of course, we all have our own ideas about how to improve the system, such as direct funding of schools by the Welsh Government, and this would certainly lead to more funding reaching our classrooms.

Naturally, there are other challenges, not least of which is Wales's geography. Providing services in rural areas is expensive as compared to educating pupils in larger schools. We know that rural authorities have referred to school transport costs as something that is difficult to manage, and that issue doesn't arise in our urban areas. So, the Welsh Government must ensure that its funding models are rural-proofed to ensure that rural authorities aren't at a disadvantage in the funding they receive from the Welsh Government.

So, in concluding, Dirprwy Lywydd, our proposal calls on the Welsh Government to review its funding models and seek a better way to monitor the effectiveness of its expenditure so that the public can understand the way that individual schools are funded and so that we can achieve the best possible results for learners in Wales. And so, I urge Members to support this motion.