Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Education – in the Senedd at 1:36 pm on 1 May 2019.
Thank you, Helen Mary. You are absolutely right to draw the Chamber's attention to the specific needs of carers within our educational system and to ensuring that our educators and schools and colleges are attuned to the sometimes very simple things that they can do to make school and college easier for those young people to fully participate and reach their full potential.
The issue around the organisation of school days is often associated with the issue of an asymmetric week. Members will be aware that the Public Policy Institute for Wales carried out research into the asymmetric school week, which often does lead to the curtailing, potentially, of either break times or lunch times. Actually, in those instances, it was reported that, sometimes, a shorter lunch break actually assisted the well-being of children because it cut down opportunities for bullying and some of the issues associated with long periods outside without the direct supervision of staff. But, of course, that's not necessarily applicable to the issue of carers.
The Member, I'm sure, will be aware that I have asked Estyn particularly to do a strategic review into what more we can do within the education system to ensure that that group of learners reach their full potential and, as I said, that the profession know how best to support them.