9. Will the First Minister outline the actions the Welsh Government is taking to improve the mental health of young people? OAQ53877

The Welsh Government continues to take action across the range of our responsibilities, including working with schools, colleges and the NHS, as well as a range of other partners across the public and third sectors, as we respond to the changing mental health needs of young people in Wales.

Thank you, First Minister. Young people today face an onslaught of pressures not even dreamt about during our generation. From pressures for how they look on Instagram to the need to spend money to avoid being a 'default' in Fortnite, the burden of the social media age takes its toll. Last week, a survey revealed that six and seven-year-olds are worried about school tests. First Minister, what steps can your Government take to reduce the stresses placed on young people?

I thank the Member for that important question. I agree with her that the difficult business of growing up is, in some ways, even more difficult than it has been in the past because of the way in which new media and other things intrude into young people's lives and the pressures that young people can feel to succeed in what can feel like a difficult and competitive world. Where those things are in our hands, as in the case of six and seven-year-olds, then we have acted already to try and make sure that the formative work that is important—because it's very important that formative assessment is made of young people so that they can get the help they need and, as their education progresses, it's tailored to their needs—but to try and bring about those formative assessments in ways that do not have the downsides of making those young people feel under additional pressures. And I know that Caroline Jones will know that we've moved to a new form of testing that will mean it doesn't all have to be bunched into a particular part of a year, that it won't feel like conventional testing, and that individual young people will be able to pursue a series of questions that are right for them and allow their teachers, then, to make an assessment of their progress and to make sure that, as they move ahead, they're able to get the sort of help that we would like to see for them. 

Thank you, First Minister.