Diolch, Llywydd. I'm in no doubt that managing workload and reducing classroom bureaucracy is essential if we're to support our teachers to raise standards. This Government remains determined to give teachers the time to do what they do best: planning and teaching the best possible lessons for their pupils.

Finding better ways to manage workload and reduce bureaucracy is a significant challenge, but one that we need to meet head on if we want to ensure a high-quality, motivated education workforce. I'm pleased that we have made good progress in a short space of time to support our heads and our teachers. For example, over the last two years we have been developing a new evaluation and accountability system based on trust, respectful professional dialogue, and proportionality; we have produced reducing workload resources, training materials and guidance in conjunction with our stakeholders, including Estyn, regional consortia and unions; we're investing £36 million to reduce infant class sizes, ensuring teachers can devote more time and attention to pupils; we're replacing paper-based tests with less burdensome online assessments to support pupil progress and learning; we've introduced improvements to ensure equity of access for teachers to digital resources and services via Hwb; and we've established school business manager pilots, and over 100 schools were identified by local authorities as part of that programme, which has been running for now nearly two years, providing additional administrative support to school leaders. 

Now, those are just some examples of the actions that, working together, we have delivered. And of course, I'm conscious that schools need to be supported as we prepare for the roll-out of the new curriculum. My officials continue to identify best practice to minimise the impact of any workload issues as the new curriculum begins to roll out in 2022. However, while it’s clear that we are making progress in addressing workload, more can and more must be done. I recognise the importance of continuing to work collaboratively with the sector to find further ways to support the workforce. And to that effect, in April, I established a managing workload and reducing bureaucracy group, consisting of stakeholders from across all tiers and trade unions. This group has considered the priorities that we can start work on immediately, as well as additional short, medium and longer term actions as part of a broad plan that identifies work to be carried out to support teachers to manage workload.

From the many actions to be considered going forward, we have decided to concentrate on four immediate key priorities that we can deliver during the autumn term, before revisiting the medium and the longer term proposals of the group. These four priorities are (1) to develop a workload and well-being charter and toolkit for the school workforce, (2) to refresh and promote the reducing workload resources and training pack and, crucially, to monitor its take-up, (3) to further develop and circulate the training models and exemplar case studies produced across all four regional consortia to develop a cohesive approach to be applied on a national basis, and (4) to carry out a sector-wide audit exercise to examine what data is collected across all tiers, and how impact assessment on workload should be considered as part of any policy development.