6. Statement by the Minister for Education: Adult Learners Week

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:07 pm on 18 June 2019.

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Photo of Kirsty Williams Kirsty Williams Liberal Democrat 6:07, 18 June 2019

Can I just say in response that I had the opportunity of meeting Gwyn at the awards ceremony? Like the Member has just said, at the age of 19, Gwyn was admitted to Hensol and spent decades of his life in that institution. They were not happy years. He spent much of his time isolated, alone and, I'm ashamed to say, often drugged and sedated. The fact that Gwyn is now living life to the full and is the life and soul of the group in Gilfach is tremendous. And what he had to say to me was that he has no intention of stopping learning any time soon. And what learning has given him is power—power over his life to make decisions about how he spends his time, and power that, for so many years when he was at Hensol, did not belong to him.

If you're not inspired by Gwyn, then you would be inspired by Andrea Garvey, who, as a young mum, aspired to study the law. And now she has done just that. Having completed a law degree at Swansea University, she is currently studying for her Master's at Swansea University. She has a particular passion for miscarriages of justice and has been greatly involved in the work that Swansea law department does looking at cases and looking at new opportunities to examine whether there has been a miscarriage of justice. She was nominated by members of her family who are just so proud of what she has achieved. 

I left that evening—and, I don't know, I think we could all do with signing up for the stress management course—and it certainly inspired me to think about doing my Master's, and I'll be older than my 30s, Huw, but, as you said, it's never too late and I may have that opportunity to do just that. 

I want to make Wales a second-chance nation, or, as somebody said, maybe we need a third chance, or a fourth chance, or a fifth chance to go back and engage in these activities. We have signed up as a Government to creating that right to lifelong learning. The challenge for me now is to turn that right and that concept into a reality, a reality for the Gwyns of this world, the reality for the Andreas of this world and, who knows, even the reality for the Kirsty Williamses of this world.