I want to thank David for his commendation of our teachers and students and for his question.

The aim of the new curriculum is to be a much broader-based curriculum that will address both the knowledge that our children will need but also to give them the skills and experiences. And that does mean that, potentially, there is more scope within that curriculum for a more vocational focus. But you'll also be aware that Qualifications Wales is carrying out a consultation at the moment with regard to the qualifications, and there is some suggestion of a narrowing down of the literally thousands of qualifications children can do, but that, really, will be the guide as to the qualifications that will be available after the time at school. But this more broad-based curriculum and the ability of teachers to be able to design a curriculum that meets the needs of the children in front of them and the needs of local employers and the local economy—I believe that that greater freedom will be able to address that crucial thing of engagement.

I was at a school recently being interviewed by students, and they asked me to name something that I studied at school that I have never, ever, ever used again in my entire professional career, and I suspect we can all think of those kinds of things. And they gave me a long list of things that they felt that they had learnt in school that they were convinced were ever, ever going to be of use to them. We've got to listen and give the opportunity for our children to be able to have a say in, actually, 'What do I need?', and to give relevance to the learning. So, even if it's something that—. Surds in maths comes up a lot, so even though you might not understand why you're having to learn surds in maths, we give relevance to the learning by saying, 'Okay, maybe you don't like this, but you need to learn this because—', and show them the linkages to their future life skills, to their future careers, and that's how we really engage all of our learners. Raising aspiration is an important part of that and explaining to children that what they see around them isn't necessarily the limit of their ambitions and that they can think beyond that. And our Seren programme is the epitome of raising aspirations of our children to say, 'You are good enough. You can compete with the very best. There is a place for you at these universities, at these high-tariff courses.' That's one of the reasons why we want to bring Seren down the school age to be able to address those issues of aspiration earlier.

Teachers, of course, are crucial. No education system can exceed the quality of the teachers who work with our children day in, day out. That's why we've reformed our initial teacher education programme, that's why we are actively considering moving to a two-year newly qualified teacher phase, so there's greater support and mentoring for those first entering the profession, and that's why we need to look once again at the Master's programme. But not telling teachers in their first year of teaching they've got to do a Master's then, because they've got enough to contend with, but actually creating that gap for teachers to study at a Master's level. But also to continue the initial investment that we have started off in professional learning and ensuring that I can secure those resources so that professional learning can be ongoing.

Now, the head of the education department in the OECD indeed has had an interesting take on the Welsh education journey. He does believe that the reform programme that we're engaged in is the best chance of achieving a great education system, and he is very supportive of the curriculum and the curriculum changes. But what is crucial to me—it's all very well having a national mission written down on a piece of paper—in January, we will have our finished curriculum written down on pieces of paper. Our attention then has to turn to the serious business of implementation. I have been in this Chamber long enough to see very worthwhile plans formulated on paper and then fail in their implementation phase, and I am determined to learn the lessons of that and not to repeat that on my watch.