Thank you, Deputy Llywydd. First, I'd like to say that this issue has garnered widespread public interest, and while we're not the education committee, having conducted a public poll on what the public thought that we as a committee should investigate as a committee, this matter came to the fore. Over 2,500 people responded to that poll and 44 per cent said that we should look into this matter.

During the inquiry, it was clear that the concerns around the teaching of history were the most immediate. But it is true to say that culture and heritage is an integral part of our history, and therefore any developments for the future would need to look at this in more detail. Clearly, history isn't the only subject where narratives and experiences of Welsh identity are reflected, as we've been reminded, and I hope that we will have time to consider the teaching of Welsh culture through language, literature and the arts in future.

History teaching should not be confined to one particular lesson structure—we agree on that, certainly. Therefore, a wider piece of work from this committee, looking at the possibilities and how the wider school community engages with history, culture and heritage, would be something that we would welcome for the future.

In terms of the challenges of the new curriculum, these concerns were precipitated by the reforms to the Curriculum for Wales 2022. Professionals told us that the teaching of Welsh history will be diluted when it will be taught within the humanities area of learning and experience, alongside religious studies, geography and business studies. Academics and teaching unions told us that this approach would mean that students wouldn't have the chance to develop the rigour of historical analysis they need to study the subject at degree level.

Most importantly, everyone who came to speak to us called for all pupils to learn common themes and events. A typical comment came from Dr Elin Jones, who said that there are certain key periods in Welsh history when there are developments that are central to the formation of an individual identity in Wales. That's why I'm disappointed that the Government has rejected our recommendation to include a common body of knowledge for all pupils studying history in the new curriculum. The evidence we heard was that learning about key events will allow all pupils to have an understanding of how their country has been shaped by local and national events within the wider context.

The Government told us that the Curriculum for Wales 2020:

'is a purpose-led curriculum which moves away from specifying lists of "topics/content" to be taught.'

They also said:

'The flexibility of the new Curriculum will enhance this learning by allowing teachers to deliver lessons in more creative ways better suited to the learners they teach.'

This will means that learners across Wales will have very different experiences of learning about Welsh history. This flexibility is what prompted the concern of practitioners who told us that there were certain elements of our shared history that are too important to omit. Gaynor Legall from the Heritage and Cultural Exchange said, and I quote: