2. Business Statement and Announcement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:38 pm on 25 February 2020.

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Photo of Mohammad Asghar Mohammad Asghar Conservative 2:38, 25 February 2020

Minister, may I ask for a statement from the Minister for Education about the disruption of pupil learning caused by the strike action by teachers at Llanwern High School and Caerleon Comprehensive School in Newport? Teaching unions say that industrial action has been prompted by the overhaul of the curriculum in Wales. The acting general secretary of NASUWT says that the union has not heard any convincing argument for why this proposed restructuring is necessary. The National Education Union Cymru says that Caerleon Comprehensive School has suffered from historic and prolific underfunding and the staff have been subjected to restructuring and redundancy procedures on a regular basis for a number of years. They fear a reduction in staffing levels, and support for children with special needs being withdrawn. Can we have a statement from the Minister on what action she's taking to allay the fears of teaching unions, so that disruption to the education of pupils at these two Newport schools can be avoided? Thank you.