2. Will the Minister make a statement on the materials and resources available to teach Welsh history in schools? OAQ55267

Thank you, David. Hundreds of teaching resources, specifically relating to Welsh history, are available for teachers to utilise on our online platform, Hwb. Cadw, National Museums Wales, the National Library for Wales and local history associations have all produced resources, which have been captured by the Learned Society of Wales's recent review of such resources.

Minister, that's an encouraging answer. And, at the moment, when we're dealing with the coronavirus, I think it's important to realise that there are historical events that can be instructive, like the Spanish flu epidemic, called 'Spanish' because Spain wasn't under reporting restrictions, as it didn't participate in the first world war. And I heard Professor Sir Deian Hopkin say on Sunday Supplement that David Lloyd George was very seriously ill during that flu pandemic. And that's something I didn't know. I have seen the many graves of servicemen around various places in Wales, which say that private so-and-so, sergeant-whatever, died in 1919. And a lot of those were, of course, caused by the flu pandemic. And people will want to study our current period at some point as well, which is why record keeping, and resources, and all these things are so important.

Indeed. It's interesting that you raise this interesting supplementary to this question. I have advised all three of my daughters to keep a diary of this time, so that, in years to come, when this country is back to normal, which we will be—which we will be—then they can reflect on their experiences as a young person, and their reflections on how we, as adults and grown-ups, are reacting. So it is an interesting suggestion, and may be a primary resource for Hwb of the future.

But on the wider issue of the new curriculum, as everyone knows, the new curriculum is moving away from specifying lists and topics of content to be taught. But of course, good-quality resources are essential to that process, and that's why we did commission the Learned Society of Wales to map the available existing resources that can be used to support the Welsh dimension and the international perspective of our new curriculum. Dr Sarah Morse, of the Learned Society of Wales, has stated that there is not a shortage of resources. There is an extensive list already available, but where we have identified gaps, we will be working with stakeholders to address those gaps.

I think that David Melding raised a really important point, because far too much of current events, which will be looked at in history in the future, are ephemeral—they're being held digitally, and they will disappear. I think that's something that we need to all worry about.

But two things I would like to raise. Two parts of Welsh history are often ignored. Firstly, the working class struggles of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. And, secondly, Wales was rarely one kingdom following the departure of the Romans in the fifth century—it evolved into a series of kingdoms. Will the Minister support the teaching of, and the provision of resources about, the history of working-class Welsh history, and of the great kingdoms that existed within the boundaries of what is now Wales?

As I said in my answer to David Melding, the Learned Society have not identified a lack of resources as a challenge to delivering our new curriculum. But where there are gaps in resources, we'll be looking to work with interested parties, of all kinds—maybe even you, Mike—to be able to develop resources to fill those gaps.