Coronavirus

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Education – in the Senedd at 1:58 pm on 18 March 2020.

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Photo of Kirsty Williams Kirsty Williams Liberal Democrat 1:58, 18 March 2020

Can I sympathise with the Member? She's absolutely right when she says that this is a fast-moving situation—actually, minutes feel long at the moment, let alone hours and days, so I sympathise with the Member. She is right, issues around assessment—formal assessments and examinations will be at the forefront of our secondary school practitioners, which is why, as I said in answer to your colleague Suzy Davies, I will be looking to make an announcement as soon as possible following my meeting with Qualifications Wales and the WJEC this morning.

With regard to online learning, she's absolutely right. Actually, this Government's investment in Hwb and the development of the Hwb has put us at the absolute forefront of our ability to deliver online learning, as is the fact that every single child in Wales, via Hwb, has access to Microsoft Office and such software, as do all our teaching professionals. So, they can access that—they can use that software free of charge from home. But she is right, we do have to be mindful of equity in this situation, although I hope that she will agree with me that we're not going to get it perfect because we are dealing with such extraordinary circumstances. But she will be aware that we've been working closely with schools in the run-up to this decision, and schools where I know—where they know—that internet access could be problematic for their children have produced home learning packs in hard copy and are sending those home with children. So, those teachers who know that this could be an issue have already been anticipating and looking at different ways in which they can support children's education going forward.