6. Will the Minister provide an update on the provision of ongoing training for teachers working in Wales? OAQ55270

Professional learning is crucial to ensuring that all staff—school staff—have the skills to deliver on our education reforms in Wales. We're expecting a profound transformation in the way that our practitioners think about professional learning in the light of the new curriculum, especially. As you can imagine, earlier this week, we had to stand down our professional learning offer. It was not appropriate at that time, when we needed all personnel to be in the classroom and not attending professional learning events.

No, and I totally understand that. In fact, I thought about withdrawing this question; I've withdrawn other ones today because I think that the most important thing we've got going on at the moment is, obviously, coronavirus. But I kept this one on because I know that, as the recess develops and we go into the summer, you will be looking at the development of teachers September onwards, and the question, actually, is, really, about supporting our teachers and giving them the ability to handle difficult children, children with behaviour management. I just wonder—not now, but going forward—. I've had a lot of concern from headteachers and teachers in my constituency where the teachers have not really been trained how to handle very disruptive, very aggressive primary schoolchildren. They don't want to ban them from school—that doesn't help anyone—but the teachers themselves need more resilience, more coping skills, more training, and I wondered if you would address that.

And please will you forgive me—or give me some indulgence—but, when you make your statement next week, could I ask you to consider giving us an update on, if the schools are going to be closed for a longer period of time than perhaps just Easter, whether we'd be able to use school facilities for the children of very important front-line healthcare, social care workers, or what we might be able to do? Because if we take them out of our health and social care workforce, our pharmacists, our police, we're really stuck. Thank you.

Well, the Member is right; we need to identify and support teachers in all their professional development needs. If I can be slightly breaking the rules as well this afternoon, as we all seem to be doing, Siân Gwenllian did raise the issue of initial teacher education and those students who will be on placement. Members here will know that ITE students need to complete a certain number of hours to gain their qualification. I have confirmed with all our ITE providers that those usual rules have been suspended. The vast majority of hours have already been completed, and I am not prepared to miss out on those talented students getting into our workforce for the sake of a few extra hours in our schools. So, I want to reassure them that they will not be disbenefited because they cannot complete their work placements in schools. We need them in our teaching workforce and we will not jeopardise that position.

The Member is absolutely right—I'm sorry if I haven't made it clear previously—when we think about the repurposing of our school estate, we will absolutely be looking at providing opportunities for those people who we need to continue to work, in its widest possible sense, to be able to avail themselves of opportunities to have their children attend meaningful, purposeful activity, probably out of a school building. We'll be working very closely with the local authorities to identify where are the best places to do that. We will be calling on all our professional resources—teachers, youth workers, sports development workers, arts practitioners—to ensure that that time is fun, it's meaningful and it's useful and can give parents real confidence so that they can do what they need to do and, my goodness me, do we need them to carry on doing what they are doing and not to be distracted about who is looking after their children and what their children are doing.

That is absolutely—. That's one of the reasons why we've kept schools going as long as we have, because they have been playing that vital role. We cannot say it too often, can we? We're ever so grateful. We know our healthcare workers are on the front line, but our teachers have been doing their bit as well to support this national effort.