7. Will the Minister make a statement on educational support for children who have not returned to school? OQ55418

I think, Janet, as learners return to the physical school environment, practitioners will be providing a combination of approaches, especially for those children for whom, perhaps, a return to school is not recommended at this time. 

Diolch. In April, an extra £3 million was announced to support digitally excluded learners, yet I am aware of many parents who have waited all these months for a laptop. I've even had issues around the provision of a dongle. So, can you confirm whether all digitally excluded learners in Wales have now been provided with the technology they need, and how will you address the shortfall? Last month a survey report found that only 1.9 per cent of students received four lessons per day that only 1.9 per cent of students received four lessons per day. What steps have you taken to improve this? Then, on Monday, you did announce that £1 million has been allocated to support those children to re-engage with education over the summer holiday, especially those who have not been in school. But I do ask: how realistic is it to expect this of children over the summer break, especially when many have simply been unable to access online learning during the actual summer term? Thank you.

Janet, as I said in answer to Siân Gwenllian, schools have distributed over 10,000 individual devices, and over—. Actually, Welsh Government has provided over 10,000 software licences that allows the equipment to be converted into what a child needs. Actually, the number goes above that, because individual schools had already proactively sent out a number of devices.

If you are in touch with parents who say that they have not been able to get a laptop or a Mi-Fi device, then I respectfully suggest to you, Janet, that they either need to speak to their headteacher, or to their local authority who have been charged with co-ordinating this scheme. It is simply impossible, from Cardiff Bay, or indeed a poorly connected home in Brecon, to oversee the individual distribution of these laptops. So, Janet, you really need to ask your local authority why there are children in your area that have not got the support that they need.

And finally, Jenny Rathbone—question 8.