Can I thank Siân Gwenllian? And can I say that I welcome very much the process we've now got to in terms of scrutiny? I have been in this Chamber long enough, both on that side of the house and on this side of the house, to know what a valuable process the scrutiny process of this Parliament is and how, often, legislation is stronger and better as a result of that. That's the whole point why many of us have dedicated significant decades of our adult lives campaigning for a Parliament. And, therefore, that scrutiny process is one that Ministers should welcome; it's not always comfortable, but certainly it's an important part of our democracy, is it not? And I'm sure that there will be some really valuable opportunities throughout the passage of the Bill to test and to challenge and, where necessary, to improve. I don't think that there is a Bill that's ever gone through the Parliament that hasn't been better as a result of that process, the parliamentary process.

With regard to health and well-being, well, this is one of the exciting developments within the curriculum, that health and well-being is one of the areas of learning and experience that we will legislate for in the Bill. And that covers a broad variety of subjects, both physical and mental health and well-being. And the importance of mental health is well catered for within the 'what matters' statements that lie beneath the individual AoLE. So, I believe that we have given a very, very clear steer of our expectation that in delivering—and you have a duty to deliver—the health and well-being AoLE, mental health and well-being will be an important part of that.

Can I thank Siân for drawing everybody's attention to the other written statement that's gone out today on the start of our consultation on our whole-school approach and the framework to support schools? That is a direct result, again, of scrutiny of this Parliament and the work of the Children, Young People and Education Committee on mental health and well-being for children. Because, whilst I would agree with her that there is a place for that as a subject within the curriculum, what the CYPE committee's report was very much about is that mental health and well-being cannot be achieved by our children simply by learning a lesson about it; we have to create the conditions within the school itself for it to be a healthy environment. So, everybody in the school, the environment of the school, everybody who works in that school, the whole ethos that underpins that school, should be there to support children's mental health and well-being. And that's not a 'nice to have' or something a bit out there, because we know that, without good mental health and well-being, children cannot learn; the learning simply will not sit. We have to address children's mental health and well-being and create an environment where they are happy and safe and feel secure, otherwise the learning will not be as successful as we would want it to be.

So, I hope that people will respond to the consultation and I hope that the framework gives justice to the work of the CYPE committee on 'Together for Mental Health'. The curriculum has plenty of opportunity to support children's mental health and well-being, but it has to be in our schools as more than simply an element of the curriculum. 

Now, of course, I understand—my goodness me, I don't think that there has been a day since I took this job when I haven't had an e-mail from somebody who is very enthusiastic, very passionate, about why their subject needs to be on the face of the Bill. And I don't doubt that all of those people can make a very genuine case, but, if we were to do that, we'd end up where we are now, Deputy Presiding Officer, with a curriculum that is over-stuffed, unmanageable and has robbed the profession of its creativity, because it has reduced teaching to doing a tick-box exercise of everything that somebody over the years has decided has to be taught. And every week, almost, we have a story that, 'This needs to be part of the curriculum', and that has happened over many years. Well-meaning Ministers who have wanted to do the right thing and have been motivated by very noble intentions have added it onto the curriculum—they've stuck it onto the curriculum. And we've given ourselves something that is completely unmanageable. And, simply by listing it, that alone does not mean that that will be a well-delivered, quality lesson in that particular area.

So, quite rightly, the challenge is why we have focused on the subjects that we have in terms of the face of the Bill. Well, I hope that nobody here could disagree that ensuring that we attend to our children's literacy and numeracy is not up for question. These are the basic skills that individual children will need when they leave school. And, increasingly—and, my goodness me, haven't we all had a steep learning lesson in recent weeks—digital competency is also now that third element alongside literacy and numeracy. And perhaps—. I hope it will never happen, that our children will have to manage their way through a pandemic, but perhaps they'll be a little bit better at managing than how some of us have, and the calls of, 'You're on mute' or 'Mute yourself' will never be heard again should we find ourselves in that position. So, literacy, numeracy and digital competency—these are the core things that our children need when they leave school.

With regard to what was called religious education in 'Successful Futures', in the new curriculum, the name change to religion, values and ethics is reflective of the commitment and the recommendation of Graham Donaldson in the original 'Successful Futures', as is Welsh, the addition—. There are two additions above and beyond that, and that is, firstly, RSE. And, Siân, quite rightly, you've talked about children's mental health and well-being. Our relationships are fundamental to our health and well-being as human beings, aren't they? They are absolutely fundamental, and ensuring that our children can learn about rights, responsibilities, respect, diversity, safety, as I said, personal responsibility, to have safe, healthy relationships, I think, is fundamental. And it was a clear recommendation from the specialist group, chaired by Emma Reynolds, Professor Emma Reynolds, that I set up when I came into office.

And with regard to English, first of all, English in itself is a really important subject, and that's what we're talking about, a subject. I think sometimes—understandably, I'm not criticising—there is a misapprehension between the language of tuition and the medium of tuition as opposed to the subject. And this reflects my belief that we want to create all of our citizens as bilingual citizens. But, as I said, I recognise that there is a strong debate and there is a fear of unintended consequences as a result of that, and I have given my commitment in opening today that we will have ongoing discussions.