6. Statement by the Minister for Education: The Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:02 pm on 8 July 2020.

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Photo of Kirsty Williams Kirsty Williams Liberal Democrat 4:02, 8 July 2020

Thank you for that. Just to confirm to Jenny, the Bill requires Welsh Ministers to publish a code setting out the core learning to be undertaken in the relationships and sex education curriculum, and that falls under the headings of rights and equity, relationships, sex, gender and sexuality, bodies and body image, sexual health and well-being, violence, safety and support. Those are the United Nations principles that make up what they regard as adequate RSE education. 

With regard to history, or, as I like to call it, Wales's 'histories'—and I've got into trouble for saying that—that just tells you that we have to have a pluralistic approach to teaching our history, don't we? And only last week we talked about women's history, black history, working class history. Wales is made up of a multitude of stories, and we have to start that from the very beginning within our cynefin. But you're right—we have to explore that, and it isn't just in our most diverse communities. So, absolutely, we do have to talk about the race riots here in Cardiff; we do have to talk about some of the unpleasantness that we saw in some of our other cities, and the lived experience of those people who are black, Asian and minority ethnic who came and contributed to Wales. We need to talk about the Irish experience in Merthyr Tydfil and the contribution the Irish community made to our Valleys communities, our Asian community made to our NHS and our ability to deliver an NHS.

Some of that is uncomfortable—for the weavers of mid Wales, the weavers of mid Wales who made their money on the basis of weaving cloth that clothed the slaves on the slave ships. It's not something that is comfortable to talk about. The reason why so many black Americans have Welsh surnames—. I am currently reading the biography of Frederick Douglass, and his first owners—the family to which he was enslaved from the moment of his birth—were of Welsh descent; they were Lloyds. There was Hugh Lloyd—they were Welsh, and we have to confront that, even it it makes us uncomfortable. And there is provision in here to say that our expectation in our 'what matters' is that we expect our histories to be taught in a pluralistic way that challenges both the amazing contributions of Welsh people within our nation and across the world, and sometimes things that should make us feel a bit uncomfortable.