Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. Colleagues, learners in Wales have been going back to nursery, schools and colleges over the last two weeks, and I want to thank them, teachers, tutors and all education staff for the way in which they have dealt with and, indeed, are still dealing with COVID-19. I want to thank them for their hard work, their resilience and their co-operation as we navigate our way through these most difficult of times.

Of course, I recognise that in any situation such as this, it is not without any risk. However, I continue to be guided by the latest medical and scientific advice in making any decision on the safe return of learners. My priorities throughout this pandemic have been the safety and well-being of staff and learners, whilst delivering maximum learning with minimal disruption to our young people.

I believe that going back to school is critical for children’s development and for their health and their well-being, especially those who are most vulnerable in our communities, and I'm grateful for the effort that schools, colleges, local authorities and trade unions have made to ensure that school and college environments are as safe as possible for all learners. These measures include increased cleaning, hygiene stations for staff and learners and reduced movement and contact between groups.

Wales’s technical advisory group were also clear that we must have a robust trace and protect strategy in place as a prerequisite for a wider reopening of schools. And as has been rehearsed earlier in the Chamber, this has been a real success story here in Wales, with not only a high number of contacts being traced within 24 hours, but also a clear approach to outbreak management, which will help support schools in moving forward.

Of course, our education and nursery settings may be fully open, but this is not going back to normal. For staff and learners alike it is a continuing challenge after so many months of distance learning, and the possibility of further spikes in cases and the disruption that that causes. This is a difficult time as education settings are still having to plan for different models of learning as well as managing contact and social distancing within their school environments. Therefore, along with the regions, we have provided guidance to ensure that learning and progression continues and remains safe.

It is very likely that time away from school has had a negative impact on many of our young people. They may need support to be ready to learn once again and to reintegrate into the school environment. We may see significant well-being challenges, over and above what we would normally expect at the start of a new academic year. Key areas of learning may have been lost during the time away from school and schools will need flexibility to address these issues. I want schools and other settings to be able to respond to this and invest time in supporting learners’ well-being. We cannot expect schools to execute all of their duties in respect of our curriculum for all learners in all circumstances, given circumstances we all face, and therefore I have decided to modify the basic curriculum and associated assessment requirements to a 'reasonable endeavours' basis for the first 30 days of September. In doing this I want to provide schools with flexibility to reintegrate students and to develop resilient and relevant learning plans. This is about helping schools as they return to full-time learning in their buildings.

But we know that many learners have not progressed as much as they would ordinarily have done so, and we need to address this. As teachers and heads continue to welcome pupils back, I know that they will be assessing learners’ needs and development, building on the check-in period for everyone before the summer break. My clear message to them is that funding is there in council and school budgets to recruit extra staff and teaching assistants for this academic year. Building on their understanding of where learners are in their learning, our investment of over £29 million is targeted to ensure that extra teachers and support is there for years 11, 12 and 13, as well as disadvantaged and vulnerable learners of all ages.

I know that teachers, as well as parents, share my concern about potential learning loss and the attainment gap. This month will help heads and teachers better understand how they can use the funding provided to support extra coaching, personalised learning programmes and additional time and resources for those pupils facing exams.

We have also been working with directors of education and education trade unions to develop guidance to support ongoing provision in schools, and this includes clear advice on social distancing. We have issued advice to schools and education workforce unions on COVID-19 more generally, and via Dysg, and we will continue to provide information and guidance as the needs arise.

We have also been working collectively across the Government to address issues around school transport, with £10 million additional funding allocated to assist local authorities. This money has helped them provide additional capacity to meet statutory requirements following the updated guidance issued recently by the traffic commissioner.

As we all understand, situations can change rapidly during a pandemic. I can assure you, however, that we will continue to work within and across Government, and with our other partners, to provide guidance and advice to ensure the safety of our staff and our young people. And together, even in these uncertain times, we will continue to focus on raising standards for all, reducing the attainment gap and ensuring that we have a system that is a source of pride and enjoys public confidence.