8. How will the Welsh Goverment support digital education services this academic year? OQ55754

Thank you very much, Joyce, for that important question. Clearly, digital education services have come to the fore during the crisis, and we will continue to work with individual schools and local educational authorities to provide the digital resources children need.

I thank you for that answer, and the Welsh Government has made keeping children in schools one of its top priorities. And reflecting on the first wave of the pandemic, the Education Policy Institute commended Wales for leading the way in the UK in terms of providing IT and online learning and for supporting families eligible for free school meals in particular. But, sadly, disruption to face-to-face teaching and blended learning could be a feature of education for the foreseeable future, so we can't rest on our laurels. So, by your assessment, Minister, what additional support and resource will schools, teachers and families need to ensure no pupil is left behind?

Thank you, Joyce, and thank you for the recognition of the excellent partnership working between my department and local education authorities that allowed for the very swift distribution of many thousands of pieces of kit and equipment and Mi-Fi devices in the first phase of the pandemic. We continue to work with local education authorities to ensure that planned tech spend is getting kit into schools so that it can be distributed and we can continue to ensure that no child doesn't have the IT resources or connectivity that they need to allow them to participate in distance and blended learning, and to make sure that staff themselves have the requisite kit so that they can use that if they are required to work off school premises.

And finally, Angela Burns.

Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, I just listened to your response to Joyce Watson very, very carefully, and the particular issue I want to raise is the children who will be, or the students who will be, scheduled to take exams next year. Quite a few parents have raised concerns with me that their children are the ones that they feel should be—forgive me for using the word 'prioritised', but, because of the exam element, really need to make sure they have the right kit, and not only the right kit, but actually have the ability to access not just the blended learning, but, more importantly, the live learning. Parents are saying to me that they didn't have some of those opportunities during the first coronavirus wave. So, when you do publish your decision on the examinations later on this term, will you also perhaps give consideration to what reassurance you can offer the parents who are specifically concerned about their children who are facing those exams?

Yes, of course. I can give you absolute assurance, Angela, that we will, in coming to a conclusion as to the summer series for 2021, be absolutely mindful of the needs of those learners for whom some have had even more disruption than others to their learning, and how we come up with a system that is fair to all learners that recognises the disproportionate impact that COVID may have had, through no fault of teachers. Because, even with extra kit and IT, the ability of a child to engage in some of that sometimes can be hampered by other issues at home. So, I can absolutely give you that assurance that learner interest will be at the forefront of my mind, and recognising the significant disruption that those children have had through no fault of their own.

I thank the Minister.