Now, we have all agreed that learning must be inclusive and draw on the experiences, the perspectives and the cultural heritage of contemporary Wales. Confidence in their identities helps learners appreciate the contribution they and others can make within their different communities, and to develop and explore their response to local, national and global matters. This will also help learners to explore, make connections and develop understanding within a diverse society. The curriculum recognises that our society is not a uniform entity but encompasses a range of values, perspectives, cultures and histories that includes everybody who lives in Wales. And let me be clear: cynefin is not simply local but provides a foundation for a national and international citizenship. As part of the mandatory statements of what matters in humanities, all schools will have to include learning on the appreciation of the diverse nature of societies, as well as understanding diversity itself.

In the summer, I appointed Professor Charlotte Williams to lead a working group that will provide advice and recommendations about the teaching of themes related to black, Asian and minority ethnic communities and experiences, and I'm glad that the Chair of the Petitions Committee has welcomed that work. Now, this, it is crucial to say, is not limited to history; it covers all parts of the school curriculum, and I am very much looking forward to receiving the interim report later this month, which will focus on learning resources. The group has developed this work in the context of the new curriculum framework, which avoids prescribing a full list of specific topics or activities. Guidance sets out the concepts that should underpin a range of different topics, learning activities and the acquisition of knowledge, and learners of all ages will be exposed to a range of historical periods on a local and national level. They will consider how local, Welsh and world history are connected, shaped and appreciated, through events such as Glyndŵr's uprising, the Spanish civil war, and the world wars of the twentieth century. This is already set out in the guidance that we published earlier this year.

I recognise that we need to continue to support teachers with their professional learning to help them move forward with identifying resources, topics and connections. In order to allow time and space for practitioners to work together across schools to prepare for the new curriculum, we have heavily invested in professional learning, with some £31 million already awarded directly to schools, and we will continue to build upon these strong professional learning foundations as we move closer to implementation of the curriculum in 2022. Therefore, I am confident that the resources, support and guidance being developed will empower schools to deliver meaningful learning about the histories of Wales and its diverse communities in every area of learning and experience right across the curriculum.

Schools will be supported to engage with heritage professionals, museums and galleries, as well as community and cultural leaders when designing their curriculum in order to enrich the learning and experiences of each and every pupil. So, within the parameters set out in the guidance, teachers will have the flexibility to tailor the content of lessons to allow learners to explore their cynefin. We believe that that is the best way forward for them to understand how their local identities, landscapes and histories connect with those on a national and international stage.

Teachers will have the freedom to teach the many and diverse histories of Wales and the wider world, and, as I have said before, exploring the stories of the people and communities of Wales should not simply be limited to history lessons. The whole purpose and design behind the curriculum for Wales encourages learners to explore themes across the curriculum. The diverse histories of the people of Wales can be taught not only in the areas of humanities, but also in languages, literature and communication, and in science and technology. We will create further resources that will refer to key events and topics in the histories of Wales and the world as we move forward to implementation, and these resources will be there to enable teachers to develop their own curricula.

As I mentioned earlier, the working group chaired by Professor Williams has reviewed existing resources to support the teaching of themes relating to BAME experience and contributions right the way across our curriculum, and, as has also been referenced, Estyn will also report on their review on the teaching of Welsh history and diversity in schools next year. Its findings will further help us to commission resources to ensure that teachers have the support that they need to deliver the curriculum successfully.

However, we recognise that access to good-quality learning resources will not necessarily be enough by itself and that teachers will need to be provided with the relevant professional learning and development. Early next year, I expect to receive a second report from Professor Williams's working group, which will be considering the professional learning and development needs of staff in our schools in the coming months. The group will provide recommendations on how to ensure that teachers across the curriculum can competently deliver learning related to black, Asian and minority ethnic communities and experiences. And forgive me, Llywydd, I can't recall which of my colleagues made the point, but Professor Williams is very clear to me that when learning about black history, it must go simply beyond learning about concepts of slavery. There is much, much more to talk about, and the Member that talked about BAME communities' positive contribution to Wales—that point was very well made indeed.

So, in summary, as part of the mandatory statements of what matters in humanities, all schools will have to include learning on and an appreciation of the diverse nature of societies, as well as understanding the concept of diversity itself, and an appreciation of their cynefin. We are continuing to work on the content of the curriculum to ensure that it encompasses experiences and histories that represent the diverse nature of societies that we have here in Wales and across the world. But I thank the Members once again. I always find these debates to be some of the best that we have in the Chamber, and today has been no exception, as I said. Diolch yn fawr.