1. What is the Welsh Government’s latest analysis of COVID-19 incidence in Newport East? OQ55943

Llywydd, I thank John Griffiths for that question. The Newport East constituency, as many areas of Wales, has seen a high incidence of coronavirus infection. A national firebreak was introduced to bring rates of incidence down across Wales. Some of the gains achieved are already being reversed in the post-firebreak period. 

First Minister, I think there is concern at the latest statistics, and, obviously, we'll need to have a look at that—Welsh Government will need to have a close look at that. One aspect that's very concerning to my constituents is lost school time. In secondary schools. for example, whole year groups continue to self-isolate when one of the group has COVID-19, and learning at home does not make up for that lost time, and it is the most vulnerable who suffer the most. Practice seems to be different from one school and one local authority to another. So, First Minister, will Welsh Government work with local authorities, schools and unions to seek to reduce that lost school time, for example by looking at safety in schools, limiting contact between pupils so that fewer have to isolate when one has the virus, and enhanced testing at schools, to limit the damage to our children's education and the nation's future?

Well, Llywydd, let me thank John Griffiths for that. And, of course, I agree with him—the fact that we are seeing a reversal of some of the gains that we achieved through the firebreak is concerning, and it is particularly concerning because we know that the higher the incidence of coronavirus in the community, the greater the impact that has on schools, because the more coronavirus there is about, the more likely it is that adults will find themselves infected, and children as well. Now, it is right that local authorities and, indeed, headteachers and governing bodies have some flexibility to be able to respond to local circumstances, but nevertheless it is also a concern that there appears to be a disparity between the way in which some schools organise themselves to prevent the need for whole year groups to be isolated and different levels of risk are acceptable in different schools in Wales. Now, the Welsh Government has done a great deal already to make sure that front-line staff and people who are in charge of schools have access to advice through their local incidence management teams, through Public Health Wales, to try to get a more common understanding of the way in which these risks can be mitigated.

It is possible, Llywydd, that the new lateral flow tests, with their more immediate results, can be deployed in schools in future in another effort to prevent children from having to self-isolate when things could be done to prevent that from happening, for all the reasons that John Griffiths set out, which are the same set of reasons, Llywydd, why the Welsh Government has placed a priority on making sure that our children's education is protected even at this most challenging time. 

First Minister, following on from John Griffiths's question, I'd like to say that I've also been contacted by a number of worried parents in the Newport constituency area, because, currently, as it stands, there are 1,000 pupils isolating from Caerleon Comprehensive School, my old school. Years 7, 8, 9, 12 and 13 are all off at the moment, which is beyond comprehension really. Obviously, year groups have to stay off if there are enough cases and there's a reason to stay off, but there are schools in other counties with just one case, as is the case in these year groups being off, where they just do the track and trace, like in Monmouthshire County Council, and just keep 15 pupils off rather than whole year groups. Parents are obviously very concerned at this, because obviously it affects their jobs, it affects the children's well-being, mental health, and their education, obviously. So, I'd be really appreciative if you could do all you can and maybe firm up the Government guidelines to schools because at the moment, as you said, there is a massive postcode lottery in education right now happening in Wales. And also, whilst you're at it, if you could also—. You've said to schools recently, about wearing masks, 'That you can wear them if you want to.' Maybe Government guidelines should be stronger so that, in everything, there's consistency right across the board in Wales in our schools; it's very confusing for them. Thank you.

Well, Llywydd, I think the guidance on mask wearing in schools has been strengthened just in the last week, and the Minister for Education provided more direction to schools, particularly secondary schools, as to how masks can be worn in corridors and in other crowded settings. But I share a lot of the concerns of the Member's question—that different decisions are being made in different parts of Wales, despite the strengthened assistance that the Welsh Government has mobilised so that headteachers and others can have advice directly from public health expertise in reaching the very difficult and challenging decisions that they make; I don't minimise the challenge that schools face.

There is a correlation between the extent to which coronavirus is in circulation in any community and the impact on schools, and that helps to explain some of the difference, but it doesn't, in my mind, explain it all. I am very keen that schools make every effort both in the way they organise themselves internally and in the decisions that they make to put a priority on keeping as many young people in schools as it is safe to do. Because otherwise, as John Griffiths said in his question, their education suffers, and those who need that assistance the most, miss it the most when it's not available to them.