Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Education – in the Senedd at 3:01 pm on 25 November 2020.
Well, first of all, can I ask you to tell her 'thank you' for what she is doing at the moment? Our NHS and social care staff have done tremendous work for us during this pandemic, and people often forget that our teaching and educational professionals and our youth workers are also on the front line. So, please tell her 'thank you' for me and 'thank you' for her enthusiasm and the promise that the new curriculum brings. And her worry is, I think, characteristic of the professionalism we have within the education workforce in Wales. They want to get it right and they are frightened of the consequences if they don't, because they do not want to let their pupils down. As I said, there is financial support for professional development available. We have provided additional guidance just last month to schools to begin to think about how they can plan their programme going forward. There will be further advice and support available in the new year, and we will continue to keep the timescale of the curriculum implementation under review. Because the last thing any of us want, including myself, alongside this dedicated professional, is not to get it right. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance, the first time ever our nation will have its own curriculum, and we all, collectively, want to get it right.