The New Curriculum

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Education – in the Senedd at 2:49 pm on 25 November 2020.

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Photo of Laura Anne Jones Laura Anne Jones Conservative 2:49, 25 November 2020

Minister, the success of the new curriculum will be heavily dependent on how well teachers and other school staff have been able to prepare for its introduction. Given that almost half an academic year was missed earlier this year, and we are now seeing whole year groups being taken out of school on a large scale—. For example, 1,000 pupils in Caerleon Comprehensive School are currently being taken out of school in whole year groups—7, 8, 9, 12 and 13—arguably unnecessarily, when other councils are using track and trace more effectively, and this is not uncommon in other parts of the south-east Wales region. What assessment have you made of missed school time on preparations for the roll-out for the new curriculum, and are you concerned about reports that some teaching unions and councils are now discussing shutting schools a week early to enable a two-week isolation period before Christmas when this Government's priority, obviously, is to keep children in school as much as possible?