The Implementation of the New Curriculum

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Education – in the Senedd at 3:03 pm on 25 November 2020.

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Photo of Kirsty Williams Kirsty Williams Liberal Democrat 3:03, 25 November 2020

Absolutely, Paul, and, indeed, this precise point that you made, that, now more than ever, attention to children's well-being, both their physical and their mental well-being, is at the forefront, and that's why many schools are anxious to continue to pursue the new curriculum, because, under our area of learning and experience entitled 'health and well-being', and the 'what matters' statements that lie beneath, that gives us a huge amount of scope to deliver a curriculum to support children's mental health and well-being, for an understanding of what impacts upon their mental health and well-being, and to develop a culture of help-seeking behaviour if people are struggling and to break down some of the stigma and barriers that in the past, perhaps, have stopped children and young people coming forward. But, of course, lessons themselves are not enough, and that's why we have a whole-school approach to mental health and well-being, where the mental health and well-being of everybody in that school environment, including the staff who work there, needs to be a key consideration. Getting well-being right is the crucial first building block to making learning stick and to having a really successful school. So, it's about the curriculum, but it's also about the environment that we surround our children and our workforce with that promotes well-being and supports people if they begin to struggle.