2. How is the Welsh Government adopting a trauma-based approach to developing kinder public services? OQ55996

I thank Jack Sargeant, Llywydd, for that. The adoption of a trauma-based approach in Wales is primarily taken forward through the work of the adverse childhood experiences hub. It works to embed the principles of trauma-based practice across the range of key public services in Wales. 

Can I thank the First Minister for that answer? Members will be aware, given my ongoing commitment to bring a kinder politics here to Wales, that I have previously called for kinder public services—services that recognise individual circumstances and do not take a prescriptive, one-size-fits-all approach. First Minister, I wanted to share with you today a positive. The Wallich, with the support of the ACE hub, have developed a trauma-informed rehabilitation programme, which has seen fantastic results. It is helping individuals who have suffered multiple adverse childhood experiences to turn their life around, and it also helps break the generational offending cycle. This is good for both service users and the taxpayer. First Minister, will you join me in praising this trauma-based approach and commit to continue to support the ACE hub to help provide kinder, human services? 

Well, Llywydd, I thank Jack Sargeant for bringing us a piece of good news to celebrate on the floor of the Senedd this afternoon. I think I had read that he had himself met recently with The Wallich to hear of their work and the way in which they are using the trauma-informed approach that has been pioneered through the ACE hub to make a difference in their work. I know that Jack Sargeant will know that our blueprints—our female offending and youth offending blueprints—are based on a trauma-informed approach to putting right in the lives of people things that have gone wrong much earlier in their lives.

And on his call for a kinder public service, which I've heard him speak here eloquently on the floor of the Senedd to support, he will have seen, I'm sure, that the toolkit that the hub has recently published to help workers make the link between physical and mental health and to recognise the signs and symptoms of trauma starts by saying, 'Showing kindness, compassion and listening can be protective factors for those who have experienced adversity.' So, kindness, which is a quality worth pursuing in itself, also has that practical advantage of making a difference in the lives of people, and I'm very pleased to join with Jack Sargeant in marking and celebrating the work of The Wallich and all those others whose work has been informed by the work of the centre. And he will know that my colleague Julie Morgan has committed £0.25 million to make sure that the work of the hub goes on into the next financial year while we review all the work that is going on in Wales in this area. 

Well, First Minister, of course, the pandemic's been a challenging time for very many, including pupils and students. All will have seen an impact on their learning, but some will have seen some on their mental health as well, as we've all heard over the last few months. For some, of course, it will be temporary, hopefully, but for others it could trigger something far deeper and more long lasting. So, First Minister, can you tell me who is responsible for ensuring that schools and colleges become trauma informed? And how many of the schools and colleges in South Wales West have had access to an ACE ambassador from the ACE hub? Thank you. 

Well, I can't give the Member a specific figure for her own area. I can tell her that, through the ACE hub, comprehensive training has been provided to over 600 schools in Wales and that the work of the ambassadors has been fundamental to that. The Member will know that we have increased the funding for school counselling services and that school counsellors are also part of the group of public sector workers who are informed by the work of the ACE hub, as are youth workers and housing workers and all health visitors here in Wales. The extra funding, therefore, that we have placed into school counselling draws on that work, allows more help to be given to a wider range of ages in our school system, and more young people who have—. Suzy Davies says, and it was reinforced to me in a meeting that I held with the Youth Parliament, chaired by the Llywydd, only last week, that the impact on the sense of well-being and mental health of young people in Wales in the pandemic has been profound and will be with us, I'm afraid, not just while the pandemic lasts, but there will be a recovery period that will go on well beyond that.