I’ll turn now to the main issues we think need further work between now and the Bill’s passing. Firstly, we think more reassurance is needed about the balance that will be struck between local flexibility and national consistency. We support the aim of empowering teachers to design a curriculum that meets the needs of pupils. We also recognise that the new curriculum will not be uniform across all schools. But we think it’s vital that children in Wales receive consistent opportunities and experiences from their education. On that basis, we’ve asked for further clarity on the checks and balances the Government will put in place to monitor and maintain that correct balance. Closely linked to this, we’ve called on the Government to monitor closely any variation in the curriculum offer and any impact that has on particular groups of pupils. This is essential if we are to avoid entrenching existing disadvantage.

Our report recognises the significant hope stakeholders have that the new curriculum will have a positive impact on standards and school improvement. While we agree with the Minister that the status quo is not fully delivering in this regard, we have not been shown demonstrable evidence that the new curriculum will lead to higher standards. In view of this, we call on the Government to monitor closely and transparently the impact that curriculum reform has on standards. It’s crucial to ensure it complements the wider school improvement efforts under way.

Moving now to details on the face of the Bill. This has been a matter of some discussion during Stage 1. Some stakeholders agreed with the Minister that including significant detail and prescription on the face of the Bill would undermine the overarching aim of allowing flexibility for schools to design a curriculum tailored to the needs of their children and young people. Others were concerned that more detail is needed on the face of the Bill to be sure that important areas not currently listed have a secure place within the new curriculum. We accept that the longer the list of requirements on the face of the Bill, the narrower the opportunities may be to realise the flexibility it seeks to deliver. Nevertheless, the reasoning applied to decisions surrounding what is placed on the face of a Bill and what resides in secondary legislation must be clear. We think more work is needed here, so we have called on the Government to set out the principles that have guided decisions about what aspects of teaching and learning are included on the face of Bill as mandatory elements.

Closely linked to this, while we recognise the Government’s desire to avoid overcrowding the Bill, we believe that explicit reference to mental health and well-being is indeed needed on the face of this legislation. As a committee, our commitment to ensuring parity of esteem for mental health is clear, and we believe this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity that warrants a belt-and-braces approach. As such, we have called for an amendment in this area during Stage 2, and we look forward to hearing more detail from the Minister on the amendments she is suggesting.

With the time remaining I will touch briefly on some other important recommendations. Firstly, we’ve called on the Welsh Government to amend the Bill to resolve concerns about the impact on immersion in the Welsh language up to age 7. We welcome the Minister’s intention to table an amendment removing English as a mandatory element for this age group. More broadly, if the Government is to reach its target of a million Welsh speakers by 2050, the scale of the transformation of teaching and learning Welsh in English-medium schools cannot be overstated. The extent of the Welsh Language Commissioner’s concerns about this was clear, so we have called on the Government to work with the commissioner to strengthen the basis within the Bill and the wider curriculum framework for the single Welsh continuum.

Moving now to RVE and RSE. As a committee, we support unanimously the provisions in the Bill to make these mandatory elements of the curriculum. We also support the fact that the Bill does not include a right to withdraw from either subject. Our report is clear that this support is predicated on provision being objective, pluralistic and critical. We make a number of recommendations in that regard, and have asked the Minister to clarify some specific points during today’s debate. We believe developmentally appropriate RSE is essential to creating the necessary conditions to enable our children and young people to access the high-quality, comprehensive relationships and sexuality education befitting of a modern, tolerant and inclusive country. It is also a vital mechanism to help children and young people to understand and respect both their own rights and those of others under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and more broadly, under the European convention on human rights. Our report notes our deep concern about the circulation of misinformation about the Bill's RSE provisions. I would like to place on record that it's completely clear to the committee that the intention of RSE is to educate and protect children and young people, rather than in any way to expose them to inappropriate content.

Finally, barriers to the Bill's effective implementation formed a key part of our scrutiny. Making time to enable sufficient professional learning and development for the workforce is vital to the success of this Bill, especially given the backdrop of COVID, and this will be challenging. We do not think this should prevent the Bill passing through the Senedd, but we do think more work is needed to assure us, the sector, and parents and carers that everything that needs to be in place is in place for the new curriculum's roll-out.

In closing, Llywydd, I'd like to thank the Minister and her officials for their positive engagement with our Stage 1. We've undertaken our scrutiny in the spirit of providing constructive and rigorous oversight of what we view as the biggest change to education since devolution began. We urge the Senedd to support this Bill, and look forward to seeing our recommendations delivered during the next stages of the legislative process. Diolch yn fawr.