Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Education – in the Senedd at 2:28 pm on 13 January 2021.
Minister, in order for our young people to make progress in their education, they need to be supported by teachers who are fit and well, both physically and mentally. Nowhere is this more so than in our pupil referral units, where staff work with some of our most challenging young people, including throughout all of the lockdowns. PRUs are classed as special schools, and there was relief and optimism across the sector when the Welsh Government recently announced that staff in special schools would get priority access to the vaccine. However, since, that announcement has been clarified to state that only those staff providing intimate personal care will be eligible. With staff in PRUs having to deal with close contact, pupils spitting, refusing to comply with social distancing or to wear masks, all on a daily basis, will you please commit to seeking priority status for these staff, who consider themselves to be in a uniquely vulnerable position and are experiencing considerable stress as a result?