Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Education – in the Senedd at 2:47 pm on 13 January 2021.
Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. Thank you for those answers to Bethan Sayed as well, Minister—that was very helpful.
I just want to begin with schools closing. Obviously, we've been told repeatedly that schools themselves are very low-risk environments, even though this variant itself is more highly infectious than the previous version. The most recent technical advisory cell report points out again that it's behaviours around schools being the place where the transmission risk is, rather than in schools themselves. But that's not new intelligence. Other Members of the Senedd and I were talking about this with our health boards back in the autumn. So, while I'm absolutely not disputing your immediate decision to close schools, just two things on school closures: do you think it would have been useful to have had a very visible campaign targeting older pupils, students and their families to explain that their behaviours connected to a school or college—and I think those are the words—are the reason for closing schools? And what steps are open to you now to protect staff and children from that outside influence short of closing schools? The test and trace solution you spoke of before Christmas doesn't seem to have hit the mark. We haven't heard much about testing since either. You've probably heard as well there's a real inconsistency in the offer for key worker children in the school hubs, which actually are open, which isn't helping to make the argument for closing schools.