Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Education – in the Senedd at 3:05 pm on 13 January 2021.
Minister, can I just begin by commending the work that's been going on within schools, both with the teaching staff but also with the heads and deputy heads as well to get the progress that we have? I don't want to labour the point, but the Hwb guidance is very, very good but it does give total discretion to the headteacher and school staff based on the conditions in the school, based on the resources available to them as to how much face time, how much live streaming there is. Now, that's a fair recognition of those conditions in each particular school and particular environment, but I wonder, Minister, whether there's an 'in principle' approach that you have, recognising that on the principles of equity, it also states in the Hwb guidance that there should be those opportunities to maintain connections with teaching and support staff and peers during the period of potential social isolation. So, how do we get the balance right and should there be face-to-face contact and, if so, how much and how often?