Part of 3. Questions to the Minister for Education – in the Senedd at 3:35 pm on 10 February 2021.
Thank you for that. And I'm taking it from that as well that the trade unions are satisfied with the steps that are now in place, certainly for the foundation phase years. I'm hoping that they'll feel the same for secondary schools as well, because, as we know, Welsh Government's position at the moment is that it's pressures on the NHS that determines which parts of our society are released and when. But its position also is that schools—and that's in the round—should be the beneficiaries of any headroom in the drop in infection rates, which, I think, sounds like a commitment to open the secondary schools and colleges next, rather than starting to open up bits of the economy.
You mentioned that schools have now been contacted with high-level guidance for assessment in those exam years, which allows, and I'm quoting here,
'relatively few pieces of clear evidence would be sufficient to demonstrate attainment across overarching key themes for many qualifications.'
It's what you said to David Melding. And although that high-level guidance warns against awarding grades on a learner's potential, as opposed to their actual achievements, I think the temptation is still going to be there, isn't it, in the absence of a body of gradable work? So, I'm wondering if you can confirm that Welsh Government will be using any new headroom—supported by the twice-weekly testing of staff—to allow maximum face-to-face learning for those years, to help them not just to catch up if they're digitally disadvantaged, but in order to build up a body of gradable work, assessed in controlled conditions. And if you can say that, can you also say whether you've given some thought to, I don't know, more localised full reopening of schools and colleges, as the A-level indicators continue to vary across the country?