Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 3. Questions to the Minister for Education – in the Senedd at 3:37 pm on 10 February 2021.

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Photo of Kirsty Williams Kirsty Williams Liberal Democrat 3:37, 10 February 2021

Thank you, Suzy. There is indeed a real enthusiasm from the trade union side and local education authorities to look to prioritise examination years, for exactly the reasons that you have outlined. Teachers would like those children back to as much face-to-face provision as possible, so that those assessments and that work around assessment can be carried out. I want to give reassurance: the guidance does say that work carried out at home can also form part of an assessment, but there is an absolute determination across the piece to now move towards a safe return to face-to-face learning for those older students.

Suzy mentioned the pressure on the NHS. That is just one of the factors that we will need to take into consideration; it's an important one, of course. And it is the danger of overwhelming the NHS and the level 5 notification from the chief medical officers across the United Kingdom that made me take a very regretful decision to have to close schools for face-to-face learning for the majority of pupils. We also need to continue to monitor community transmission levels. We also need to continue to monitor positivity levels, and we need to assess what a return for more face-to-face students would mean for the R rate. But clearly, there is a determination across the piece, and I hope that, by the next three-week review, we will be in a position to outline next steps to returning more children and young people for face-to-face learning.