To be absolutely clear, and for the avoidance of doubt, I recognise the importance of educating our children and young people about climate change, its causes, its impact, both here at home as well as globally, and the action that is needed to safeguard all of our futures. And of course, in Wales, we have a strong basis on which to build. We have been supporting two key climate and environmental education programmes for schools across our nation for several years now, and Members will be very familiar with the Eco Schools programme and the Size of Wales initiative. And we are already in discussion with those who deliver those programmes to ensure that they can continue to support us on our curriculum reform journey and ensure the very important point that Llyr raised, that we can equip our teachers with the knowledge and the confidence that they need to ensure that these lessons are delivered really well. These educational programmes are well-established, and all of our schools are able to engage with them at no cost, and through those programmes every year we're able to go further than the classroom and actively engage children and young people with policy development, the concept of taking action, as well as the opportunity to listen to their views and creating opportunities for those views to reach key decision makers. 

With regard to amendments 51 and 54 to 56, as Llyr well knows, the Bill restricts the number of mandatory elements listed on the face of the Bill, and there is a rationale for that. And whilst I recognise the importance of the issue, I do not accept that these should sit alongside the four mandatory elements listed. Learning on climate and environmental challenges is already mandatory in our new curriculum through the statements of 'what matters'. These statements confirm the range of issues that schools must include within their curriculum, but also provide flexibility and connections across the curriculum to build understanding of these key concepts. This approach encourages integrated approaches across the curriculum and allows for issues like climate change to be covered in different subjects.

And that's already happening in our schools, in our pioneer schools, which are our early-adopters and engagers with the curriculum. I have seen for myself the outstanding level of work that is going on. I would draw the attention of Members to St Nicholas Church in Wales Primary School in the Vale of Glamorgan, who used the concept of palm oil and the destruction of natural habitats to grow palm, and the impact on the orangutan, and the school used that topic not only to explore issues around the direct effect on orangutans, but were using it to develop their creative writing, were using it to develop their children's speaking and debating skills, were using it as a concept for art projects as well as music projects. So, they had used the concept of that topic, which was deeply, deeply, deeply concerning to the children, to actually develop skills right the way across the curriculum. And that is absolutely the embodiment, at St Nicholas, of our approach to the curriculum.

Members will have heard me speak often of Crickhowell High School in my own constituency, where year 7 were given a choice of which topic to explore. They chose plastic pollution, and every single lesson, right the way across the curriculum, was viewed through the prism of that subject. That included English, Welsh, where they were able to work with our local plastic-free shop to make that shop some bilingual signage and some bilingual advertising, because the shop didn't have that before. So, they were developing their Welsh language skills, all through the prism of the concept of plastic pollution and climate change and environmental action. So, our schools are grasping the opportunity to respond in that way.

So, similarly to amendment 52, the key concepts that form the statements of 'what matters' have been developed in a process of co-construction with our practitioners against a clear set of criteria, and Welsh Ministers have worked with them to prescribe what is included in those 'what matters' codes. So, for the avoidance of doubt, if Members are not familiar with the 'what matters' statements, we have four specific references in the 'what matters' statements that are linked to the environment and raising awareness across our humanities and science and technology areas of learning and experience. And they include the statement:

'Our natural world is diverse and dynamic, influenced by processes and human actions', that,

'Informed, self-aware citizens engage with the challenges and opportunities that face humanity and are able to take considered and ethical action', and that,

'Being curious and searching for answers is essential to understanding and predicting phenomena', and finally,

'The world around us is full of living things which depend on each other for survival.'

And as I said, these 'what matters' statements are already a mandatory part of the curriculum and I believe should provide the reassurance to Llyr that his aspiration that he has spoken about this afternoon is already catered for and is secured in our 'what matters' statements.

So, moving on to amendments 53 and 58, as I said, I do not believe it's necessary for the inclusion of an additional code, because through our 'what matters' statements, we are already taking action in this regard.

Can I turn to the issue of amendment 57? Again, I recognise the seriousness of the crisis that faces our climate, and one that I'm sure is at the forefront of many of our young people's minds; it can indeed lead to anxiety for some learners. Following consultation with the sector, I will take steps to ensure that we strengthen the 'what matters' statements to make sure that there is no ambiguity at all of the necessity to teach these subjects. But with regard to the issue of mental health and emotional well-being, there are a huge array of matters that impact on the mental and emotional health of our children and young people. And rather than taking a specific challenge that our young people face, we have worked really, really hard following the report of the committee and the advice of the children and young people's committee in the delivery of this Bill to ensure that mental health and well-being is at the forefront of what we're doing, and we have worked with that committee to bring forward amendments at Stage 2 to ensure that when designing the curriculum, headteachers and governing bodies should have regard for the total of children's health and well-being when designing that curriculum. So, again, I hope that gives some reassurance to Llyr that when designing a curriculum, children's health and mental health and well-being is an important guiding principle as well as content within the curriculum itself to support health and well-being. Therefore, I would urge Members to reject the amendments in this group. Thank you.