Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. The twenty-first century schools and colleges programme is the biggest investment in our education estate since the 1960s, having already seen £1.5 billion investment to improve the learning environment for our children and young people. And since its launch in 2014, it's seen the delivery of 170 new or refurbishment projects under the first wave of the investment, and a further 200 projects are proposed under the second wave of investment, which began in 2019. Indeed, this financial year—2020-21—under the most difficult of circumstances, we will see the highest annual spend so far under the programme, of almost £300 million in our schools and colleges.

Can I begin by welcoming the points that Siân Gwenllian made around excellence in all types of schools—small schools, large schools, primary, secondary and in our through schools? And it is that leadership and excellent teaching that really makes a difference. But, being able to do that in a building that is fit for purpose, I would argue, is also really important, and sends a very clear message to both our teachers and our children that their education and the work that goes on in those buildings is really important to us.

Now, Caroline Jones also raised the issue of maintenance budgets for local authorities for schools. Can I just say, Caroline, above and beyond the twenty-first century programme, every single year I have been the Minister for Education, we have been able to provide local authorities across Wales with millions of pounds worth of additional maintenance moneys to support their schools? Indeed, only on Monday of this week, I announced an investment of £50 million to be shared between the local authorities of Wales precisely for this purpose of schools maintenance.

Now, the success of the twenty-first century programme is a reflection of the partnership working which is key to its delivery, and it's important that our key stakeholders, local authorities, and colleges are strategic in their investment, and deliver the right schools and colleges in the right places to meet local community needs. And it's important that those decisions are made to benefit local communities, and that's why we have not been prescriptive, as school delivery models can and do differ between communities. As you well know, local authorities have the responsibility for planning school places to ensure that their children and young people have the very best environment in which to learn, and each one of those decisions will be unique to those communities, and I believe that our local authorities are best placed to understand what fits the needs for their learners.

The school organisation code sets a high standard for consultation if there are changes to that pattern of delivery, and all of those with an interest have an opportunity to have their views heard and known, and for these to be taken into account when any major changes are proposed for schools. The code ensures that a range of factors are considered, primary of which is the interests of learners, but distance to travel is also a factor. I know that Members have expressed concerns that some local authorities are carrying out consultations under the school organisation code during this pandemic, and I would draw Members' attention to additional guidance that we have produced for local authorities on how they should go about such consultations during this pandemic.

Siân Gwenllian raised the issue of the learner travel Measure, and she is right to point to the review. She raises an interesting issue with regard to what is deemed to be a suitable school and how language is not stated in those particular sections. Can I just say, I was fortunate enough to be on the committee that looked at that Measure when it came before the then Assembly? I think the Deputy Presiding Officer was on the committee with me at that time, and I'm sure the Deputy Presiding Officer could confirm that this issue was discussed, at length, as a potential approach but was rejected by the then Minister, Ieuan Wyn Jones, as being inappropriate, but the learner travel Measure gives us an opportunity to relook at those decisions.

Now, the school organisation code not only recognises the potential for school closures but for those situations where schools should remain open, and in some circumstances, it is more appropriate for existing schools to be refurbished, remodelled or extended, and all of those things are possible under the twenty-first century schools programme. Members will also be aware that I have put in place special arrangements, when rural schools are considered, to ensure that the best decisions are made for learners in those settings.

In order to support the delivery of the twenty-first century programme, we've also incorporated streams that look at childcare facilities, Welsh-medium delivery—and Suzy Davies is correct: when I think of the history of the development of Welsh-medium primary education in the town of Brecon, they were moved into a school that had been deemed unfit and had been left by the English-medium pupils, and that's where they found themselves. Now, fortunately, they have a new build, and during my time as Minister, we have provided 100 per cent capital funding for local authorities to build more Welsh-medium places. That fund was oversubscribed, and I am considering whether we can provide further assistance of this kind to support our aim for 1 million Welsh speakers. We also have a stream that has looked to reduce infant class sizes and to support faith-based education, and, where possible, to support the development of community hubs at school premises. So, no one funding model fits all, so we have a variety of ways in which we can support developments.

We've already seen the positive impact that new and refurbished primary and secondary schools have made to learners, greatly enhancing their learning experience. And we've also seen that all-through schools are beneficial in certain community settings, allowing for a single leadership and management team, providing greater consistency of learning and teaching, and greater continuity and familiarity for the learner. However, we also recognise that policy guidance is needed to inform future decisions about the creation of all-age schools, and the aspects of pedagogy associated with them, well-being and leadership. All of those things need careful consideration, recognition and support, and that's why we're supporting the all-age schools network to undertake school-based research, and have done so since 2019, and an Estyn thematic survey of all-age schools to focus on the benefits and challenges of that all-age model. So, we're not ploughing on regardless; these are interesting new models that are being developed by local authorities of all political hues in Wales, and we're working with them to have research, to understand the benefits and the challenges of such models.

I am, representing a rural constituency, very mindful of the impact that long journeys have on our children and pupils, but for a range of reasons, introducing a maximum travel time is not considered to be practically feasible, as Suzy Davies suggested. What might constitute an appropriate theoretical travel time in one local authority is very unlikely to be applicable for all. School investment is not just about providing buildings; it's about making them fit for purpose to deliver the best learning environment, and I'm really proud of how investment so far has improved facilities and has had a positive impact on learning, teaching and meeting the needs of local communities. And I'm really pleased that the partnership approach, with our local authorities and with our colleges, is working well and giving them the flexibility to identify the best learning solutions for their specific areas. But thank you very much for the opportunity to celebrate the success of the twenty-first century schools programme. Diolch yn fawr.