4. Will the Minister make a statement on support for teachers in Pembrokeshire during the COVID-19 pandemic? OQ56432

Welsh Government is working with our stakeholders and employers to ensure that support is available for teachers in Pembrokeshire and, indeed, across Wales during the pandemic. This support includes a tailored package of well-being and mental health support, and additional funding to create capacity within the school workforce.

Now, Minister, you'll be aware of the ongoing concerns faced by local supply teachers in Pembrokeshire, many of whom feel they have been overlooked during the pandemic. The National Procurement Service's supply teachers framework has the potential to improve pay and conditions for supply teachers, but I understand that schools are not required to use agencies that have met the requirements of the framework, which means that there is still a patchwork of support for supply teachers, as not all supply teachers receive the same level of pay from agencies. I appreciate that we've corresponded on this matter over recent months, but I'm still receiving representations from supply teachers. So, can you tell us what the Welsh Government is doing to ensure that all supply teachers are being treated fairly and are adequately supported during this pandemic?

Thank you, Paul. The framework does indeed provide a level of assurance that individuals will be treated fairly. And we have come to an agreement with the Welsh Local Government Association to once again communicate with their schools and make it very clear to the schools in their local authorities that schools should only be using those agencies that appear on the framework. I will give a commitment, Paul, that I will ask the WLGA to update me on that work when I next meet with them, but we have an agreement with the WLGA that they will stress the importance of doing that with their own schools.