Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:57 pm on 23 March 2021.
Thank you, Siân, for those points. Whilst I in no way disagree with the importance of nutrition for children and the important role that that plays in their education, I think it is just a little naive to think that, and that alone, can tackle the challenges of promoting good well-being and mental health in our schools. Can I say, one of the things that we do know that causes a great deal of stress and mental ill health is a lack of qualifications, and therefore ensuring that children receive excellent tuition and make real academic progress in schools is vitally important? And I am delighted to say that I have just signed off to officials now the largest ever investment in the pupil development grant—the largest single, as I said, budget line that that particular programme has ever had. In talking to teachers about that, they are very concerned that that money continues to flow to school after the next election because it has been fundamental in their ability to support children from our poorest backgrounds.
With regard to the issue of free school meals, the Member is absolutely aware—I know she is—that we were the first part of the United Kingdom to commit to funding free school meals during school holidays, and that support will continue in this academic year through to Easter of next year. The resources that have been made available to our partners in local government not only look to cover the costs of free school lunches, but we know, for many of these families, they would have been in receipt of a free breakfast while at school as well, and hence the—. In terms of monetary amounts to families, again, it's the best in the United Kingdom. We have promised to keep under review eligibility criteria for free school meals, but our families that are most in need are supported by that programme. Those families are also supported, of course, by our PDG access account, and I'm very pleased again this year that we have increased the number of year groups that are available for support in that programme, so that families in secondary schools can now apply for every single year that their children are in secondary school. And, of course, whilst traditionally those resources have been used to purchase items of uniform, that programme also allows parents to purchase items of kit and equipment so that their children can go into school feeling absolutely confident that they have, as I said, the uniform and the equipment that they need so that they are not different from their peers and don't have a lack of resources holding them back.
With regard to the further education sector, the Member is absolutely right—we need to ensure there is a continuity of support for children and young people as they move through education, and that's why we have ensured, as I said in my statement, that we have invested heavily both in the FE sector and in the HE sector so that students are supported. Many of our work-based learning providers, of course, will have linkages with their local further education provider, as part of their apprenticeship, and we would expect those colleges that are working with work-based learning providers to ensure that those young people have the support that they need. I recognise that it's been a particularly challenging year for some of those students. Their ability to complete qualifications has been more difficult because they've not been able to be in their traditional workplaces or they've not been able to cover the hours that they need to gain their qualifications, and our expectation is that further education colleges will be doing all that they can to support them. We have put additional moneys in place for those vocational learners to be brought back to college as a priority group, and, indeed, to support them if their courses run over into the next academic year to ensure that they are supported throughout that.
As I said, we have also significantly increased the investment in mental health support for our universities, and, again, to highlight best practice, in north Wales, I was delighted to hear this morning in a meeting with Glyndŵr University in Wrexham of how they are working hard to become the first trauma-informed university, not just in Wales, but in the United Kingdom, recognising the need to support their learners and their students. So, this is not just a whole-school approach, it is a truly whole-system approach.