Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:41 pm on 22 June 2021.
Thank you to Siân Gwenllian for those questions. In terms of the questions on fees, well, the provision that we have ensured today as well as what the Welsh Joint Education Committee has provided, ensures that the examination costs are halved. I think it is important, as I have already said, to acknowledge and recognise the work that teachers are doing to ensure that pupils and learners are assessed, but in addition to that, the WJEC has had a role in providing support, resources, and advice in that context as well, and I think that what has been stated today reflects that too.
In terms of budget, that's a budget in the schools for them to use. As my predecessor stated in the first support package for the education system to deal with the impact of this summer, the budget is available to support dealing with assessments and appeals, acknowledging that there are pressures on schools in terms of teachers' time, administrative resources, and so on. So, that provision also enables schools to make decisions to ensure that resources are used in a way that reflects the needs of their workforce and their local needs in that regard.
In terms of mental health support, as part of our holistic, whole-school approach framework, we stated that there is support available for teachers and school leaders, and one-on-one mentorship has been provided already to ensure that there is capacity in the system to support teachers with their own mental health, as well as the ability for them then to support their pupils who have been through a very hard time over the past year.
You talked about uncertainty. I'll just say one thing again if I may. If a pupil has received the grades they need for the offer they have received from university, well, those grades are consistent now; they have been stated, and if they are content with those grades, those grades won't change. We need to be clear about that, because I don't want them to feel any uncertainty in that context. With regard to access to university more widely than that, we are working with HEFCW, with UCAS and with universities in Wales to ensure that communication with students is clear and appropriate. And Qualifications Wales has also set up a higher education stakeholder group to ensure that people understand, in that sector, the process that is ongoing in Wales this year.