2. In light of comments made by the Minister at a coronavirus press briefing on Monday, what steps is the Welsh Government taking to support schools, colleges and universities across Wales with the implementation of their own COVID-safety rules in the next term? TQ559

My announcement on Monday was part of a conversation that will continue with our partners over the rest of this term. We will then publish the framework before the start of the new school year, and we will give schools the notice that they will need in order to be able to move to this new way of working in the next school term. We recognise that careful planning is needed to ensure that we maximise learning and keep everybody as safe as possible.

I would say 'Thank you', Minister, but that didn't get the clarity that I know that the sector want and the pupils and parents also want. Minister, there seems to be an upward trend that you and your Government want to address the press first before coming to the floor of this Chamber, which is the right due-process thing to do when doing major policy changes within this particular education sector.

We see an upward trend in the Government doing this and this is just not the right way to do things. The First Minister had the audacity yesterday to criticise the Prime Minister's, our British Prime Minister's, lack of respect for this Senedd, yet, by doing that, and going to the press first and not coming to the floor of this Chamber, you are showing a lack of respect to this Senedd and not going by due process. There is a right way thing to do things, Minister, and the rest of the Government. This isn't the way to do it. If we want this Senedd to be respected much as the UK Parliament, this is not the right way to go about it.

Can I just thank the Llywydd for recognising the importance of the Minister coming before the Senedd today and the timely need for it, and the urgent need for it? And we needed more clarity today, Minister. The sector are craving more clarity after your press briefing, which the National Association of Head Teachers said was utterly confusing, and also said that your proposals have the potential to be hugely disruptive and actually increase the number of close contacts rather than reducing them. There is complete confusion across the board about what this actually means. Are you giving the powers to individual schools? Are you giving them to local authorities? What are you doing, Minister? This is what I was hoping to hear from you today.

It's not right that you want to pass the buck, the blame and everything to headteachers. If that is the case, that's not a position that headteachers should be in, particularly after this pandemic and all the stresses and strains that they've been under. It's just not right. The buck should fall with you, Minister, and, if not, if you want to devolve some, then it should go to local authorities, so at least schools in local authority areas are doing the right thing. Minister, it's—

Can you ask a question now?

Yes. Finally, on masks, Minister, you should be taking a national lead on that. Masks in classrooms are just not necessary any more. There's no impact apart from on the child's well-being and the ability to communicate in class; your own scientific advisers have said they're doing more harm than good. So, Minister, please, can you come to this Chamber with a full statement giving clarity? There are two weeks left until the end of this term and teachers and schools need to prepare for the new term in September.

I thank Laura Anne Jones for that further question. I don't recognise the picture of confusion that she describes. In our discussions with our partners in the education sector direct, we've been very clear that we will want to have discussions with them in relation to developments as they occur in schools, and we will always want to have those discussions in advance. As I said in my earlier answer, we are having those discussions during the course of this term, and as to the timing, which is the point she closed with, as I said, we'll be publishing the framework based on the discussions with our partners before the start of the new school year. Schools will have the notice that they need in order to be able to bring in these arrangements in the most effective way. There's going to be planning that is needed in order to do that, and they will have the time to do that.

I'm glad to hear her talk about well-being in her question. We are all, all parts of the school system, committed to the well-being and progression of our learners, and some of the interventions that have been necessarily in place. She mentioned school face coverings in her question, and we know that that impacts on well-being and the educational experience of young people in school, and so we want to make sure that those are, obviously, minimised, consistent with the level of risk. The reality is that schools serve different communities in different parts of Wales, and there will be different levels of transmission of the virus in different communities. So, when we say that those steps need to be minimised consistent with the risk, that risk also varies in different parts of Wales, and so what I announced on Monday was a different kind of approach, which will enable a suite of measures to be used in schools that reflects that local risk. But as I also said on Monday, this isn't a sort of—if I can describe it as this—free-for-all; that is not what is intended. There will be a national framework that will apply in local circumstances, and that framework will be discussed with our partners over the rest of this summer term, and schools will have access to the professional public health advice from Public Health Wales, from their local incident management teams, and so on. So, there'll be a very clear set of roles and responsibilities clearly communicated, and schools will have both that support and guidance and the flexibility to have the measures that reflect their local risk profile.

The Government needs to lead and not leave complex decisions up to schools and teachers who are under huge pressure already. That's unfair, it's irresponsible and it creates inconsistency. So, I would call on you to listen to the increased cry from our schools and to give clear guidance and consistent guidance.

May I ask you about the vaccination plans for children and young people? Clearly, we have to follow the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation in terms of vaccinating young people, but that advice won't be available until the end of July. If the scientists tell us that vaccination is safe, and it does appear that that is what they will say, do you have arrangements in the pipeline now to roll out vaccinations during August? Waiting until September leaves things very late, and there's an opportunity to do something specific over the summer. The evidence on the effectiveness of vaccination against the transmission of the virus suggests that school-age vaccination is one of the most prominent answers.

Thank you for that question. May I reassure Siân Gwenllian that there is clear national guidance in this area? The framework will be a national framework that will highlight a range of interventions relevant to risk. Local circumstances will be pertinent to that, and I'm sure she would recognise that. Advice will be available at a local level as well as at a national level in order to ensure that interventions are not excessive in terms of the risk. I certainly share the aim of seeing as little impact as possible on learners given the risk levels, and the reality of the situation is that that will vary across Wales. So, the national plan that will be announced will support schools in responding to that risk in a way that is consistent, and is based on guidance and advice. 

In terms of vaccination, we don't yet know what the JCVI will advise, and we will have to await that advice before I can respond to her question as to what exactly we will do, but I will give her an assurance that we do have plans in place, whatever the advice issued by the JCVI is. 

Thank you, Minister.