Item 5, statement by the Minister for Education and Welsh Language: curriculum reform—next steps. I call on the Minister for Education and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Since becoming Minister for Education and Welsh Language, I have set out our priority to put the well-being and progression of learners at the heart of everything that we do. I've been talking to practitioners in schools, colleges, and learning providers, and I've heard directly about how they have adapted to changing circumstances in the last year, and what more I can do to support them as we renew and reform education in Wales.

The commitment and motivation of teachers for Wales's new curriculum has made a great impression on me. I've heard the enthusiasm for renewing and reshaping education, as well as a desire to maintain the momentum of the reforms and the benefits for learners. Practitioners have also been honest about the challenges that they face, and the last year has been like no other.

As we undertake reform, it's clear that we are in a different place to the one that we imagined when the guidance for the Curriculum for Wales was published 18 months ago. On the one hand, I recognise that the preparation time for the curriculum will have been devoted to managing the impact of the pandemic over the past year. On the other hand, with an even stronger focus on well-being and significant investment in teaching and learning, the values underpinning the curriculum have been at the heart of how schools have been working. I'm committed to supporting schools and settings to maintain the momentum. At the same time, I recognise the need for clear expectations and more space and support to implement a high-quality curriculum for all learners. 

In light of the pandemic, I've decided to refresh the document titled 'Curriculum for Wales: the journey to 2022', which sets out the expectations on schools to reform the curriculum. I want to ensure that it is clear, simple and focused on the how of curriculum reform, including the importance of high-quality teaching. I am also committed to ensuring that our expectations recognise the current context, recognising that many will have very different starting points. It will be a comprehensive document for schools and settings. We are working collaboratively with partners to develop this, and the document will be published by the beginning of the autumn term. 

Last month, I announced a series of measures to ease pressures for practitioners, creating additional space to support learners. That included suspending performance measures, pausing schools categorisation, and Estyn's suspension of their core inspection programme into the autumn term.

Today, I am announcing that I propose to remove the requirement for practitioners to undertake assessments at the end of foundation phase and at the end of key stages, in the 2021-22 academic year, for year groups that will be transitioning to the new curriculum in September next year. It is only in primary schools that this will apply. I believe that, by removing these requirements a year early, it will help to create more space for practitioners to prepare their curriculum for teaching next year. It will also provide a greater focus on the progression of individual learners and on improving teaching for the new curriculum. Baseline assessments and personalised assessments will remain in place, to provide confidence in learners' progress among practitioners, learners and parents.

We will launch a national network for curriculum implementation in the autumn. This will be a practitioner-led body. It will be open to all schools, funded by the Welsh Government, and it will be a key vehicle in supporting the implementation of our new curriculum. Practitioners, experts and wider stakeholders will work together to sustain and expand development at all levels and to tackle barriers to implementation. It will be a key forum where practitioners can learn from one another on important issues in curriculum development, developing approaches to designing the curriculum jointly.

I am also announcing £7.24 million in additional funding for this financial year directly to schools, to support them as they reform the curriculum. This will support engagement with key issues around implementation, including through the national network. Supplementing this will be clear guidance on how schools can spend this funding.

Through my discussions with the sector, it is clear that there is still a strong desire for reform. I am determined to build upon the emphasis on well-being and flexibility shown over the past year. That will be closely aligned with the work of introducing of our new curriculum. Therefore, I confirm today that the Curriculum for Wales will continue to be implemented in primary schools, maintained nursery schools and non-maintained nursery settings from September 2022. I would like to confirm that we see a continued learning journey from 2022 onwards, and we will continue to support schools to develop and improve their curricula.

I recognise that secondary schools have faced specific challenges, such as managing qualifications, which, in some instances, have affected their readiness for curriculum delivery. I understand these concerns, and I've decided to provide some additional flexibility for schools where they judge that they need that. In 2022, schools that are ready to roll out the curriculum to year 7 will be able to press ahead with that. However, formal implementation of the new curriculum will not be mandatory until 2023, with roll-out in that year to years 7 and 8 together. In education other than at school, including pupil referral units, the new curriculum will be mandatory for learners of primary school age in September 2022. It will be mandatory for learners in year 7 and year 8 from September 2023. This will also be the case in special schools and schools for three to 16-year-olds.

I would encourage secondary schools who are able to proceed with their current plans in 2022 to take those plans forward, supported by their regional consortia. The 'What we inspect' framework from Estyn will support this flexibility. Estyn will be encouraging progress along the journey of curriculum reform for secondary schools.

Some secondary schools will choose to continue their path towards curriculum reform from 2022 onwards, although in 2023 it will become mandatory for years 7 and 8 together. I am pleased to be able to offer this flexibility and anticipate that the work of reforming the curriculum will continue, particularly direct engagement between secondary and primary schools from now on and into 2022 to support learner transition. 

Beyond 2023, the Curriculum for Wales will be rolled out on a year-by-year basis, and the first qualifications designed specifically for the Curriculum for Wales will be awarded in the 2026-27 academic year, as planned. 

The reform of qualifications will play a fundamental role in the success of our curriculum. The exciting ambition that underpins our curriculum must be matched by our qualifications system. The flexibility for secondary schools in 2022 will provide space for the sector to work with Qualifications Wales over the coming year to help shape a set of qualifications of the highest quality that are aligned with the philosophies of the new curriculum, and to capitalise on emerging opportunities around assessment methods. 

As I listen to the profession, I remain confident that we're doing the right thing by proceeding with our reforms. We have a rare opportunity to revolutionise the quality of our opportunities for our children and young people. It's critical that we focus on curriculum reform, and that we get things right.   

The Conservative spokesperson, Laura Anne Jones. 

Diolch. Minister, can I begin by welcoming your statement? I really do, although it does lack some details. The sector, parents and the Welsh Conservatives have been calling for weeks for flexibility in the implementation, so I'm pleased that this Government has listened to these calls and that now the new curriculum stands the very best chance of achieving its aims. 

Following on from visits that I've made in my new role as shadow education Minister over the last month, it is clear that schools share a desire, as you've said in your statement, to deliver the new curriculum as proposed, but, due to the extortionate extra pressures and extra work put upon the schools and teaching staff throughout the pandemic, some schools in reality will just not be ready, as you've outlined, to deliver this new curriculum on time. I welcome that you've recognised this and they have now the added degree of flexibility that we've been calling for. It is not a failing; it just makes sense, Minister, if we are all serious about ensuring the success of the biggest change in our curriculum for decades. 

Minister, could you expand on what criteria will be needed for deciding on delay? And will this truly be a school-led decision, and will there be a cut-off date by which schools can decide that, realistically, they just will not be ready to implement?

On the national network for curriculum implementation, you spoke about it in January, from what I recall, and now we're only just hearing that it'll be implemented in the autumn. As this appears to be so vital in terms of helping schools in preparing for the implementation of the curriculum, I'm just wondering, Minister, why it's taken so long and why it'll be delivered in the autumn. It seems that—. As this key forum will be there as a good tool for teachers, it seems a shame that we're missing out on that feedback and opportunity over the summer months to discuss it and prepare for the new curriculum. And it seems a shame that this tool couldn't have been made earlier.

Also, Minister, could you provide an update on the work of this forum when it goes ahead? And also, please could the Minister provide to this Chamber rolling data of how many schools are ready to implement the curriculum, how many schools will use the opportunity to delay for a year—just on a rolling basis, so we can have the confidence that you have of it going forward?

Also, Minister, we want—. Can we get an assurance of how everything will be fine, progressing well, but—? Oh, sorry about that. The money—that's right. The money, the £7.24 million that you've outlined in your statement, that you've announced, comes with a caveat on clear guidance that you will issue to schools on how they are to spend this funding. I was just wondering, Minister—don't you agree with me that probably schools are best placed to decide what they use this money, this ring-fenced money, for and how prepared they will be for delivering the curriculum and what they need to do to adapt in order for that to be so?

Also, finally, Deputy Presiding Officer, I also see no mention of the further education sector in your statement, and we need to look at the journey as a whole, as I'm sure you'll agree, in preparing, but how are you working with further education to ensure that they're prepared for the teaching, the provision, and particularly on vocational subjects? Thank you. 

I thank the Conservative spokesperson for her questions, and I'm pleased that she welcomes the flexibility that my statement describes, which I think is a proportionate response to the variability in parts of the sector in terms of preparedness. The decisions have been taken, obviously, having listened to practitioners for many weeks since I became education Minister, and I detected a very clear commitment to the principles and the reality of the curriculum, an enthusiasm for moving forward with the curriculum, but also a sense in some quarters that perhaps a little bit more time to focus and a little bit more flexibility to do that was welcome, and I have listened to that. I want to be very clear, though: what this is not is a wholesale delay to the curriculum. The curriculum will begin to be rolled out in 2022 and it will end being rolled out in accordance with the original schedule. What it provides is an element of flexibility in relation to the introduction of year 7 next year, and that will become mandatory in 2023. Schools are very well able to decide for themselves whether they are ready to progress with introducing curriculum reforms in 2022 or the following year, and so we will trust schools' judgment in relation to that, as her question asks.

With regard to the national network, I think this is a really important forum, which will bring together teaching professionals, experts, stakeholders and policymakers, and the aim, really, is to identify and address the barriers and opportunities around curriculum implementation, and it'll be open to all schools and settings, and I really want the forum to have a sense of national co-construction, if you like. It will help develop, I think, at a national level, a range of approaches and ideas that practitioners can take back to inform curriculum design and implementation in their schools and settings, and recommendations for how to commission and develop specific resources and support around professional learning as well.

She mentions working on this throughout the summer months; I want teachers to be as far as possible in a position to take an opportunity to rest and to reflect, if you like, on the experience of the last year over the summer months. I know that she feels that as well.

In relation to schools' readiness, I'm anxious not to be in a situation where I'm looking for new reporting obligations to place on schools themselves, but I think she can take from me that we will take our lead from schools as to whether they feel that they are ready to begin reforms in 2022 or to follow the mandatory provision in 2023.

On curriculum implementation more broadly, I will be providing an annual report on the state of play, if you like, with regard to that, which I hope that she will find helpful, as I hope will other Members.

In relation to the sum of money of £7.24 million which I mentioned, the guidance, really, is to support schools to make best use of that, really. It's intended to allow schools to make decisions around how they work collaboratively with others to free up time and space to design and plan approaches to the curriculum, and I hope that schools will find that helpful.

Plaid Cymru spokesperson, Siân Gwenllian.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you for the statement, Minister, discussing the curriculum and qualifications. I'm pleased that you've recognised the need for clear expectations and further support to implement the new curriculum. You've also mentioned launching a new national network for the implementation of the curriculum in the autumn, but what exactly is the purpose of this network? Who will assemble this network? Who will bring people together? Will it operate at a national level or will there be local arrangements in place? Won't this be an additional burden on the short time available to teachers and take them away from their teaching roles, bearing in mind that schools are already working in clusters in order to share best practice around the new curriculum, and that the consortia too arrange fora around the curriculum? So, my question is: do we really need this new network, and won't it duplicate work that is already happening elsewhere?

You've announced funding to support curriculum reform and, in reality, we're talking here, I suppose, about employing supply staff in order to release teachers and give them that space to discuss curricular issues. So, can you just confirm that that's the case? Now, I'm sure that many schools will be pleased to hear that you are to provide greater flexibility to schools who feel that they need more time in order to implement the new curriculum. But won't this lead to inconsistency in the secondary sector across Wales, with year 7 and 8 children having markedly different experiences depending on where they live? Do you anticipate this creating any difficulties, in the short term certainly? And is this truly the best thing for these specific pupils, who of course are facing major changes in their lives as they transfer from the primary to the secondary sector?

Now, I welcome the section of your statement discussing qualifications. To be honest, I had expected to hear more about this particular aspect in your statement this afternoon, but you do say this, and I think it's important, that:

'The reform of qualifications will play a fundamental role in the success of our curriculum.'

I agree entirely with that statement, but what does that mean on a practical level? That's the question that needs to be addressed. We need to align qualifications to the curriculum as a matter of urgency if the curriculum is to be successful. You will know that we in Plaid Cymru are of the view that it's time to put more emphasis on ongoing assessment rather than examinations. We are of the view that we need to bring GCSE, A-level and BTEC qualifications to an end gradually—and I do emphasise that it needs to be done gradually—and the aim for us would be to move away from the strategy of pushing increasing numbers of pupils through the narrow academic routes, and to give equal status to vocational education and technical education. So, I would like to know what is your vision around the whole important area that needs to be addressed. Are you willing to make the radical changes that are required in order for the curriculum to be successful? Thank you.

I thank Siân Gwenllian for the questions. In terms of clear expectations, I agree with her that that's needed. I intend, before the autumn term, to reintroduce the document that shows the pathway to 2022, and look jointly at the process of moving to the curriculum on the one hand with the process of dealing with the pandemic on the other hand, and ensure that that follows a consistent path rather than clashing against each other. I think schools would appreciate that.

In terms of the national network, I'll just refer the Plaid Cymru spokesperson to what I said to the Conservative spokesperson: the intention of the network is to ensure that resources are available so that schools can collaborate and create resources that are useful for them in their schools, and to help to design those for other schools as well. So, it's a national opportunity for people to be able to collaborate together in order to create resources and introduce new ways of working within the curriculum.

In terms of the funding, it is there to create new capacity, to free up time, and to create space to design approaches for the curriculum. So, the guidance will support schools to make the best use of that. Siân Gwenllian asks an important question about whether this creates inequality, if I put it the way she asked it. What I would say is this: the principle underpinning this is that all learners have access to the curriculum when that happens in the best way to support them. That is, schools and learners are treated equally on the basis of readiness to learn and teach within the new approaches of the curriculum, and so that element of flexibility does support that process. And could I assure Siân Gwenllian that the transfer from primary to secondary school will happen in a smooth way? That is, even schools that wait until 2023 before introducing the new curriculum approaches for year 7, even in that situation, next year primary will be rolled out, and then the year after that, secondary will be rolled out. So, the pathway from primary to secondary will be seamless, if I can describe it that way.

In terms of qualifications, I want to see our qualifications being ambitious, reflecting the principles of the curriculum. There will be an opportunity over the next year to test that with the sector, and that teachers can help to shape that in a way that reflects their ambition for the curriculum as well. So, there will be an opportunity, because of that extra flexibility, to contribute to that. And could I also assure Siân Gwenllian that I do have a personal commitment and a Government commitment to ensure that vocational and academic education are equal? That's the principle behind the Bill that we will be introducing in the new year for post-compulsory education.

Thank you, Minister. We will now suspend proceedings to allow changeovers in the Chamber. If you are leaving the Chamber, please do so promptly. The bell will be rung two minutes before proceedings restart. Any Members who are arriving after a changeover should wait until then before entering the Chamber.

Plenary was suspended at 16:53.

The Senedd reconvened at 17:03, with the Llywydd in the Chair.