Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:49 pm on 6 July 2021.
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.