6. Statement by the Minister for Education and Welsh Language: Implementation of net zero carbon and the 21st century schools and colleges programme

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:42 pm on 2 November 2021.

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Photo of Jeremy Miles Jeremy Miles Labour 5:42, 2 November 2021

I thank Joyce Watson for her welcome for the statement overall, and I think it shows her long-term commitment to this agenda as well. I do share the importance of the point that she makes about enabling the development of our future schools to really maximise the opportunity for parents and learners to use other routes to school that are environmentally friendly, and I'm encouraged by the work that we're doing with the active travel board to seek to maximise that, both in relation to our existing school estate but also in relation to a new baseline specification for new schools into the future, which will reflect the principles in the 'Llwybr Newydd' transport strategy. But, just in the way that Jenny Rathbone was also saying, there is a curriculum opportunity here as well, I think, which is to use these future developments as a means of really enabling our young learners to have a full understanding of how important it is to make those active travel contributions to their learning.