Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Education and Welsh Language – in the Senedd at 2:41 pm on 10 November 2021.

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Photo of Laura Anne Jones Laura Anne Jones Conservative 2:41, 10 November 2021

Thank you, Minister. Also, the attainment gap figures recently released paint a very worrying picture. They have been exacerbated by the inequality between the better off and the poorest in Welsh society. Top GCSE results show a gap now of 11.5 per cent in 2021. Minister, how are you planning to tackle this attainment gap and ensure that young people in Wales are afforded the best start in life, regardless of their background, as this Welsh Labour Government seems to be letting down the poorest in our communities? It was bad before the pandemic, Minister, but now worse, as the move to centre-assessed grades seems to have exacerbated the situation. Do you not agree with me that the return to exams is now more crucial than ever? I know that you've said now that that is what you want to do. But, in this Chamber, can you now say that that is what your intention is, to bring back that move to exams? And what are you doing, Minister, to ensure that those children off school with COVID or due to COVID-related regulations are receiving the education that they need and that they deserve—because it's a significant amount of time that children are having off school at the moment—to ensure that this gap doesn't widen in the future?