Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Education and Welsh Language – in the Senedd at 2:27 pm on 8 December 2021.
Everything, of course, should be done to prevent the loss of more school time, but, with the number of cases so high, there are practical problems in schools in ensuring that there are adequate numbers of staff available to keep classrooms open, and there is real concern, and very understandable concern, about transmission within schools. Staff and parents have been in touch with me expressing concerns about the effect of that on the ability of families to come together safely over Christmas. So, bearing in mind that the risk of the omicron variant is still being assessed, what is the Minister's message to those people who are very concerned and would favour moving to online learning, perhaps just for a few days, in the period in the run-up to Christmas?