4. Statement by the Minister for Education and Welsh Language: Exploring reform of the school day and year

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:46 pm on 1 February 2022.

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Photo of Jeremy Miles Jeremy Miles Labour 3:46, 1 February 2022

Thank you, Laura Anne Jones, for your welcome for this set of trials. I think, as you say, when you talk about reinventing the wheel, we're trying to reinvent a system that has been in place in some ways for a very long time. But you are right to say that it's important to draw evidence from all sources, and there is a very rich seam of evidence both in other parts of the UK and internationally, as well as already in Wales in fact, about the benefits that can be derived from the sorts of approaches that are being trialled in this number of schools over the next 10 weeks. 

You asked me about the range of things that I was hoping to see being trialled in schools, and you asked a specific question about how that might relate, for example, to the world of work and the broader economy. There is a range of activities that are being trialled. Some of that is around arts and music and dance, some of it's around sport, from rugby to judo, some of it is around cooking and the importance of food, and we are working with the Urdd. There is a variety of activities being trialled. Some of them have the sort of connection that she was specifying in her question around business and enterprise, robotics and coding, science, green technology—so, a really wide range of activities. We've just listened in the earlier statement to the importance being outlined in the Chamber of trying new things and being candid when some of them succeed and some of them don't succeed. I think that's part of what we're trialling here to see what the best mix is.

In terms of the vision for the use of those five hours, actually, one of the flexibilities we've given to schools is to deploy those five hours in a way that works for them. Obviously, putting an extra hour on each day is one of those options. I myself don't actually have a clear view at this point, because we do need to see what happens on the ground. In a way, it's the evidence of what works that needs to guide us here, given our objective, which is to make sure that our learners re-engage with learning and boost their sense of confidence and well-being, which we know will have a positive effect on progression and attainment. 

You asked finally about a national approach, if you like. This is obviously a set of trials, isn't it, so there is guidance that has gone to schools about how best to design the activities, but the very heart of this is to see what can be designed locally. Some schools are working with local organisations, some with national organisations and so on, to get the best blend that works for their particular cohort of learners. But the opportunity here is to learn from what we discover over the next 10 weeks and find ways of extending that into the future.