1. What discussions has the Minister had with the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language regarding the rights of disabled schoolchildren? OQ57596

Diolch yn fawr, Sioned Williams. The Welsh Government is committed to achieving equity and inclusion in education. Our sustainable communities for learning programme promotes access for all. Schools and further education institutions supported through the programme must ensure their buildings allow access for disabled pupils, students, staff and visitors.

Diolch, Weinidog. I wrote to the education Minister last year expressing concerns about the lack of tangible action to address the disruption to the education of disabled and additional learning needs pupils during the pandemic. Mark Edwards is one of many constituents who have contacted me on this issue. He feels that his son, an additional learning needs pupil at Ysgol Maes y Coed, Bryncoch, is being treated unequally, though through no fault of the school itself, as he is continuing to miss out on crucial and prolonged periods of his education. No provision of non-intrusive COVID tests forces many pupils, like Mark's son, into a mandatory isolation period every time they exhibit a potential symptom. The lack of adequate specialist teaching reserves to mitigate the impact of infection on staffing are just some examples of the need for the Government to act. Mark's son's class has been closed for weeks at a time on occasion over the last months, sometimes with less than a day's notice. Mark told me, 'It is as if children like my son and their education have less value.' How will the Minister uphold the rights of all children to an equal education during this time and what will the Minister do to ensure that children with disabilities and additional learning needs are not discriminated against in this way?

Diolch yn fawr, Sioned Williams, for that very important question and feeding back that evidence. We are addressing additional learning needs as a result of our commitment to children's rights and commitment to disabled children's rights, in fact, very much embedded in the Rights of Children and Young Person's (Wales) Measure 2011.

So, we're investing in disabled children's lives through our financial commitment. That's crucial in terms of resource—£21 million to deliver the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 in the Welsh Government budget for 2023. But, clearly, we've got to overcome barriers to learning so that disabled children can reach their full potential. The education Minister announced an extra £10 million this year to provide tailored support for children and young people with additional learning needs, including many disabled children—importantly, in response to your question—who have been adversely impacted by the pandemic. And, of course, this is also acknowledged in the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021. 

So, I think, last month, again, the Minister for education announced £100 million in additional funding to make schools and colleges COVID-secure and £50 million will also help in terms of accessible buildings. So, this is clearly the commitment and principal objective, not just for myself as the Minister for Social Justice, but also the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language.

All children have the right to play, as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Article 31 of the convention states that every child has the right to:

'rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.'

Section 11 of the Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010 requires local authorities to have regard to the needs of children who are disabled persons in relation to the sufficiency of play opportunities in the local authority's area of responsibility. Despite this responsibility to have regard to the needs of children, there are many playgrounds across Wales that don't have a single suitable facility for a child with a disability. In my own constituency of Aberconwy, parents have spoken to me and say they have to sit and watch their children watching other children play. I'm sure, Minister, you would agree with me, this is incredibly sad and shouldn't be happening in this day and age. So, would you discuss the matter with the First Minister, and have a look at whether there's any intention to create a legal responsibility to provide adequate funding for local authorities to ensure that all playgrounds, in every community, do have at least one facility for children with disabilities? Thank you.

I thank the Member for that important question as well. Of course, local authorities do have a statutory responsibility for the preparation of an accessibility strategy, and that is, in fact, for the entire educational estate. I appreciate that you're also referring to playgrounds in the community as well, which are the responsibility of local authorities. But that is where the statutory responsibilities that are laid down in our children and young people's rights Measure is so important for us here in Wales. But I certainly will be taking this up and exploring this, particularly with the Deputy Minister for Social Services, who is responsible for children and young people. And I also draw attention to the funding that's gone into Playworks and the Summer of Fun last year, which of course did also reach out in terms of inclusive engagement with children and young people, and to make sure that the physical environment was inclusive in that respect.