6. What advice and support does the Welsh Government provide to schools to ensure that participation in sport is available to all students? OQ57711

We are committed to supporting the physical health and well-being of all learners in Wales. That is why the promotion of the lifelong benefits of physical health, including sport, is a mandatory part of every curriculum in every school and setting in Wales for three to 16-year-olds.

Thank you, Minister. Thanks for that response. Minister, you will already be aware that the UK's chief medical officers have recently published the first ever guidelines on physical activity for disabled children and young people. It is now recommended that disabled young people take part in around 20 minutes of exercise a day and strength and balance activities three times a week. These guidelines will go some way in helping to support disabled children and young people to improve their physical and mental health, as well as closing the wider health gap between disabled and non-disabled people. However, it's important that schools and other educational facilities help to facilitate participation in sport and physical activity for all students, and that can be quite difficult when there's a lack of appropriate equipment and facilities, and a very crowded curriculum.

Minister, what discussions have you and your officials had about the impact of the new guidance on the teaching of sports in schools, and what more support can the Welsh Government provide to schools to ensure that they have the equipment needed so that all children and young people have equal access to sport and physical activity?

Officials are considering that in the way that you imply in your question at the moment. I completely agree with the point that you're making, that it's vital that access to sporting activities and physical activities in schools are available and accessible to all our learners. I think that's a principle that underpins the importance of health and well-being in our new curriculum, and I made a speech a couple of weeks ago where I was keen to emphasise that the curriculum is a curriculum for all our learners, and so it needs to be regarded in that way, and we will look at what more we can do in terms of professional learning and resources to make sure that that part of the curriculum is as inclusive as it possibly can be.

Thank you.

COVID-19 has disrupted almost every part of our lives, but for many young people, they've missed out on those crucial first opportunities to take part in sports that interest and excite them, and these are some of the most important formative years. We all know the benefits that sports can bring to both the physical and mental well-being of our young people, and we must ensure that children do not miss out on those benefits for years to come because of the pandemic.

What role does the Minister see our schools having in making sure that our youngest generation still get these opportunities, and what more can we do to encourage more participation in school sports?

I think schools have a very, very important role in making those opportunities available, and the mandatory expectation for physical health in the new curriculum from September onwards I think reflects the important role that schools have to play in that. We work hard in the Government to continue to ensure that all schools can offer that range of high-quality sport and physical activity opportunities.

You will have heard the Deputy Minister yesterday talking about the new 'Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales' strategy, but also that daily active offer as part of that strategic approach for all our learners, and part of that is around making sure that all our children and young people have access to settings where physical and mental health remains a priority. And so, making sure that the curriculum provides an outcomes-focused programme through the Welsh network of healthy school schemes will be an important contribution to that; the daily active offer, which I've mentioned as well, together with work that we do with Sport Wales and other third sector organisations to ensure that every child has access to sport and physical activity opportunities. She will also know about the winter of well-being package that has been rolled out over the last few weeks, and, obviously, an important part of that is providing additional sessions around the school day to promote physical, mental and emotional well-being, both in English and in Welsh.