5. What assessment has the Government made of the impact of play time during the school day on children's mental health? OQ57883

In March 2021 we published statutory guidance for schools on supporting the well-being needs of the whole school population. The guidance promotes and recognises the impact that freely chosen, self-directed play makes to children’s health and well-being, and our work will be subject to full evaluation in coming years.

Thank you, Minister. As you will be aware, play is fundamental to children's health and well-being, and a necessary part of their social development because it helps develop skills in coping with challenge, facing uncertainty, and how to be flexible and adaptable to different circumstances. Since 1995, research has shown that break times in the school day have been reduced per week by up to 45 minutes for children aged between five and seven, and reduced by 65 minutes for those aged between 11 and 16. This has resulted in eight out of 10 children now having less than one hour of physical activity per day. Research has also shown that, outside school, children are now 50 per cent less likely to meet up with friends in person, with 31 per cent of children reporting that they seldom get to meet peers and friends, compared to 15 per cent in 2006. I'm sure my colleagues will agree that trends like this are worrying because they alter the way children develop into adulthood and can have unforeseen consequences, particularly in terms of mental health. Minister, firstly, what assessment has the Welsh Government made of the health implications due to the loss of playtime for schoolchildren, and what plans do you have in place to increase playtime for children across Wales? Thank you.

That's a set of very important points that the Member is making in his supplementary question. He will know that, as part of their play sufficiency duties, under the 2010 Measure, every local authority will be submitting to the Deputy Minister for Social Services their play sufficiency assessments this year, which will enable us to undertake a review of those. Play Wales is already working with local authorities in preparation for those assessments and the early action plan. In recognition of the extra burdens on authorities, we've extended the deadline in order to allow those assessments to be brought forward somewhat later than otherwise they would have been, to reflect the impact in school. We've asked Play Wales to scope playtime interventions in schools, and they'll be taking forward a programme of support, to help schools take a whole-school approach to provide the children's right to play. He will also know, of course, of the work that the Deputy Minister for Social Services has been funding in relation to the Playworks holiday project, the Summer of Fun, and the Winter of Well-being, which comes to an end tomorrow.

Minister, last week, I met with Ruby, who is a sixth form pupil at Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhondda and a young member of the Senedd for Rhondda. I know the Minister will be visiting the school soon, following the exciting plans to build a brand-new, twenty-first century school, and I'm sure Ruby would love to give you a tour. We discussed a range of issues relating to day-to-day school life, but the one clear message throughout was the significant effect poverty has on our young people. Poverty, undoubtedly, affects home and school life, from digital inclusion anxieties to period poverty. This takes its toll on our young people's mental health. What measures is the education Minister taking to support the mental health of the most disadvantaged young people in Rhondda, especially now through the cost-of-living crisis?

It's a very, very important question that the Member raises. She will know that we published our framework for a whole-school approach to mental health and well-being last year. And, this year, I'm pleased to say that the budget for that has been significantly extended in order to be able to provide additional counselling, to be able to provide an extension of the in-school child and adolescent mental health services in-reach support, as well as to train teachers to be able to identify well-being and mental health needs in their pupils, and also to provide support directly to those pupils themselves. She will also know, of course, of the work that we are doing to trial additional activities in schools at the moment, and the reports that we are getting in real time from those trials is that they are very beneficial in terms of the well-being and mental health, perhaps, often, of some of our most disadvantaged pupils. So, we look forward very much to seeing the outcomes of those trials in a few weeks' time.