I'd like to start by thanking Estyn for this report. Estyn's independent report 2020-21 makes interesting reading and is very concerning in some areas, as I'm sure the Minister will agree, which of course reflects the pandemic, and in some areas what we see is understandable. But there are problems also highlighted that were inherent before the pandemic, were exacerbated by the pandemic, and those are not quite as forgivable. Before I go into the report, I just want to put on record again that the Welsh Conservatives commend all school leaders and staff, who have worked incredibly hard and tirelessly during a very difficult period—in most cases, who went above and beyond.

Moving to the report, the children of Wales have lost the most amount of learning in the entire United Kingdom, with Welsh children losing out on a third of their learning in the last academic year. With Wales having PISA results on a par with former Soviet bloc states, this is a concern. As it states in the report, nearly all schools, leaders and teachers raised concerns over pupils' progress during the impact of the pandemic. Disruption to learning through periods of lockdown and self-isolation led to poorer progress in the literacy and numeracy skills of many pupils. Although schools provided pupils with reading activities online and suggestions for practicing their reading at home, pupils' engagement with these opportunities varied considerably, as we've seen across the board. And this was true of online learning throughout all levels of education. Unfortunately, as the report states, those who did not read regularly during the lockdown made little progress. This meant that, when they returned to school, older pupils, as the report says, sometimes found it difficult to read beyond the literal meaning of a text, and younger pupils often struggled to decode unfamiliar words and make sense of what they were reading. Also, the Education Policy Institute estimated that, on average, pupils in primary schools experienced a loss of learning of about three months of mathematics. Teachers noted a deterioration in pupils' listening, speaking and social skills, particularly for vulnerable pupils and those in the foundation phase. In the foundation phase, the greatest concern was about pupils missing key development and mental milestones, as my own child did, that may affect their emotional well-being, communication and learning development.

Minister, when I read the report, there was one excerpt in the report that particularly stuck with me, as it did, obviously, Plaid Cymru, as it's mentioned in their amendment, which we will be supporting: the divide between pupils from disadvantaged and more privileged backgrounds became more pronounced over the course of the pandemic. I think that is the key thing to take from this report, and is the most worrying, and it cannot be exacerbated any further. Sadly, the impact of the pandemic has been laid bare for all to see in this document, and the adverse effect on pupils not being educated physically in our schools. We must build on the lessons that we've learned, as the Minister just outlined, and our digital offering, and the online support to go with that.

In nearly all schools, a proportion of pupils failed to engage with all learning from home, and this was a particular issue for schools serving more disadvantaged communities. It stated that senior leaders believe that up to a third of pupils did not engage with set work. This is very worrying, particularly for exam-age young people. And, as highlighted by my colleague Tom Giffard, those pupils with additional learning needs and those eligible for free school meals are most at risk of being left behind when they are not physically in school.

Pupil attendance, as the Minister outlined, is concerning for a myriad of reasons. It remained consistently below 90 per cent, even for the summer term, compared with an average attendance of below 94 per cent for the last full year of education, 2018-19. The attendance of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds was notably below that of other pupils. In a few cases, as is set out in this report, year 11 pupils did not even return to school after the second national lockdown, which left them at risk of leaving school without any qualifications. This was for many reasons, but there are clear failings by this Government to help schools, help children and young people whose mental health was affected. I would urge the Minister for a quick roll-out of the support he outlined earlier for helping with mental health.

Although, across Wales, there was considerable variation in the amount of school time secondary school pupils lost due to having to self-isolate, in some schools whole year groups missed out for 12 weeks of face-to-face provision in the autumn term. In my own region of South Wales East, I saw a local school with only two year groups in at one time.

The report states that, following lockdowns, many schools noted a deterioration in pupils' social skills, and nearly all schools found that lockdowns had affected the well-being of pupils adversely to some extent. It's now clear that being kept away from a school environment has a major impact on pupils generally, not just on their education. School plays a huge role, as we all know now, in socialising children, in enhancing their mental health through play and learning with others. We need to see more targeted resources provided to ensure that children can properly recover, adapt and catch up, even though we don't like to use that word, from the effects of the pandemic. Worryingly the report also found that general gaps in pupils' learning correlated with gaps in provision.

Just quickly, the poor mental health of staff was prevalent primarily in secondary schools, due to having to assume the responsibility for centre-determined grades and the onus that was put on them instead of exam boards. This extra pressure had a really adverse effect on many teachers who were unrewarded financially and more stressed.

The curriculum, quickly: progress with planning for the implementation of the curriculum—we've all got to be concerned about—is so sporadic across our schools, and, as Heledd said, alongside putting the new ALN into place as well. We want to ensure, Minister, that the support is being targeted at those schools that really need it.

Welsh Government communication throughout the pandemic is highlighted in the report as 'dire', with announcements and regulations or guidance given with little warning or none at all. I continually heard those concerns during the pandemic. So, I'd like to know how the Minister is going to enhance that communication, improve it between local authorities, the schools and the Welsh Government.

Minister, we need to ensure that education is future-proofed for any eventuality going forward: digital skills, professional learning, broadband out-roll, the dangers of pupils being online. I could go on an on. Sadly, I haven't got enough time to go through this entire report, because it's so big. This report is damning, but due to the pandemic and the evidence we've talked about in committee, it's not surprising. The well-being of pupils needs to be at the top of our agenda. I think that's the thing that keeps being repeated again and again by children and young people in Wales. The report is a damning indictment of Labour's Welsh educational leadership over the last 23 years, and, quite clearly, action needs now to be taken to reverse that decline that they themselves put in motion and that has been exacerbated by this pandemic.