Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. It's wonderful to see so many young people watching us today in the Chamber—a warm welcome to you.

We all know how important school attendance is in terms of children and young people's attainment and well-being, as you noted in your statement. And as one who was in the past a school governor with responsibility for school attendance, I know how challenging it can be for schools, and that teachers across the country are trying all sorts of diverse approaches to ensure that school attendance levels are as high as possible. 

It's important to bear in mind that there are very valid reasons why some children don't attend school. I met a parent who wanted her children's school to scrap a system that rewarded attendance because one of her children had a medical condition that meant that he missed a number of school days because of medical appointments and treatment. Her child felt a failure because of the ongoing messaging within the school on the importance of school attendance and cried if they had to miss a day's school—something that had to happen on a weekly basis. 

I'm pleased to hear the Minister, in terms of the fixed-penalty notices, emphasising that a valid reason would need to be taken into account. Can I ask, therefore, what assessment has been made of the efficacy of the fixed-penalty notice system, and whether any changes have been made to the guidance published in 2013? Because, after all, we have heard stories about parents being given a fixed-penalty notice despite the fact that they have valid reasons. 

The Prosecuting Parents report said that prosecuting parents can be pointless and damaging. The majority that responded to a survey from Prosecuting Parents noted, because of their children's attendance, most refused to go to school because of behavioural, neurological or, as has been referred to, mental health problems, and that they had had problems in getting CAMHS appointments and so forth, and relevant support for their children. Every parent that responded to that survey wanted to see their children attend school, but they said that it was often impossible, because the response was so extreme in terms of fear and anxiety, failure to sleep, self-harm and so on, that it was very traumatic for those parents and carers in trying to get those children to school. And also the children were bullied, sometimes because of their inability to go to school, because of a medical condition and so on. I do think that it's extremely important that we do get this right as you encourage local authorities to give fixed-penalty notices once again. We can't be punishing parents and carers in this situation when there is grave need for more services to support these children and young people.

We also know that the cost-of-living crisis is having a grave impact in terms of school attendance at times. We've referred to it in the past and we know that absences are higher on dressing-up days, such as World Book Day. We also know that if parents are having problems paying for the bus, if the child misses the bus to school, that can be another reason. Also, some parents can only afford to take their children on holiday during the school term. Many headteachers are very sensitive to that if attendance has been high otherwise, but we have to acknowledge that children have a right to have fun and a holiday, not just education, and that families are under huge pressures.

We have to therefore ensure that any strategy and any communication is handled sensitively in terms of those where there are good reasons for lack of attendance, and where attendance of any kind, for example, a child with a number of medical appointments, is something to be celebrated. School targets must take such pupils into account, including the support available for learners and their parents. You made specific reference in terms of Estyn's key role in this and I very much hope that they will ensure that schools will be able to record the range of reasons why a learner may be absent so that we can better understand what the problems are.

You referred in your statement to the investment that was allocated to year 11 students particularly. Clearly, this is a cause of concern and it's good to see that expenditure has been allocated for this. Could the Minister outline how that money was spent and how effective that spending was in terms of improving attendance? And has any assessment been made of this? Thank you.