Thank you, Minister, for today's statement. Evidently, it's very important that we do have a specific statement like this on education because, as we've heard already, the role of teaching and raising awareness from a young age is vital if we genuinely want to create a nation where racism doesn't exist. We know from speaking to many of the people that we represent that experiences in school have been earth shattering for many people. Many of us who are here today were in a session with the Privilege Cafe some months ago, where a number of people told us about their terrible experiences in school in terms of racism, and the fact that it wasn't a positive experience for them, and they didn't want to continue in school or go on to university because the school world wasn't one where they felt they could prosper, be themselves or be safe. So, there is a great deal of work to do in this area. I do specifically welcome the fact that you've given such a clear statement in this Senedd that there is a great deal of work to be done, but also your commitment. I think you used the words 'fast track' and 'at pace', and that we need to move quickly on this, because evidently with every year that passes, these experiences do affect young people and children for the rest of their lives. 

We saw in the report published in 2020 by Show Racism the Red Card that racism is common in Welsh schools, and that it is likely that teachers and learning support staff are underestimating the situation greatly. In fact, the report found that 63 per cent of pupils have experienced or know someone who has experienced racism at school. Those are shocking figures. We saw in that report that it was not just because of the colour of someone's skin and so on, but religion as well, that there are so many considerations here, and why it is so important that we come to understand each other better and that we understand what a modern and multicultural Wales is, and overturn the stereotype that there is a specific kind of Welsh person. That's rubbish. We are all Welsh if we live in Wales, and I think we have to work hard to get rid of that myth.

Furthermore, in that report, the percentage of educators teaching anti-racism has fallen since the 2016 study, and they said that a lack of time and a lack of confidence were identified as the main challenges. I think that it is excellent that you do acknowledge that in this plan and you're trying to tackle it. But the majority of teachers have not received any anti-racism training, and we know from other discussions that we've had about the great pressure on teachers in terms of the new curriculum, additional learning needs, and so forth, and that they have a lack of time. We have to ensure that this is central to that, and the question that I'd like to ask is: evidently, you've given a commitment to establish a national approach to professional learning on diversity and anti-racism, but how we can we ensure that teachers will have the time to do this, so that they'll all feel that they've received that training that is greatly needed?   

The plan's aim of ensuring that the stories, contributions and histories of black, Asian and minority ethnic people are taught through the revised Curriculum for Wales is therefore of paramount importance. And despite the Government's goal of rolling out the new curriculum in September 2022, we know that many schools have said that they will need to pause the implementation for another year. Therefore, Minister, what mitigation measures will be put in place for this uneven and delayed roll out, and its consequences for the timescales of the plan, as we've seen in today's plan?

Laura Anne Jones mentioned this, but I'd like to ask further in terms of the aim of increasing the recruitment of teachers from ethnic minority communities into the education sector, with a clear focus on recruitment to ITE programmes, which is also vital in this regard. Could you explain why it's not possible to expand the range of subjects available on the ITE employment-based scheme to attract support staff from ethnic minority backgrounds, including Welsh-medium, until September 2025, with this being offered through Open University programmes, only where it is economically and educationally feasible, according to the plan? Could you explain that further, please? 

Evidently, we will greatly welcome a number of these actions, but we'll have to keep an eagle eye on how this is being implemented, and ensure that the training is in place. As we've mentioned, children and young people do face racism in our schools at the moment. That's not acceptable, and we need to change this so that everyone is safe in school.