Minister, I would like to thank you for the statement today. As you know, we are excited but supportive of a new curriculum and, as was highlighted by the fifth Senedd's committee report, with Lynne Neagle as Chair, it is very much an opportunity for it to be the biggest change since the dawn of devolution in terms of our education system, and there's much to welcome.

I think some of the concerns are well rehearsed. We've had this debate over the past year in terms of the concerns raised by the teaching unions just purely around the capacity of the workforce to deliver. I would just like to build upon Laura Anne Jones's point in terms of that consistency across Wales, because, as Lynne Neagle also said as Chair, we recognise that the new curriculum will not be uniform across all schools, but it must be consistent.

I recognise that there are some things that you've emphasised in your response there, but one of the things that we have been told by teaching unions and so on, and by teachers, is the concern currently around just attendance at school, which we've also mentioned, and, therefore, the fact that those in school, yes, will benefit from the new curriculum, but there are huge challenges at the moment just in terms of that attendance, post COVID, for a whole array of reasons. How do we ensure that the most disadvantaged and those that are being impacted by the cost-of-living crisis at present will still receive that benefit if they're not even able to get to school? I was very concerned last week, in the First Minister's response to my question about the cost of transport to school, to have the response that, 'Well, we're prioritising free school meals.' But, for me, surely we need to be looking as well at ensuring that pupils are in school, so that they can receive the benefit of free school meals, but also to be able to benefit from the new curriculum. Therefore, how is this being tied into the very real concerns at present about attendance at schools and some of the challenges there, so we ensure there's not that inequity of access to the new curriculum?

I would very much like to echo your comments in terms of how challenging it has been for staff and record our thanks as well to all staff that are embracing this and working hard to make sure that the new curriculum works. I was really pleased, as well, that you emphasised that this is not the end of the process, that it's a milestone, and also that commitment that things will evolve and respond. I think it is something that we need to welcome, and, certainly, as an opposition party, yes, our role is to challenge, but I also welcome learning as we go on as well, and I hope we will have that honesty as things progress in terms of what's working and what's not, so that we can see some of the places that need further investment, or if we are seeing that disadvantaged communities are not able to take full advantage of the curriculum, or we're seeing that some pupils are missing out, that we can have that regular review and be able to adapt accordingly.

Similarly, one of the things that has been emphasised is the precarious financial position facing schools, especially in light of some of the areas that are being invested in now. So, just in terms of that concern around lack of transparency and inconsistencies in the distribution of funding to schools, in particular around the schools' core budgets, is this something that concerns you in terms of delivery of the new curriculum, or are you confident that those concerns have been addressed so that every school that is implementing the new curriculum will be able to do so and will have the resources to do so?

So, I hope you take that as a positive response. Obviously, we want to see things work, but we also want to ensure that children and young people are able to be in school to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the new curriculum, and also that we continue to support staff. Obviously, as we see now, COVID is another factor that has not gone away; we're seeing impacts again on schools, and it will continue to impact on teachers and teaching assistants being in school. So, therefore, how are we going to support the workforce over the coming months, so that they see that we are being a supportive Government and opposition parties, as this will take time to embed and evolve? Diolch.