4. Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Services: Early Years Provision — Expansion of Flying Start

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:24 pm on 27 September 2022.

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Photo of Julie Morgan Julie Morgan Labour 3:24, 27 September 2022

Diolch. Thank you very much for those comments and question. I really welcome the commitment to childcare in Wales, and I'm very pleased that we've been able to take these steps forward. I absolutely agree that childcare is a lifeline for families, for all families, and for struggling families in particular it's a huge boost. I think we are ambitious. The co-operation agreement says that we will reach all two-year-olds by the end of the co-operation agreement. That is a three-year agreement and that is very challenging, but both myself and the designated Member are determined to do all we possibly can to achieve that. Our long-term policy for childcare, over a 10-year strategy, is to look at a much wider group of children and, ultimately, we would like to move to the position where we have got childcare available for all those who want it and need it. But that is a 10-year strategy. But, during these three years, we want to reach all two-year-olds. That is ambitious, I know, and the workforce is one of the areas that we are working on most strongly. 

I just want to reassure the Member that Welsh-medium education and care must be seen as an integral part of the whole thing, that, whatever we do, we must see it as part of that, as integral, not an add-on. And we want to use this opportunity to give families and children in Wales the huge benefit of being able to, as you say, use the two official languages of Wales, and we want to make that easy to happen and we want to make it part of the whole system. So, I can assure her that that is our aim and that's why we have specifically allocated money in this announcement today to strengthen the Welsh-medium provision, working with Cwlwm very closely, and ensuring that there will be opportunities for existing members of staff to develop and learn confidence in the Welsh language, as well as attracting new members of staff and offering wide opportunities, and also putting in a development officer to develop the Welsh language provision in each of the Cwlwm partners. So, we have got specific costed plans to use the money that we've got. We know that the workforce is one of the issues that we have to tackle for both English and Welsh-medium settings, but we're well aware of that and are doing all we possibly can to follow that up.