The causes of peer-on-peer sexual harassment are incredibly complicated. For that reason, we see very little value in singling out anyone to blame for its root causes. But we are clear as a committee that a lot needs to change. We heard time and time again from professionals and from young people that despite pockets of good practice, sex and relationships education is generally poor. We heard that it was not done well enough, insufficient, poor quality and, sometimes, even completely absent. The Welsh Government must ensure that pupils are taught about the underlying causes of peer-on-peer sexual harassment.

We heard over and over again that the new curriculum is an opportunity to improve sex and relationships education. We hope that its potential is realised. But any child currently in year 8 or above—those most at risk of peer-on-peer sexual harassment—will never be taught under the new curriculum. So, old curriculum or new, change must take place at pace for the sake of every single learner. We also heard from young people that school staff routinely downplay their experiences of sexual harassment, dismiss their concerns, or even completely ignore signs that it’s happening. All schools must make it absolutely clear to their learners that sexual harassment is unacceptable. They must respond to reports seriously, promptly and consistently.

We have asked Estyn to amend its inspection framework for schools and colleges to ensure that it focuses on how well education establishments keep records of sexual harassment, how they respond to allegations of sexual harassment, and support learners who have experienced it. But we understand that many school staff do not feel that they have received adequate training to be able to respond to peer-on-peer sexual harassment confidently. Conversations with young people about unhealthy sexual behaviours are not easy. School staff need support. We have recommended that the Welsh Government provides ring-fenced funding for training for all school staff, not just teaching staff, to identify, respond to and report incidents of peer-on-peer sexual harassment.

In total, we made 24 recommendations in our report, some of which I have already touched on, but before I turn to my colleagues across the Senedd and in Government for their contributions, I'll add just a few more. Perhaps the most important is that young people must be central to developing the Welsh Government’s response to peer-on-peer sexual harassment in the form of a young people’s advisory board. Our hope is that this board shapes action in relation to some key recommendations: a national awareness-raising campaign targeted at learners and their families; a review of the support offered to victims of sexual harassment; and the development of a bank of effective approaches to sex and relationships education.

We know too little about the scale and nature of sexual harassment in primary schools and colleges. Worryingly, we heard that it can start among children as young as nine. We have recommended that the Welsh Government undertake an age-appropriate review into sexual harassment in primary schools. The Welsh Government had already committed to a similar review in colleges, a crucial piece of work that we are all pleased is under way. I hope that the Minister will be able to reaffirm the Government’s commitment to tackling peer-on-peer sexual harassment among learners here today in the Senedd, and update us on work carried out to date and the timetable for work to come to implement the accepted recommendations.

I would also like to put to the Minister some concerns raised to us by stakeholders when we asked for feedback on the Welsh Government’s response to our report. The first: can the Minister confirm that the Welsh Government recognises the impact of sexual harassment on young people and the long-lasting impact it can have on a child’s life, even if it isn’t categorised as an adverse childhood experience? Second: that the funding provided for training for school staff to report and respond to incidents of sexual harassment does not come at the cost of much-needed training and support for school staff in other areas.

And finally, can the Minister reassure us that young people will be genuinely and directly involved in co-developing the Government's response to peer-on-peer sexual harassment, from working on the national awareness-raising campaign to developing a best-practice set of sessions for schools to teach about the impact of peer-on-peer sexual harassment? I look forward to hearing the contributions from members of the committee and all Members across the Senedd, and from the Minister. Diolch yn fawr.