7. Statement by the Minister for Education and Welsh Language: Sustainable Communities for Learning

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:52 pm on 17 January 2023.

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Photo of Heledd Fychan Heledd Fychan Plaid Cymru 4:52, 17 January 2023

(Translated)

Thank you, Minister, for this afternoon's statement. Clearly, there are many things to be welcomed here. We certainly agree on the need to upgrade a number of schools. We know, travelling the length and breadth of Wales and visiting schools, that there are schools that truly do need investment. This is an important part of ensuring the learning environment, which is so important, as you've outlined, in influencing school attendance, and so on, if the resources are in place. We've also previously discussed the benefits for communities when there are facilities that can be used by the community outside of the school day.

Very similar to James Evans, I would like to focus specifically on Welsh-medium education, if I could return to that issue. I was pleased to hear what you said in your response to James in terms of WESPs, because, certainly, you've heard from many of us on this side of the Chamber some examples in our own regions where we have felt at times that the investment has been overly focused on English-medium schools, and when there are Welsh-medium schools, they are often placed in different communities to those where there previously was a Welsh-medium school, and that English-medium schools are placed there, and there's a risk. We have heard from parents that they make that choice in terms of sending their children to English-medium schools and leaving Welsh-medium education as a result. So, I would like to know more in terms of how this further investment will ensure that the Welsh language is a priority for our authorities and that we do look, particularly where there's been a tradition of Welsh-medium education, at how we ensure that that isn't lost if a new English-medium school is placed in an area.

We've also discussed transportation and the resources so that everyone can benefit from that. I know that that is an issue for the Deputy Minister for Climate Change, but clearly this will be an important element. And with transport costs increasing too, I do think that there's a broader issue to deliver that.

One of the things we know in terms of projects such as this is that very often they can take a very long time. I was pleased to hear that you hoped that this will provide more flexibility in terms of timetables and so on, and that's to be welcomed. But, for those schools that perhaps aren't successful in this round, and it may take years for them to achieve the investment that they need, are you also looking as a Government in terms of how we use community resources already in existence, such as local libraries or museums, that perhaps have received investment? There have been projects in the past, such as one in Swansea, where there was a very successful project in having a school in a museum, the National Waterfront Museum, and advantages from using community assets. Clearly, some of these are under threat now, but when you talk about the number of schools still using portakabins that have seen better days, is there any way we can look at how we can use community assets that schools could walk to, so that we can provide a sustainable future for facilities such as libraries and museums, and also enhancing the curricular advantages? I just wanted to ask if that is something you are considering, particularly given that it's going to be very tight for local authorities. We know that the costs of projects such as this will increase because of inflation, so are there alternative steps that we can take? I'll leave it there for now. Thank you, Minister.