Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Education and Welsh Language – in the Senedd at 2:33 pm on 8 February 2023.
Well, I recognise that we need to do everything we can to support in the system support staff, who deliver a very, very important service to our young people and are indispensable in our schools. The Member's question does not recognise the work that I've done since becoming Minister in relation to this matter. She will recall, because I made a statement in this Chamber last year, that I've commenced a programme of work to support the very people that she's referring to in her question. That involves a process of work led by teaching assistants in relation to the standardisation of roles and consistent deployment of TAs across local authorities and schools in Wales. It's also coupled with an entitlement, for the first time, for a programme of professional learning to teaching assistants. The professional learning grant will now be weighted to reflect the number of TAs in schools. Those are all new developments that have come into place over the course of the last year. I recognise that it's really important that we fully value the role that teaching assistants and other support staff play in our schools, and I absolutely am doing that.