, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
I will indeed. As with all staffing matters, of course, schools are responsible for making decisions on how they recruit teaching assistants. Decisions will differ depending on the individual needs of the school and its learners. Schools are able to employ…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Well, the Member’s right to point out that supporting and strengthening youth work provision across Wales is a priority for me as a Minister, but also it’s a cross-Government priority. It’s part of our programme for government, and that involves a number of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Well, I don’t know if the Member was criticising me for not increasing fees; I don’t intend to do so. It’s a difficult time for students at the moment, and I’m certain that we need to support institutions, but we also need to ensure that students don’t pay…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Well, thank you to the Member for bringing some positive suggestions to the discussion; I absolutely welcome the new tone in her contribution. So, what we will be doing is working with our partners who are the experts in the field on this—so, with our…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Well, they are reported; the question is what they're being reported as. And there will be, certainly, examples when they are not reported. So, I obviously accept that. That is a feature of reporting requirements across the board in other contexts as well…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
She'll know from her work on the committee that the Government has been working with teaching unions in relation to this very question, and it is an important question. What has not been entirely clear is the scale of the issue. She has some figures there…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
I refer Altaf Hussain to the answer I just gave to Huw Irranca-Davies, which I think sets out the steps that we are taking. On the question about routes to school and making it easy for people to be able to use walking, cycling and scooting to get to the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
I thank Huw Irranca-Davies for the opportunity to encourage our schools across Wales to do everything that they can to encourage not just pupils, but, as he said so very importantly in his question, school staff too, governors, and the wider community too, in…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Enabling more children to walk, scoot and cycle to school is a key priority for the Welsh Government, and we are working closely across departments and with other partners to achieve this aim.
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
I am an optimist by nature, so I agree with what the Member has just said. I think it is important, although we often discuss the challenges in terms of recruitment and so on, that we also celebrate the contribution that teachers can make and the demand for…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
I thank the Member for the question. The census figures, of course, do demonstrate a decline in some age groups, but as the Member will know, we've also been looking at the national survey data, which shows, for the first time, in the same period, an increase…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
The promotion of Welsh-medium education underpins our 'Cymraeg 2050' strategy. I have agreed local authority Welsh in education strategic plans to support this work. We are implementing an ambitious Welsh workforce plan and funding organisations and various…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language: Elective Home Education
Well, the guidance is very clear on that last point; I was also clear in my statement about that. It’s not mandatory. He referred to it as being mandatory. So, a Gillick-competent child or a parent on behalf of a child—[Interruption.] The guidance is also…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language: Elective Home Education
I'm very happy to give that assurance. Children's rights are absolutely the entire motivating purpose of the guidance that we've put forward today. Echoing the point that Jenny Rathbone made, it's a matter of making sure that children's rights are respected…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language: Elective Home Education
I don't think the point that the Member makes reflects in any way at all the Welsh Government's view. He's entitled to make the point, as Laura Anne Jones made it, but it's absolutely not remotely the Government's view. I don't think that I can be any plainer…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language: Elective Home Education
I think I'll start with what Jenny Rathbone opened with, which is that, for some, the decision to home educate is not a positive choice—it's the consequence of an experience that they would say hasn't best served their children. I obviously recognise that…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language: Elective Home Education
Thank you for the questions. There are important issues raised in what the Member has just asked. In terms of safeguarding, just to be entirely clear: I have never suggested, because there is no evidence to suggest, that a child who's taught at home is at…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language: Elective Home Education
Yes, I'm not entirely clear whether the world view of the Member is that home education is a matter of concern, as she puts it, or a matter of parental choice. I'll try and engage with the questions which she asked, because they were important questions, and…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language: Elective Home Education
I intend to pilot the database for a year, commencing in the spring of 2025, to understand the extent to which the data is useful in helping local authorities to identify children who are potentially not receiving a suitable education. At the same time, I…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language: Elective Home Education
To further support our commitment to the success and well-being of every learner, I will be making regulations that will require a database of children who are not registered at a school, not in receipt of education other than at school, or who are not known…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language: Elective Home Education
It's important that the effectiveness of the elective home education guidance is monitored and evaluated. To allow sufficient time for local authorities to embed the guidance, an evaluation will begin in the summer of 2024. This could include exploring…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language: Elective Home Education
Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. New statutory guidance on elective home education, published on 12 May, supports local authorities in their duties to ensure all children are receiving a suitable education and to ensure the educational needs of all children are met…
, Plenary
The Education Workforce Council (Additional Categories of Registration) (Wales) Order 2023
Thank you, Llywydd. I thank Huw Irranca-Davies for his contribution, and I thank the committee for their detailed scrutiny on the motion. And I thank him for describing the discussions between us in a way that reflected that, and I hope that Members will be…
, Plenary
The Education Workforce Council (Additional Categories of Registration) (Wales) Order 2023
In March 2022 and again in November 2022, we consulted on how we would update and strengthen the current regulation requirements of those working with our children and young people. With broad support for the proposals and the draft legislation, this Order…
, Plenary
The Education Workforce Council (Additional Categories of Registration) (Wales) Order 2023
Thank you, Llywydd dros dro. I move the motion to approve the Education Workforce Council (Additional Categories of Registration) (Wales) Order 2023. The main focus of the Order is to amend the categories for education practitioners who need to register with…
