, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Education and Welsh Language: Evaluating and Improving Education and Learning in Wales
I thank you for that and I think that's very much at the heart of the reforms. And Estyn will play a really important role, from an accountability inspection perspective, in evaluating the school's own capacity for self-improvement, if you like, in the way it…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Education and Welsh Language: Evaluating and Improving Education and Learning in Wales
Well, I'm always very diffident when I approach questions of teaching and learning with someone who is a teaching professional, so I'll just give that caveat, if I may, and an element of deference, I suppose, about what I'm about to say. But I think that…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Education and Welsh Language: Evaluating and Improving Education and Learning in Wales
Thank you to Heledd Fychan for those questions and the way that she has welcomed those reforms. I appreciate that. Just on her concluding point, qualifications are still going to be important and a core part of the system, to ensure that learners leave school…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Education and Welsh Language: Evaluating and Improving Education and Learning in Wales
I thank the Member for a wide-ranging set of questions. I hope that she will forgive me if I limit my responses to those that are relevant to the statement. But I think that the question from the Member very neatly exemplified the confusion at the heart of…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Education and Welsh Language: Evaluating and Improving Education and Learning in Wales
National categorisation was suspended in 2020, and the guidance confirmed that it will be replaced by a robust self-evaluation process where good practice is shared and failure is urgently addressed. The OECD have identified a prominent role for…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Education and Welsh Language: Evaluating and Improving Education and Learning in Wales
Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. Firstly, I want to take this opportunity to express my continued thanks to the profession for their ongoing commitment to curriculum reform and prioritising the well-being of their learners, despite the many challenges that they…
, Plenary
Short Debate: School exclusion: More harm than good?
In November 2021, Administrative Data Research Wales published its examination of the association of school absence and exclusion with recorded neurodevelopmental and mental conditions in a large cohort of children and young people in Wales. It found that…
, Plenary
Short Debate: School exclusion: More harm than good?
Thank you, acting Llywydd. May I thank Jenny Rathbone for putting forward this short debate? Every child and young person has the right to receive an education that inspires them and prepares them to fulfil their potential in a safe and supportive…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Thank you to Heledd Fychan for asking that question. We saw during the pandemic an increase of almost 4,500 young people, representing more than 20 per cent of new registrations, on the Volunteering Wales platform, which is very encouraging, I think…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Education-based volunteering is a critical component in helping create a volunteering society engendering volunteering habits in young people. We continue to support third sector infrastructure organisations and national grant schemes in order to improve…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
I thank the Member for his point. It's a really important question. He might have seen some of the remarks I made last week in particular about access to all kinds of education for young people from perhaps some of our most disadvantaged backgrounds. For the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
The 2022-23 settlement sees the highest level of investment in further education in recent history. We recognise that more learners are choosing to stay in post-16 education. Through the budget, we will ensure that learners in post-16 education are offered…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
I've obviously met with the exam board and with Qualifications Wales, as I do regularly, and have discussed this summer's exam season as part of our discussions generally. Learners this year have faced a particular set of challenges, being the first cohort…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
In addition to the announced adaptations to exam content and grade boundaries, a £24 million support package was put in place, including the Lefel Nesa/Power Up campaign. This investment has provided learners with information, exam resources, hints and tips…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Yes, I'd be very happy to join the Member in his congratulations to the college, and I'm looking forward to being with him tomorrow in Pembrokeshire College, where we'll have an opportunity to talk to many of the young learners there—and the advantages…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
A range of vocational education opportunities are available at all levels to suit our learners in Pembrokeshire. Vocational qualifications play a vital role in delivering the skills and training that our learners need to address the demands of our economy.
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
I think that's a very good question. The Power Up campaign, as he knows from our previous exchanges and, I'm sure, his own experience, provides a package of revision support, but signposting for other support as well, as well as, in the case of this year, the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Well, it's been difficult for those pupils who haven't sat an external exam in the past, and that's understandable. And then concerns arising from exam papers that perhaps pupils hadn't expected, of course, also have an impact on them. And I am aware that…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
A comprehensive package of support totalling £24 million is in place, which prioritises exam-year learners. Along with this, practical steps have also been taken, including adapting exam content, providing advanced information for learners and mid-point grade…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Can I just say how good it is to hear more Members speaking Welsh in the Chamber? Congratulations to Sam, and to Jack too. Yes, it is very important, in order for us to see the progress that we want to see in Welsh-medium provision, and that there is equal…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Can I thank the Member for that supplementary question and for his use of the Welsh language in his initial question? Flintshire local authority have committed in their draft Welsh in education strategic plan to increase the percentage of learners in…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Thank you, Jack. To support their plans to grow Welsh-medium education, the council has received approval in principle to establish a new primary school, through Welsh Government capital funding.
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
I thank the Member for that question. I don't accept the funding takes money away from the school system; the funding is there in order to support the school improvement programme that we have right across Wales. And the majority of the funding that is made…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Yes. Regional consortia support schools to improve, including through professional learning, direct engagement and facilitating school-to-school working. I'll be publishing school improvement guidance next week, setting out how the Welsh Government expects…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
In terms of the strategic plans and every local authority in Wales, I'll be making a statement as to where they are, following the reviews that will happen within the next few weeks, before the end of term, and that includes the plans of RCT council. What…
