, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education: Anti-bullying Week: The mental health and well-being of learners
Can I thank Gareth Davies for his welcome for the statement and his comments, some of which I agreed with? In particular, I agree with the fact that a lot of the issues we're seeing in schools are interconnected, and one of the things that I said when I came…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education: Anti-bullying Week: The mental health and well-being of learners
The data also shows upward trends within the strengths and difficulties questionnaire, which measures psychological problems: 42 per cent of girls scored high or very high, compared to 27 per cent of boys; over 26 per cent of students scored high or very high…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education: Anti-bullying Week: The mental health and well-being of learners
Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd, and thank you for the opportunity to talk about an issue that affects so many children and young people. As I've said in this Chamber before, I want our children to have positive experiences in school and to thrive in the nurturing…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education
Thank you, Laura. Well I have to disagree with you that this isn't an area where we've made good progress in Wales. As I said, you know, by the end of this financial year, 2024-25, we'll have invested £60 million in community-focused schools. That's on top of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education
Investing in our sports facilities is a programme for government commitment and we work closely with Sport Wales to improve and renew facilities across Wales. Since 2022-23, our £60 million community-focused schools capital grant programme has delivered…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education
Can I thank Janet for her question? Indeed, I've heard myself from some headteachers that they are seeing children coming to school who aren't toilet trained, and how challenging that can be. It's part of what I've described in the Chamber about schools…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education
Our approach in Wales is on early help and prevention, providing support to families from an early stage to help ensure children experience a smooth transition to school.
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education
Thank you, Peter, for your supplementary. Indeed, the e-sgol project was a pleasure to visit; I think it has got lots of potential for subjects where there aren't that many learners who are opting to do it. There's good evidence now that we're starting to see…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education
Thank you very much, Peredur, for that question. Without e-sgol there is, unfortunately, a distinct possibility that Welsh A-level wouldn't have been delivered for the nine A-level students in Monmouthshire—two in Caldicot School, two in King Henry VIII…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education
E-sgol is an innovative project delivered across Wales. In September I launched an e-sgol partnership in Monmouthshire and saw how it enables learners to access subjects that might not otherwise be offered. E-sgol is currently delivered in three authorities…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education
Thank you, Natasha, and you raise a really important point about work experience. It's good for all young people to get those opportunities, but, in my experience, it's often our most vulnerable learners who get the most from those opportunities to do things…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education
My priorities for schools in South Wales East include raising levels of attainment, attendance and closing the gap for our poorest learners.
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education
Thank you very much, Altaf, for your supplementary. You raised a number of points there. I would like to assure you that we take the issue of teacher recruitment and retention very seriously and that we recognise the huge pressures teachers are under, and…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education
We continue to support recruitment into initial teacher education programmes through a range of activities. These include providing incentives to support recruitment to priority subjects and for Welsh-medium trainees, expanding the subjects available through…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education
Well, the UK Labour Government has been in power since July—it's a matter of months. It's absurd, really, to—. I'm incredibly impressed by what they've done already. Your Government had 14 years of raining destruction down on our public services. We have made…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education
Thank you, Tom. I think I've been very clear that we've made funding available to meet the pay increase that we have allocated. We've also protected the funding that has gone to schools as best we can. And can I remind you that we were in the situation of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education
We've already made provision, Tom, for some of that pay rise in the money that's been allocated to local government. Thankfully, because we have a UK Labour Government now in Westminster that is really committed to protecting our public services, there will…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education
I'm happy to take the questions.
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education
Thank you, Gareth. I do think it's regrettable to bring party politics into a subject that is this serious, whether that's—[Interruption.] I think that that is a regrettable thing to do. This is a really serious issue. A prolific offender has flown under the…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education
Can I thank Siân Gwenllian for her supplementary question, and can I say that my thoughts remain with the young people and the families affected by the horrendous abuse perpetuated by Neil Foden? Siân Gwenllian raised several points there. I'm aware that some…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education
The north Wales regional safeguarding board have commissioned a child practice review. We need to allow the CPR to run its course before considering what action is needed. The outcome of this review will therefore inform our next steps.
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education: Improving educational standards in Wales
Thank you very much, Adam. I am really worried about behaviour. I don't want anyone, whether it's children and young people or teachers, to feel unsafe in their working environment. Everybody has got a right to feel safe where they work. You'll be aware that…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education: Improving educational standards in Wales
Can I thank the Member for her response to my statement, negative though it was? I would have to disagree with her that there were no solutions in what I said. I have set out what we see as key priorities for the education sector in Wales. We know that we've…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education: Improving educational standards in Wales
Thank you very much, John. I know how passionate you are about sport and physical activity, and, obviously, it's really important—it's important for children's health, but also does help them to learn in school, and is absolutely vital. You'll be aware that…
, Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education: Improving educational standards in Wales
Thank you very much, Cefin, for your comments. If I can just say in relation to PISA, as I said to Tom Giffard, I was very clear that our last PISA results were not where we wanted them to be and that has been part of what has driven my prioritisation of…
