14 October 2024 , Wales COVID-19 Inquiry Special Purpose Committee
Motion under Standing Order 17.42(ix) to resolve to exclude the public from the remainder of this meeting and the start of the next meeting on 4 November 2024
Item 3 is the motion under Standing Order 17.42 to resolve to exclude the public from the remainder of today’s meeting and the start of the next meeting on 4 November 2024. Can I propose, in accordance with Standing Order 17.42, that the committee resolves to…
14 October 2024 , Wales COVID-19 Inquiry Special Purpose Committee
Papers to note
Item 2 is papers to note. We’ve got the letter from the COVID committee observation group. Can I invite Members to note that letter? Yes, noted. Okay.
14 October 2024 , Wales COVID-19 Inquiry Special Purpose Committee
Introduction, apologies, substitutions and declarations of interest
Can I move on by welcoming Sam Rowlands, who’s replaced James Evans, to the committee, as well as Rhianon Passmore, who replaces Vikki Howells on the COVID-19 special purpose committee as well? Can I thank James and Vikki for their work on the committee, and…
14 October 2024 , Wales COVID-19 Inquiry Special Purpose Committee
Appointment of Temporary Co-chair
Are there any other nominations? No, that's fine. I therefore propose that Buffy Williams is appointed temporary Co-chair for today's meeting.
14 October 2024 , Wales COVID-19 Inquiry Special Purpose Committee
Appointment of Temporary Co-chair
Prynhawn da. Welcome, everybody, to today’s meeting of the Wales COVID-19 Inquiry Special Purpose Committee. Joyce Watson has sent her apologies. In the absence of Joyce, who is a Co-chair, the first item on today’s agenda is to elect a temporary Co-chair, in…
9 October 2024 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 12
Question singular. [Laughter.] To what extent will there always be two Welsh language qualifications, and does the Bill mean we might eventually come to a stage where there's one singular Welsh language qualification, regardless of a learner's exposure to the…
9 October 2024 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 11
Okay. Thank you.
9 October 2024 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 11
Okay. Thank you.
9 October 2024 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 11
And just so I'm clear, sorry, I'm very conscious of the time, that seven you mentioned, for example—it was physics, you said, wasn't it, for the seven and the two—how does that relate to the Welsh Government target? You don't happen to have the figure for the…
9 October 2024 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 11
No, no, and I don't think anybody would have been. On that point more generally, in terms of the subjects—because I'm particularly concerned about the secondary figures that you mention, and I think you shared that concern—I think we had a headteacher in last…
9 October 2024 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 11
Just for clarity—thank you for the latest figures—obviously I've got 20 per cent from 2022, and you've got 20 per cent primary, 18 per cent secondary. So, just to be absolutely clear, that is trending in the wrong direction against 2022. I appreciate we're…
9 October 2024 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 11
Okay. So, following on, Hayden, from the data you've just given us, we know that the Welsh Government's target is 30 per cent of teachers trained to teach through the medium of Welsh. In 2021-22, that was 20 per cent. Why is that target consistently being…
9 October 2024 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 10
Thank you.
9 October 2024 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 10
How do we do that?
9 October 2024 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 10
Diolch yn fawr. It's almost like you foresaw my next question. [Laughter.] To what extent are you concerned that the Bill overly focuses on English-medium schools and the development of Welsh at that end of the spectrum, and not enough on ensuring that pupils…
9 October 2024 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 10
Diolch yn fawr. You mentioned you've got concerns regarding the use of the term 'Welsh-language education' in the Bill. Do you believe the Bill rows back on the kind of accepted concept of what Welsh language education is?
9 October 2024 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 9
Okay. Thank you.
9 October 2024 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 9
And from the local authority perspective, how different is it to what local authorities and schools are already doing?
9 October 2024 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 9
Diolch. And finally from me, can I ask about the requirement in the Bill for all schools to have a Welsh language education delivery plan, and then local authorities review and approve them? Does the Bill make it clear enough what happens if a school doesn’t…
9 October 2024 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 9
Just on that really quickly, you mention that you didn’t feel there was confusion, if you like, at category 1 and 3, but category 2 would be confusing. I wonder whether the title 'primarily English, partly Welsh' is something that would confuse, potentially…
9 October 2024 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 9
Thank you. Can I ask both of you what your views are on the language categories that will be applied to schools under the Bill? I know there's talk about the dual language category, perhaps, being confused with the previous category of dual stream. Is that…
9 October 2024 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 9
Sorry, I should say it's not a target, it's a requirement. Apologies for my phraseology.
9 October 2024 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 9
Thank you. I understand the point about the geography, and, obviously, you'll be representing very different places in terms of where you are on this Welsh language journey and speaking in communities more generally, but I'm curious about those schools that…
9 October 2024 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 9
Very helpful, thank you. Marc.
9 October 2024 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill - evidence session 9
Okay. And, obviously, the Bill allows for some flexibility in that 10 per cent to schools in that position you mentioned, that can't reach that 10 per cent. So, I take it from the evidence that you'd anticipate most Blaenau Gwent schools, if this Bill was…
