, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Thank you. As I referred to in an earlier answer around school transport more broadly, this has been a challenge on many levels—access to Welsh-medium education, for example. The cost of transport has been an increasing concern and that's why, with my…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
The safety and well-being of learners is an absolute priority for the Welsh Government. We continue to work closely with schools, local authorities, the police and other partners to prevent harm, identify emerging risks and ensure that appropriate…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Thank you. I don't think it's correct to say that we don't have any evidence. There are a number of reports that have looked into this specific problem—one quite recently carried out by Cardiff Met, for example, which was published in 2024. The OECD has also…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Improving recruitment and retention is one of my priorities. We already know that teachers leave the profession for a range of reasons, including workload, well-being and working conditions. We are drawing on national and international evidence and working…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Thank you very much. The Member may be aware that we are currently piloting the Community Schools Plus programme at the moment in order to look at developing our understanding of the challenges facing those schools and, as I said earlier, drawing on those…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Thank you very much. We understand just how important schools are for our rural communities, and in the context of smaller schools, for example, there are very detailed requirements in relation to consultation on any reorganisation that's proposed. The Member…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
We recognise the significant pressures across our schools and local authorities, and acknowledge the commitment of the education workforce in continuing to support learners. Decisions on the level of funding available to schools, including rural schools, are…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Thank you. I seem to have lost you in my book. Wait a second. I'm sorry.
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Diolch. Local authorities are democratically accountable to their communities and are responsible for developing school organisation proposals. In so doing, they must comply with the requirements set out in the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Thank you. Local authorities are responsible for decisions on the future of schools, and they must follow statutory procedures when bringing forward proposals. This includes consulting communities, providing sufficient information to enable people to come to…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Perhaps I'll have to write to you with the detailed response to that first question. But on what will be needed in order to realise the ambition in the strategy that we will publish—it will be published for consultation in December, into next year—as part of…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Thank you very much for the question. I would like to add my thanks as well to the Welsh Language Commissioner for her work. We will, in December, be publishing a consultation on the Welsh language strategy, the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Act 2025…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
I think that the judgment on where each of these parties is depends, rather, on who you talk to at this point. I think we have, for example, had very helpful and fruitful discussions with ASCL, in particular, around some of these elements. The social…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Thank you. I think, as I said in my earlier answer, I remain committed to the social partnership, and I'm always willing to talk to those social partners on issues that we have in common as concerns. I announced that fully funded pay award last week…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Thank you. These are adaptive tests. The idea is that the learner engages with them, and it helps to indicate what the next steps in their development should be. That's how they've been constructed to operate. We can use the data more broadly that this system…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
It is obviously important that staff feel safe at school and are able to operate appropriately. It is clear that staff may use reasonable force where necessary to prevent harm, an offence, damage to property or serious disruption, but that intervention must…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Diolch yn fawr. Thank you for the question. I think we are dealing with two issues simultaneously here. I mentioned earlier on that I was pleased that £60 million had gone into the system this year, as a result of the supplementary budget, to support with…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Thank you very much. Working closely with the workforce and ensuring that they are paid and supported adequately in the important work that they do is a core priority of mine. I'm very grateful for the work that ASCL has done with us, for example to move on…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Obviously, funding for schools is a priority for us, which is why we were pleased last week, or was it the week before, that the supplementary budget did go through, with that £60 million earmarked for pressures in schools linked to ALN, but a recognition…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
I think that's pushing it rather at this point, but thank you for the contribution. Of course, this is an important area for us. There has been, you're quite right, a slight reduction on the latest figures, and there are a number of actions we are taking to…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
My priority is high standards and high aspirations for every learner. That is why this Government has worked at pace to develop the 'Foundational literacy and numeracy plan'. The plan sets out a clear and ambitious programme of action to raise literacy and…
, Plenary
Questions to the Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Thank you for the question.
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government Scrutiny Session
Yes.
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government Scrutiny Session
Yes, we can certainly provide you with that, and wider information, also, about school funding. I think we agree on one point, which is to argue strongly for funding for education.
, Early Years, Children, Young People and Education Committee
Welsh Government Scrutiny Session
Thank you. Yes, this is a considerable challenge, and not just in education either—we see similar examples across the health service as well. We did undertake a manifesto commitment to undertake a survey of the school estate. That work is going forward to…
