, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Pupil absence—evidence session 4
Okay.
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Pupil absence—evidence session 4
Yes, sure. Fixed-penalty notices are designed to uphold a child's right to education—is that correct?
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Pupil absence—evidence session 4
Thanks, Chair. I hear what you say about fixed-penalty notices. We've also heard from local authority representatives. Would anybody disagree that fixed-penalty notices, and the use of them, are designed first and foremost to uphold a child's right to…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Pupil absence—evidence session 4
You go for it, James. I don't think I need to ask mine.
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Pupil absence—evidence session 4
It was a question of whether specific groups—
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Pupil absence—evidence session 4
Thanks, Chair. I'm just conscious of time, and I'm going to roll two questions into one, if I may. First of all, are there specific groups of learners who are being impacted more by general and persistent absence? And then, secondly, can any of you say…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Pupil absence—evidence session 4
Thank you. Well, it does appear that anxiety has been raised right across school estates in Wales and further afield, for various reasons owing to the pandemic, and one has already been raised this morning, the anxiety associated with external assessments and…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Pupil absence—evidence session 4
Okay. Thank you. And you've already mentioned—. Oh, sorry, Chair.
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Pupil absence—evidence session 4
Okay.
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Pupil absence—evidence session 4
Certain age groups or across—?
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Pupil absence—evidence session 4
Thank you. So, just moving on to another subject area—you may contribute or you may not—do you think that long COVID is an issue for pupils' attendance at schools?
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Pupil absence—evidence session 4
Well, just following up on an important point you made, Mary, we have heard that some learners gained positive benefits from remote or home learning during the pandemic and as a consequence are somewhat reluctant to return to the classroom. What do you…
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Pupil absence—evidence session 4
Thank you. Chair. Just briefly, do any of you think that the additional learning needs reforms may have had an impact on pupil attendance? Mary.
, Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Pupil absence—evidence session 4
Thanks, Chair, and thanks for attending this morning, everybody. I'm going to begin by asking the question: what do you believe are the main reasons for the increase in general and persistent pupil absence? Anybody—
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Minister, thank you for your answer. That's superb news, and that £20 million has gone a long way in enhancing not just school estates, but also communities as a whole. I'd be extremely grateful if you could update Members and my constituents in Clwyd South…
, Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
1. Will the Minister make a statement on investment in Clwyd South through the twenty-first century schools programme? OQ58198
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill: ministerial evidence session
Thank you, Minister. Thanks, Chair. That's all from me.
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill: ministerial evidence session
And just finally from me, Chair, just a very straightforward question: why have you decided to have a separate duty for Ministers in the Bill?
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill: ministerial evidence session
Okay, thank you. And can you give any practical examples of when you might consider the social partnership duty would have assisted public bodies and trade unions to have achieved a better outcome when setting well-being goals or, indeed, making strategic…
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill: ministerial evidence session
Thank you. I want to move on now to the social partnership duty, and in the draft Bill consultation a number of local authorities said that they felt there was no need for a social partnership duty, as this would have no significant effect on their existing…
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill: ministerial evidence session
Lovely, thank you. I can see Jane has raised her hand. Jane.
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill: ministerial evidence session
That's good to hear. Thank you. I'm just going to ask about diversity now. The draft Bill consultation said that diversity requirements for membership of the council may be set out in its terms of reference. Can you confirm whether you intend to do this and…
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill: ministerial evidence session
Thanks, Minister—
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill: ministerial evidence session
Lovely. Thank you. I'll just swiftly move on to section 6 of the Bill. Given that the council may only meet nine times during a three-year period, do you think that it is sufficient for members to develop expertise and to deliver progress in areas covered by…
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Bill: ministerial evidence session
Yes.
