13 December 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Scrutiny of Estyn Annual Report 2020-21
You talk there about staffing issues, so how effectively have schools used the recruit, recover and raise standards funding from the Welsh Government, which was this additional funding the purpose of which was to bring more staff into schools to support…
13 December 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Scrutiny of Estyn Annual Report 2020-21
So you're content, therefore, that every school is able to provide for individual needs and can overcome some of these challenges, particularly these digital challenges. You talked about the hubs and the ability for young people to go into school if they need…
13 December 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Scrutiny of Estyn Annual Report 2020-21
Yes, I was going to ask you about that aspect in particular, in terms of teaching and learning remotely. Are you confident that the situation has changed significantly in the schools by now? And if there were to be further lockdowns at short notice, and that…
13 December 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Scrutiny of Estyn Annual Report 2020-21
Good morning. I just want to look back at the two periods when the schools were closed to see whether there was a difference in the provision, in comparing those two periods of school closure, and to what extent teaching was more structured, consistent and…
2 December 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Scrutiny of Qualifications Wales Annual Report 2020-2021
May I turn to Welsh-medium qualifications, Chair? In terms of Welsh-medium qualifications, what is the current position and how do you hope that the 'Choice for All' strategy will improve this? And how are you going to be monitoring and evaluating this policy?
2 December 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Scrutiny of Qualifications Wales Annual Report 2020-2021
Okay. Thank you for that. Wow—the privatisation of the whole of this area is quite frightening, actually, and maybe it's something that we as a committee could be looking at. Because the situation in Wales is completely different to the situation in England…
2 December 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Scrutiny of Qualifications Wales Annual Report 2020-2021
Okay, I'll come back to the Welsh-medium qualification in two minutes, but just another question to Philip, perhaps. Your annual accounts note there are opportunities and risks associated with having WJEC as the sole provider of general qualifications in…
2 December 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Scrutiny of Qualifications Wales Annual Report 2020-2021
May I ask the chair: does this underline perhaps that there are too many awarding bodies, and too many new qualifications that perhaps duplicate qualifications that already exist? Is this a long-term problem, do you think?
2 December 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Scrutiny of Qualifications Wales Annual Report 2020-2021
Thank you. Just one comment on the basis of what's been said. Communication is important, but decisions at an early stage regarding next summer's arrangements are also important. I know quality assurance is of importance to you, but more importantly…
2 December 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Scrutiny of Qualifications Wales Annual Report 2020-2021
Good morning; it's good to see you both. When we're talking about contingency plans for next year's arrangements and using a method similar to last summer, clearly, you have an alternative model and you have the usual model as well. When do the contingency…
18 November 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Scrutiny of Children's Commissioner for Wales Annual Report 2020 - 2021
Thank you very much, Chair. That's the end of my questions, but I do think that we, as a committee, should keep a watching brief on what's happening in terms of elective home education. Thank you very much.
18 November 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Scrutiny of Children's Commissioner for Wales Annual Report 2020 - 2021
Thank you very much. Maybe you could talk briefly about the things that have disappointed you the most during this period. In other words, what would you have liked to have seen more progress on? And could I also ask you, do you think that you've used your…
18 November 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Scrutiny of Children's Commissioner for Wales Annual Report 2020 - 2021
Good morning. And could I give you heartfelt thanks for your very committed work, and thank your staff as well, who have been supporting you during your period in post? And I wish you all the best for the future. I know that we're discussing the annual…
16 November 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Education and Welsh Language: Children’s Oracy and Reading
Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I’m pleased to hear that the programme announced today will ensure that every child and young person in Wales will have a book to keep. I was reminded recently of the pleasure I got from reading a book called…
2 November 2021 , Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Education and Welsh Language: Implementation of net zero carbon and the 21st century schools and colleges programme
Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and thank you very much for the statement. As we know, and as you've mentioned, it's wonderful to construct new buildings that make effective and efficient use of energy, but we do also need to retrofit our current stock…
13 October 2021 , Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
A group of local fishermen has contacted me about alleged poaching that is taking place, and the lack of enforcement of fishing byelaws. The allegation is that there has been a significant decline in the enforcement teams of Natural Resources Wales, leaving…
13 October 2021 , Plenary
Questions to the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd
4. Will the Minister make a statement on measures to tackle illegal fishing? OQ57024
12 October 2021 , Plenary
Debate: The Children’s Commissioner for Wales Annual Report 2020-21
Thank you for the opportunity to discuss this report. I would like to focus on specific aspects of the report, namely those that need urgent attention and those that haven't received attention yet this afternoon. I'd like to take this opportunity to ask the…
7 October 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
General scrutiny session with the Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Minister for Social Services and Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
Thank you. Finally from me, Chair, if I could turn to speech, language and communication in the early years, what is your assessment of the impact of the pandemic on this specific area? One does hear that there are concerns about children falling behind in…
7 October 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
General scrutiny session with the Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Minister for Social Services and Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
Following on from what I'm hearing from you, which is good news, do you think that early years preschool education should sit within the same Cabinet portfolio as childcare? Wouldn't it be sensible to bring those two aspects together? If one is focused on…
7 October 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
General scrutiny session with the Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Minister for Social Services and Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
Do you now think that there's a need to review this whole area? If the main purpose of the childcare offer was to assist parents into work, that's one thing, but shouldn't the focus be on the child and on supporting the development of children in those early…
7 October 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
General scrutiny session with the Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Minister for Social Services and Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
And, of course, the Government has a childcare offer that does provide childcare in certain circumstances. Do you believe that this offer is working? Is there a risk that there are some children, particularly those from some of the most deprived families…
7 October 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
General scrutiny session with the Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Minister for Social Services and Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
I'm pleased to hear that, but having said that, would you agree that this sector, generally speaking—the childcare sector—isn't as robust as we would like to see it for the future, certainly?
7 October 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
General scrutiny session with the Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Minister for Social Services and Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
Thank you for that comprehensive response on what is an important area which will be covered by this committee, I think, as we monitor how it's implemented, and whether the levels of awareness are there among the general population. If we can now turn to…
7 October 2021 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
General scrutiny session with the Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Minister for Social Services and Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
Could I just ask a question on the change in the law on physical punishment of children? How confident are Ministers that parents in Wales are sufficiently informed about the change that will come into force? What guarantees can you give that it will be…
