16 January 2025 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 2
And we've got a peer learning event that we've established with the OECD. They're coming here to Wales to spend a chunk of time with us, looking at what we're doing, looking at best practice and working together to try to make sure that we get these things…
16 January 2025 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 2
Sorry.
16 January 2025 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 2
Georgina wants to—
16 January 2025 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 2
Okay. Well, prioritisation has been really important for the sector as well really, because schools constantly tell us that we're asking them to do lots and lots of things, so I hope that it's been helpful to be clear about the priorities of literacy and…
16 January 2025 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 2
Well, obviously, the extra money that we got as a result of the UK Labour Government's budget was incredibly welcome—really, really good news—and we were delighted with it, but we have to be clear with the committee that it's not going to address all the…
16 January 2025 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 2
Thanks, Vaughan. Well, I think that I've been pretty consistent, really, since coming into post, that we've got to raise school standards. As part of that work, literacy and numeracy are absolutely critical. That’s why some of that extra money is going to…
16 January 2025 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 2
Okay. Just to go back to something else that you said, where you said that we were planning on a cash-flat basis, but obviously we were also making the case for our priorities, and it’s been a clear priority for the Government to raise attainment and…
16 January 2025 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 2
Can I just—?
16 January 2025 , Children, Young People, and Education Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26 - evidence session 2
Okay. Thanks, Vaughan. It's good to be here with the committee. Setting the budget was an iterative process and, obviously, as you'll be aware, it involved working closely with Cabinet colleagues, in particular the First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for…
13 November 2024 , Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: The First Minister's first 100 days
Gareth, I'm wondering if you really need, with some of your colleagues, to start listening a bit more. I've addressed these issues, repeatedly, in the Chamber, made repeated statements about priorities. You know, please, keep up.
13 November 2024 , Plenary
Welsh Conservatives Debate: The First Minister's first 100 days
Will you give way?
13 November 2024 , Plenary
Debate on the Children, Young People and Education Committee Report, 'Do disabled children and young people have equal access to education and childcare?'
I want the legislative framework to be clear and consistently understood. In response to evidence and concerns, including from the committee, that some parts are complex and unclear, I've already announced a review of the legislative framework. I confirm to…
13 November 2024 , Plenary
Debate on the Children, Young People and Education Committee Report, 'Do disabled children and young people have equal access to education and childcare?'
Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. Can I thank the Children, Young People and Education Committee for their hard work over the course of this major inquiry? We all share the goal of ensuring the best start in life for our children. I want to particularly thank the…
12 November 2024 , Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education: Anti-bullying Week: The mental health and well-being of learners
Thank you very much, Jenny, and thank you for the kind words. I’m really glad you had the opportunity to visit the Hangout. I know of it and I’ve heard really great things about it. I haven’t had the opportunity to go there myself yet, but organisations like…
12 November 2024 , Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education: Anti-bullying Week: The mental health and well-being of learners
Thank you very much. And well done on your odd socks—I'm glad that you listened to your four-year-old; they're obviously a very wise four-year-old you've got in your house. So, yes, absolutely, and what the odd socks thing shows is it's about difference, and…
12 November 2024 , Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education: Anti-bullying Week: The mental health and well-being of learners
Can I thank Laura Anne Jones for those comments? I'm really sorry to hear about your constituent. Nobody wants to hear of children and young people being in that situation. Our guidance on bullying is statutory, and we expect all schools to have plans in…
12 November 2024 , Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education: Anti-bullying Week: The mental health and well-being of learners
Thank you very much, Carolyn, for those comments. I really welcome the fact that the Petitions Committee is looking at these issues. The issues around mobile phones are complicated, I think. All schools currently are able to ban mobile phones in schools if…
12 November 2024 , Plenary
Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education: Anti-bullying Week: The mental health and well-being of learners
Thank you very much, Cefin, for your welcome for the statement, and I welcome close scrutiny of our action in this space. And thank you too for recognising that there has been an improvement in well-being, but as you say, it's not back to pre-pandemic levels…
12 November 2024 , 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…
12 November 2024 , 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…
12 November 2024 , 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…
6 November 2024 , 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…
6 November 2024 , 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…
6 November 2024 , 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…
6 November 2024 , 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.
