EDUCATION is “the key to unlocking our nation’s potential”, according to the new minister responsible for Wales’ schools.

Anna Brychan, who was appointed education and Welsh language minister last month, now has responsibility for school standards, improvement and attainment, Welsh medium education, early childhood education, and curriculum and assessment arrangements.

She also has responsibility over policies to protect and promote the Welsh language.

Setting out her priorities for the seventh Senedd term, the Caerdydd Penarth MS highlighted raising educational standards, workforce support, and strengthening skills.

She said: “This government has made education a national priority, to raise standards in our schools and ensure the best conditions for learning and teaching. The education system is currently failing too many of our children and young people.

“A lack of talent is not the problem, neither is a lack of commitment. We have children and young people who are full of potential, and we have an able and dedicated workforce.

“The problem is that the whole system hasn’t always worked together to support and unlock the potential of our learners, nor do we share data and understanding of what is needed to ensure progress in every school, in every area, consistently and powerfully.”

“We want the education system to function as one connected system: to support our children from early years right up to the point where they start working.”

Concluding her speech, Ms Brychan pledged the Welsh Government will build “an education system that works for all learners, in Welsh and English – in our two national languages – and above all else, for Wales.”

Helen Jenner, who is Reform’s deputy leader and shadow minister for education, voiced “concerns” about the minister’s statement and the lack of detail regarding teacher retention.

Ms Jenner, who was a teacher herself in London, told the Siambr that she can “understand” why so many are leaving the profession.

She said: “We’re losing experienced teachers faster than we can replace them. That concern is only amplified by our shared ambitions for bilingual and Welsh-medium education.

“The challenge is not simply finding teachers; it’s finding teachers with the language skills needed to deliver those ambitions. Every experienced bilingual teacher who leaves the profession is not easily replaced.

“If we’re already struggling to retain the workforce we have today, how can the government realistically hope to deliver the workforce it will need tomorrow?”

Concluding her statement Ms Jenner said: “Every one of us here can remember a teacher who changed our lives. The problem is that experience takes years to build, but only a moment to lose.

“If this government fails to address workload and behaviour in detail, Wales will continue to lose our best teachers, and when teachers leave, it is not the ministers who pay the price, it is our children.”

Ms Brychan responded: “I’ve said often that I’m of the opinion that this is the most important professional role in our society – and I’m sure that some people here will disagree, but that is my view – and that we then need to retain that experience within the classroom.

“I can also assure [Ms Jenner] that we will be working with teachers and local authorities, and with unions in the social partnership that we have, to look at how we can proceed with the detailed work on reducing the workload, and tackling, to all intents and purposes, the conditions that teachers are working in.”

Labour’s Lynne Neagle, a former education minister, congratulated Ms Brychan on her appointment and said the role is “without any shadow of a doubt, the very best job in government.”

Questioning the minister on why the Plaid government has chosen to delay the response to the independent Welsh pay review body report on teachers’ pay, Ms Neagle noted the previous Labour administration had “made a commitment” to consult before the school holidays to “protect time for our teaching staff.”

She said the delayed response “will likely lead to teachers not being paid in September”.

Ms Brychan confirmed she had received the report but told Ms Neagle it is “sensible” to “take time to consider the recommendations”.

She added: “Previous governments have also found that they would need to take proper time over the summer, before coming to a firm conclusion about that.”

Ms Neagle also quizzed Ms Brychan on mental health in schools, saying she is “very proud” of the previous Welsh Government’s record on the issue.

She told the Siambr: “It is essential to ensure that young people have consistent, high-quality access to school counselling.

“And if I might say, politics can never ever come before the mental health of children and young people.”

In response, Ms Brychan said: “Mental health will be a priority for us in schools as well.

“We know it is a significant factor, and any factors that influence or hinder learners from making the progress we want them to make, we want to see them making, we will make sure that the support is there to support them.”

Sam Rowlands, the Conservative spokesperson for education and families, asked Ms Brychan where she would like to see Wales in the PISA rankings come the end of this Senedd term.

He said: “The reality is that we continue to see Wales at or near the bottom of UK education rankings, and consistently doing poorly on international PISA rankings, with too many young people still leaving school without secure literacy and numeracy skills.

“That’s a longstanding issue and one that requires urgent attention and clear accountability.”

The minister responded: “Our education system isn’t where we would like it to be. I think there is agreement on that among the workforce and broader society, and that is why we are focused on these fundamentals and are deliberately setting targets whereby we can hold ourselves to account”.

With PISA results due to be published again in September, Ms Brychan committed to take the “most meaningful information” she can from the report, adding: “It’s about more than just numbers. There’s a lot of data that we can use there, and we can use that meaningfully in order to inform our numeracy and literacy plans.”

Mr Rowlands went on to question his opposite number on the Welsh Government’s position on mobile phones in schools.

Referencing a survey published on Tuesday 16 June by the Welsh Conservatives, he shared findings which suggested mobile phone restrictions have positive impacts on “reducing distraction, improving behaviour, tackling bullying and supporting learner wellbeing.”

Mr Rowlands pushed Ms Brychan to confirm whether the Welsh Government intends to “take a more consistent, national approach to mobile phone use in schools” or if it will leave the decisions to the discretion of individual schools.

Noting there currently is no national directive or guidance, Ms Brychan told Mr Rowlands that the intention is to move to statutory guidance from September.

TWO FORMER Ceredigion schools, one of which was used as a Covid vaccination centre during the pandemic, have been put up for sale with a price tag of £600,000 for the two.

Last July, Ceredigion County Council’s Cabinet backed the sales in principle of the former Tregaron and Trewen primary schools, the latter used as a Covid vaccine centre during the pandemic.

On the Tregaron school – which closed back in 2014 – members were told: “The current condition of the building is poor, and it will require significant maintenance and investment to preserve it in reasonable condition.

“There is potential scope for development by the council, and whilst some high-level plans were developed in 2019, work stopped at that point due to potential phosphate constraints on the Teifi.

“Assessment of the approach to develop the site by CCC would suggest the gains would be marginal when set against the planning costs, abortive costs and the internal and external resources that would be required to develop the site.”

After Cwm-Cou’s Ysgol Trewen was closed in 2019 it was used as a Covid vaccine centre until 2022, since then it has remained vacant, members heard.

“The current condition of the building is reasonable, but it will require maintenance and investment within the next year to preserve it in reasonable condition.

“There is potential scope for development by the council, but the gains would be marginal when set against the possible planning risks and abortive costs, and internal and external resources that would be required to develop the site.

“We have had expressions of interest in the site from individuals for future use and development, and so the purpose of putting the property on the open market is to achieve best value for the education service.”

Both sites are now listed through commercial property estate agent Cooke & Arkwright.

Ysgol Trewen has a guide price of £350,000 and Ysgol Gynradd Tregaron £250,000.

Documentation for Ysgol Trewen says: “The site comprises a good site area of 1.45 acres, with a relatively modern school situated on site, providing 4,073 square feet of accommodation. The school provides well-maintained accommodation, currently catering a mixture of classroom, canteen and welfare space.

“The site is relatively large with a tarmacadamed parking area and various garden areas to the side of the premises, and also to the northwestern side of the site.”

For Ysgol Gynradd Tregaron, it says: “Ysgol Gynradd Tregaron is situated on a 1.09 acre plot of hardstanding land. The building itself features a pitched slate roof, a period bell tower and glazed windows.

“The site is well surfaced with services available. The former school is surrounded by excellent views of the Welsh countryside.”

A PEMBROKESHIRE pupil is celebrating after her design was chosen as the county’s new Active Travel logo.

Lillian Richards, a Year 6 pupil at Cleddau Reach Primary School, was named the overall winner of a Road Safety and Transport competition which invited pupils across Pembrokeshire to create a fresh logo for Active Travel.

Her design will now be used on Pembrokeshire County Council’s website and social media platforms.

Lillian’s entry was selected from a strong field of submissions, standing out for its bright, colourful style and for capturing a range of Active Travel options.

The winning design was later developed into a final logo by the council’s graphics team, with Tom Banner refining it into a professional format.

Lillian was presented with a certificate and prize at her school by Road Safety Officer Sally Jones.

Speaking after the presentation, Lillian said she was “extremely pleased” to have won and was impressed with how her design had been transformed.

Sally Jones praised Lillian and the wider field of entrants.

She said: “The standard of entries for this competition was incredible. We have some very talented pupils across Pembrokeshire.

“Lillian’s design was thoughtful, hit the brief and was eye-catching. She should be very proud of her work and we are excited to start using the logo moving forward.”

Caption:

Competition winner: Lillian Richards is pictured with council Road Safety Officer Sally Jones.