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Written Assembly Questions tabled on 8 October 2015 for answer on 15 October 2015

R - Signifies the Member has declared an interest.
W - Signifies that the question was tabled in Welsh.

(Self identifying Question no. shown in brackets)

Written Questions must be tabled at least five working days before they are to be answered. In practice, Ministers aim to answer within seven/eight days but are not bound to do so. Answers are published in the language in which they are provided, with a translation into English of responses provided in Welsh.

To ask the Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty

Kirsty Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire): Will the Minister make a statement on her findings regarding commission changes for park homes following her investigations earlier this year? (WAQ69247)

Answer received on 15 October 2015

The Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty (Lesley Griffiths):

After careful consideration, I have agreed the need for more research into the economics of the park homes industry, including commission charges.  The study, for which I have budgeted £60,000, represents  a significant piece of research.  The work has already been tendered and the contract has been awarded. 

To ask the Minister for Education and Skills

Simon Thomas (Mid and West Wales): How many Schools Challenge Cymru schools performed above the national average in terms of the percentage of pupils who achieved the Level 2 threshold including a GCSE grade A* to C in English or Welsh first language and mathematics? (WAQ69248)

Simon Thomas (Mid and West Wales): How many Schools Challenge Cymru schools performed below the national average in terms of the percentage of pupils who achieved the Level 2 threshold including a GCSE grade A*to C in English or Welsh first language and mathematics? (WAQ69249)

Simon Thomas (Mid and West Wales): How many Schools Challenge Cymru schools performed above the national average in terms of the percentage of pupils who are eligible for free school meals who achieved the Level 2 threshold including a GCSE grade A* to C in English or Welsh first language and mathematics? (WAQ69250)

Simon Thomas (Mid and West Wales): How many Schools Challenge Cymru schools performed below the national average in terms of the percentage of pupils who are eligible for free school meals who achieved the Level 2 threshold including a GCSE grade A* to C in English or Welsh first language and mathematics? (WAQ69251)

Answer received on 15 October 2015

The Minister for Education and Skills (Huw Lewis):

The Schools Challenge Cymru programme consists of forty schools in Wales facing challenges in both their circumstances and stage of development. The Pathways to Success (PtS) schools were selected based largely on three years of data (2011-13).

The performance of pupils at the Level 2 inclusive measure is one of the indicators of progress of the programme. We have not used number of schools above or below the national average for a number of reasons, listed below:

• The national average changes year-on-year and is not a static target. This is not a fair measure for measuring progress of PtS schools.
• Whilst nationally there are as many schools above the average as there are below, this isn't the case for PtS schools. Therefore, this measure would not be a fair comparator of progress.
• This measure would not acknowledge the improvements at school level, or the collective of schools, in helping more pupils to achieve the Level 2 threshold.

The information is based on provisional data.  While the overall results change relatively little at a Wales level between provisional and final, there can be significant changes for individual schools. As this data is for a minority of schools, there is a risk that the data will not accurately reflect the final position. The data in this answer should be treated with caution and any greater breakdown would not be appropriate to provide until the final data is published in December 2015. As per your questions, the information you request is provided at Table 1.

A more helpful use of the data is to review how much progress pupils within PtS schools have made in the Level 2 inclusive threshold since their school joined the programme. This better reflects the starting point for the schools and a measure of the progress made in both the PtS schools and non-PtS schools in improving the attainment levels in Wales, even in just the last two years. This data can be found at Table 2.

Table 1: Number of Pathways to Success schools performing above or below the Wales average in achieving the Level 2 inclusive threshold

Table 2: Percentage of pupils achieving the Level 2 inclusive threshold, by school category

Simon Thomas (Mid and West Wales): What advice has the Welsh Government received from the National Leadership Development Board? (WAQ69252)

Answer received on 15 October 2015

Huw Lewis: The National Leadership Development Board (NLDB) was established to provide advice and guidance on the approach to leadership development in Wales and its implementation. In December 2014 the NLDB agreed to expand its remit to include consideration of wider workforce development as part of the New Deal because of the inter relationship between the two issues. The NLDB has therefore discussed and offered advice to support policy development on a wide range of issues relating to school leadership and workforce development. Examples include:

• Professional development provision for middle leaders
• Professional development provision for current headteachers
• Professional development provision for executive headteachers
• The New Deal
• Career and Leadership Development Pathways
• Individual Leadership Review
• Leadership milestone matrix
• A self improving school system
• Review of Professional Standards
• Creating positivity around headship
• The National Professional Qualification for Headship
• Future masters provision
• Leadership Strategy

Further details on a number of these issues can be found on the Learning Wales website.

Simon Thomas (Mid and West Wales): How many schools have recruited teachers through Teach First Cymru? (WAQ69253)

Simon Thomas (Mid and West Wales): How many teaching posts were vacant in the first cohort of Teach First Cymru schools before they joined Teach First Cymru? (WAQ69254)

Simon Thomas (Mid and West Wales): How many teaching posts are vacant in schools that formed the first cohort of Teach First Cymru schools? (WAQ69255)

Answer received on 15 October 2015

Huw Lewis: The Welsh Government has contracted with Teach First Cymru on a pilot basis to support school improvement measures in Wales. Across the life of the contract period Teach First Cymru will recruit and place up to 150 graduate participants in Welsh schools working in challenging circumstances. To date some 50 schools have or are currently participating in the programme. 

In cohort 1 (academic year 2013/14) 27 graduate participants were placed in participating Welsh partnership schools in south Wales and the south Wales valleys at the start of the programme. Data on the number of vacant teaching posts is collected at school level for each calendar year, but we do not hold data on the number of teaching vacancies within cohort 1 participating schools at the start of the programme in September 2013.

Schools and their governing bodies, with the support of the local education Consortia, are responsible for ensuring that sufficient numbers of staff with suitable skills and qualifications are employed to work within maintained schools in Wales.  Local Consortia has been working with Teach First Cymru and schools likely to benefit from the programme to help identify need and to support placements in schools as appropriate.

To ask the Minister for Health and Social Services

Janet Finch-Saunders (Aberconwy): Will the Minister confirm what action he is taking to ensure patient waiting times are not adversely affected by theatre closures at Llandudno Hospital? (WAQ69244)

Janet Finch-Saunders (Aberconwy): Will the Minister outline how he is working with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to reduce the impact on staff of the extended theatre closures at Llandudno Hospital? (WAQ69245)

Janet Finch-Saunders (Aberconwy): Will the Minister outline how he is working with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to reduce the impact on patients of the extended theatre closures at Llandudno Hospital? (WAQ69246)

Answer received on 15 October 2015

The Deputy Minister for Health (Vaughan Gething):

The operating theatres at Llandudno Hospital have been temporary closed to allow essential work to be carried out, including repairs to the air handling ventilation units, necessary for patient safety. The work started this month is due to be completed in early November.

Patients are being treated at Ysbyty Gwynedd and a small number at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd while this necessary work is being completed.

I expect disruption to patients and staff to be kept to a minimum while this improvement work is carried out.