I wish to welcome the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education, and there are arguments and value on both sides of this issue. But the consultation on the change to the school calendar in Wales has received 16,000 responses, and we must note that this is the biggest ever education consultation in Wales. The list of organisations opposed is very extensive, as is the very mixed response from parents, pointing to a commonsense approach needing to be adopted. It is right to consult on this matter, and it is also right to listen and then act on that consultation.

Today, as our school communities continue to strive forward away from the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic and struggle out of the darkness of austerity, we know that their challenges are profound and we cannot, and should not, underestimate this, none more so than the drop in school attendance seen across Wales, critically by some of the poorest children in our society, our most vulnerable cohort.

Cabinet Secretary, thank you for the clarity that you've given today; it will be broadly welcomed. In terms of the assurance that you can give us today—to the children, teachers, staff and families across Islwyn—that you will prioritise and focus the Welsh Government on tackling attendance, the implementation of the new curriculum, the needed additional learning needs reform, the development of a stronger school holiday enrichment programme, the reduction in teachers' bureaucracy and, finally, the need to strengthen staff retention across Welsh schools, we need that prioritisation.