On Saturday morning, November 23, Jane Davison AM, the Minister for Education at the National Assembly of Wales, came to Tenby to speak about current and future plans for education in Wales. She spoke with energy and enthusiasm about Labour's radical education agenda and, more importantly, how it would be delivered.
Any teacher listening would have been both encouraged and impressed. The minister outlined the document she had produced called 'The Learning Country', a strategy for improving educational opportunities in Wales. The priorities of this agenda were only decided after Jane Davison had spent the whole of her first year in office finding out what was happening in the schools of Wales.
She visited small country schools, large secondary schools, junior schools, nursery and infant schools, colleges. She talked to heads, to teachers, governors, parents and pupils. She observed and listened.
Here was a real Welsh initiative which it is understood is envied by her educational colleagues in England. She demonstrated the Welsh Assembly's ability to do things differently than in England. Her aim is to deliver to the people of Wales the kind of education they want, that being the purpose of the National Assembly.
Her talk engendered a lively discussion and those fortunate enough to hear her speak left in no doubt that her agenda would be fulfilled. Her message was a positive one, the kind of message the public, unfortunately, doesn't often hear.
She was warmly applauded and thanked for her acceptance of Tenby and Saundersfoot Labour Party Branch's invitation to speak at their November meeting.