Darllenwch y dudalen hon yn Gymraeg
As part of the Cabinet reshuffle, following the appointment of Vaughan Gething as First Minister, Lynne Neagle has been appointed as the Cabinet Secretary for Education, replacing Jeremy Miles who moves to the Economy portfolio.
Lynne Neagle is the Senedd Member for Torfaen, and moves to Education from her previous Cabinet post as the Deputy Minister for Mental Health.
Dear Colleague
I am privileged to have been appointed Cabinet Secretary for Education. I know from my time as Chair of the Senedd Children, Young People and Education Committee what a dedicated and hard-working education workforce we have in Wales, and I am really looking forward to working with you in my new role.
You are critical to the success of our transformative education reforms, including the Curriculum for Wales roll out, the current consultation on 14 to 16 learning, Made-for-Wales GCSEs, and the implementation of the Additional Learning Needs programme. Ensuring you have the tools to make these reforms a success will be my number one priority.
I am acutely aware that you are supporting our ambitious transformation of education while also dealing with the aftermath of a global pandemic. The increase in mental health issues amongst learners and the workforce, a drop in attendance and reports of deteriorating behaviour are matters that worry us all.
Government, parents and carers, and society as a whole need to come together to address these challenges. I know it can’t all be the responsibility of schools.
Making sure our young people have the best chance in life is a passion for me. A good education in an inclusive, safe, and nurturing environment helps build skills, knowledge and resilience. It is the greatest gift we can give our children and young people.
As Deputy Minister for Mental Health, I jointly chaired our Ministerial Board to take forward our Whole Schools Approach to Mental Health and Wellbeing in Wales and was able to secure additional funding for Child and Adolescent Mental Health services in Wales.
I intend to spend my first months in office listening to you. I hope to visit schools after Easter and during those visits, as well as meeting children, young people, and your staff, I would like to talk to you about your burning issues.
I am really looking forward to working with you and meeting as many of you as possible. If there are issues you would like to discuss with me my door is open. Please email Dysg@gov.Wales or Correspondence.Lynne.Neagle@gov.wales and I’ll be in touch.
Yours sincerely
Lynne Neagle AS/MS
Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet dros Addysg
Cabinet Secretary for Education