My Lords, there is so much to welcome in this Statement, and I thank my noble friend for repeating it. I was going to ask about reading for pleasure, but she has just responded to that so brilliantly that I do not need to. I particularly welcome the raising of the status of the workforce. The presum…
I say to my noble friend that I think the Supreme Court judgment made the situation clearer, not less clear. The nine protected characteristics within the Equality Act are all important in themselves. It is within the Equality Act that gender reassignment is recognised. People who are trans and who …
My noble friend will know that relevant Bills are coming to the House of Lords imminently. There are various provisions in those that are widening the protection of victims. On hate crime law, there are various measures in the Bills within that. But, if my noble friend wants to make specific suggest…
My Lords, the curriculum and assessment review’s interim report notes the rise of AI and trends in digital information and states that it is necessary that the curriculum keeps pace with these changes,
“including a renewed focus on digital and media literacy”
and critical thinking skills. There is…
I thank my noble friend for that further question. She is absolutely right that it is vital that pupils are taught about staying safe online, but we have to remember that we live in a digital age and it is imperative that we strike a balance, so that young people can access the benefits of social me…
My noble friend is right. I made the point about the training provided to SENCOs, which means that there is capacity within schools to make sure that all teachers have an understanding of the potential uses of assistive technology and that the SENCOs are able to focus particularly on those children …
We are a Government of action and I am a Minister of action, and I am already getting going. For me, it is really important that we have had the Independent Sentencing Review, which I hope we will be talking about shortly, and the Leveson review is ongoing. Those are significant reviews, and we will…
My Lords, if the Bill is to succeed in breaking down barriers to opportunity and severing the link between background and success, let me give the Government a warning from Scotland. These aims have also been a much-publicised priority of the Scottish Government. However, over the past decade, despi…