Education, education, education.

Those three words came from Tony Blair’s lips when he declared that education was, and always would be, a top priority for Labour

Sadly, it doesn’t look as though education is a priority for the Labour group in Wales.

For decades Labour’s incompetence has left our education system failing to deliver the outcomes it should be, but it doesn’t have to be this way for much longer.

Unlike Labour, Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats, only the Welsh Conservatives have a clear, bold and ambitious plan to fix Wales.

With less than a year to go until the Senedd election, my Welsh Conservative colleagues have already started setting out our stall.

Our leader Darren Millar has come out swinging with a raft of policies including slashing income tax by 1p to give working families an extra £450 in their back pocket and removing business rates for small businesses.

Recently, I unveiled the first wave of education policies.

In a nutshell, they were: banning mobile phones in schools, automatically excluding any student caught carrying a knife in school, and introducing Essential Life Skills classes.

We know the use of phones in classrooms is a big problem, which has a major impact on students’ learning and takes teachers’ time away from delivering lessons.

A survey found that 38% of teachers and 57% of pupils said that some, most or all of lessons have been disrupted by phones in the previous week.

This is deeply concerning and that’s why I believe a universal ban on phones in schools is the best approach to truly boost learning.

A Welsh Conservative Government will not stand for violence and poor behaviour in our classrooms.

Incidents of violence within schools are at the highest ever level with more than 6,000 cases reported in 2023/24, and currently students found with a knife are not automatically expelled.

That will change. If you are caught at school with a knife – you’re out. No ifs, no buts.

Too many young people leave school without essential life-skills, which is setting them up to struggle.

I intend to introduce Essential Life Skills classes into schools, which will equip students with a broad range of skills including budgeting, financial management, and healthy eating.

By instilling these skills in our youngsters, we can help set them up for the future.

Labour has broken Wales and only the Welsh Conservatives can fix it.