Translate the text from Welsh to English.



 
Bore da. Mae’n wych gweld cymaint o bobl yma heddiw, a chymaint o ysgolion ac uwch arweinwyr addysg yn cael eu cynrychioli.

Diolch i Chantelle ac Anna am gynnal y digwyddiad hwn ar y cyd. Mae’r ddwy ohonoch chi’n gwneud cyfraniad enfawr i addysg yng Nghymru.

Er y bu llai o gyfleoedd i ddod ynghyd yn y cnawd dros y blynyddoedd diwethaf, un o fanteision gwirioneddol bod yn genedl lai yw gallu cwrdd â’n gilydd fel hyn: i rannu syniadau, i rannu ein gobeithion ar gyfer y dyfodol, ac – yn naturiol – i rannu ambell gŵyn!

Mae’n bwysig ein bod ni i gyd yn gwybod nad ydyn ni ar ein pennau ein hunain.

Roedd yr anturiaethwr Ernest Shackleton, a arweiniodd sawl taith i Antarctica, yn honni mai unigrwydd yw’r pris y mae arweinwyr yn ei dalu. Mae Shackleton wedi dod yn dipyn o esiampl o arweinyddiaeth o dan amgylchiadau eithafol. Ei ffordd o roi pobl yn gyntaf, a’i ddawn i greu trefn o anhrefn. Roedd ganddo hyd yn oed long o’r enw ‘Endurance’, felly mae’n bosib bod hynny’n taro tant gyda rhai yn barod.

Fel arweinwyr, yn ystod ac ar ôl y pandemig, rydych chi wedi gorfod llywio drwy ddyfroedd digon tymhestlog, a \- heb i mi orwneud trosiad yr anturiaethwr \- wedi gorfod gwneud hynny weithiau heb fap i ddangos y ffordd. Gwneud penderfyniadau mewn cyd\-destun cyson gyfnewidiol, lle mae anghenion disgyblion, canfyddiadau rhieni, a disgwyliadau staff \- a’r hyn sy’n cael ei ddisgwyl gan staff \- yn newid, ac weithiau’n creu her. Dwi’n siŵr bod hynny’n gallu bod yn unig ar brydiau, felly gobeithio bod heddiw yn gyfle i rannu rhywfaint o’r baich hwnnw, yn ogystal â rhannu syniadau, gydag arweinwyr eraill sy’n wynebu galwadau tebyg.

Fodd bynnag, gadewch i ni oedi am ennyd i ystyried beth sydd wedi cael ei gyflawni yn erbyn y cefndir heriol hwnnw.

Gyda’n gilydd, rydyn ni wedi dechrau cyflwyno’r cwricwlwm newydd, ym mhob ysgol erbyn hyn. Rydyn ni hanner ffordd drwy weithredu rhaglen ddiwygio enfawr i ddiwallu anghenion dysgu ychwanegol, paratoi ar gyfer cyfres newydd o gymwysterau, dull newydd o arolygu, dull newydd o hunanwella, ac rydyn ni’n symud ymlaen yn dda gyda’n cynlluniau Cymraeg mewn addysg. Mae’r rhestr yn un faith.

Wrth ymweld ag ysgolion a cholegau, ac wrth siarad â phrifathrawon a phenaethiaid wyneb yn wyneb mewn trafodaethau grŵp di\-flewyn\-ar\-dafod, er gwaetha’r pwysau o reoli newid sy’n cyffwrdd â bron pob agwedd ar fywyd ysgol, dwi’n gweld brwdfrydedd ac agweddau rhyfeddol o bositif am y daith ddiwygio rydyn ni arni gyda’n gilydd. Dwi’n gweld lefelau uchel o greadigrwydd wrth ymateb i rai o’r heriau y soniais amdanyn nhw yn gynharach.

Dyna un o’r pethau sydd wedi fy nharo ers dod yn Weinidog Addysg: ar gyfer pob cwestiwn rydyn ni’n ceisio dod o hyd i ateb iddo, mae yna ysgol yn rhywle sydd wedi dod o hyd i ateb, neu o leiaf ran sylweddol o’r ateb. Dyna’r creadigrwydd a’r arweinyddiaeth dwi’n sôn amdano, ac yn aml iawn, y dasg yw nodi hynny, a sicrhau bod ysgolion mewn mannau eraill yn gallu dysgu, addasu, a datblygu ar hynny.

Hoffwn ddiolch i chi am eich ymrwymiad parhaus i genhadaeth ein cenedl yng Nghymru, am yr egni rydych chi’n ei gynnig i’r gwaith ac am eich ymroddiad i addysgu a chefnogi ein dysgwyr.

Rydych chi’n gwneud hynny ar adeg pan mae ymdeimlad fod ysgolion yn newid nid yn unig o ganlyniad i bolisi bwriadol. Maen nhw’n newid mewn gwahanol ffyrdd o ganlyniad i ffactorau y tu hwnt i furiau’r ysgol.

Yr amlycaf o hyd, dwi’n credu, yw effeithiau parhaus y pandemig. Dydyn nhw ddim wedi diflannu, mae hynny’n sicr.

Mae ein plant ifanc iawn wedi colli cyfnodau datblygu allweddol. Collwyd gormod o amser ysgol gan blant a phobl ifanc o bob oed. Mae rhai plant, ac efallai rhai rhieni hefyd, wedi datblygu agwedd wahanol tuag at yr ysgol, disgwyliadau gwahanol sydd wedi’u lliwio gan y profiad hwnnw, galluoedd gwahanol y mae’r profiad wedi effeithio arnyn nhw. Rydyn ni’n gwybod ei fod yn brofiad sydd, unwaith eto, wedi cael mwy o effaith ar y rhai ag anghenion dysgu ychwanegol neu’r rhai sy’n byw mewn tlodi.

Fe wnaeth y pandemig dynnu sylw at anghydraddoldebau sy’n dal i fodoli mewn cymdeithas, ac mae’r argyfwng costau byw wedi gwaethygu hynny ymhellach.

Fel llywodraeth, roedden ni’n benderfynol o  ganolbwyntio’r rhan fwyaf o’n cefnogaeth ar y grwpiau hynny sydd wedi dioddef waethaf. Buddsoddwyd £500 miliwn gennym yn ein rhaglen adnewyddu a diwygio, ac rydyn ni’n gwybod fod yr arian wedi ei roi ar waith yn effeithiol iawn gan ysgolion a cholegau.

Fodd bynnag, mae’r her yn ehangach na chyfres o ymyriadau ar lefel ysgol a choleg. Wrth ddarllen yn y cyfryngau am effeithiau parhaus Covid ar addysg, byddai’n hawdd tybio bod baich datrys unrhyw broblem yn disgyn ar ysgwyddau ysgolion neu golegau a neb arall. Ond dwi’n credu bod hyn yn gorsymleiddio’r mater. Dwi’n cydnabod y bydd angen ymdrech gyson, gydweithredol a chenedlaethol i adfer pethau. Mae ysgolion a cholegau wrth galon hyn, ond dim ond drwy weithio mewn partneriaeth y mae mynd i’r afael â hyn.

Efallai mai’r her o gynyddu presenoldeb yw un o’r enghreifftiau amlycaf. Mae angen i bob plentyn fod yn yr ysgol. Dyna sydd orau er mwyn ei addysg, dyna hefyd sydd orau er mewn ei les.

Rydyn ni’n gwybod bod ymgysylltu mwy â theuluoedd yn cael effaith gadarnhaol ar wella presenoldeb. Mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi cynyddu ein buddsoddiad ar gyfer swyddogion ymgysylltu â theuluoedd eleni i dros £6\.5 miliwn.

Rydyn ni wedi buddsoddi mwy yn y gwasanaeth lles addysg eleni, er mwyn creu capasiti ychwanegol. Gan helpu’r gwasanaeth i gynnig cymorth cynharach, cyn i drafferthion waethygu a chynnig cymorth mwy dwys i ddysgwyr sydd â lefelau uchel o absenoldeb.

Fodd bynnag, os ydyn ni am fynd at wraidd y materion sy’n wynebu ein pobl ifanc, yna mae angen ymateb amlasiantaethol. Dyma’r meddylfryd y tu ôl i’r tasglu cenedlaethol. Dwi wedi ceisio dwyn ynghyd brofiad o fyd addysg, gwaith ieuenctid, iechyd, gwasanaethau cymdeithasol, yr heddlu, rhieni a thu hwnt. Pob un ohonynt â’u perthynas eu hunain â theuluoedd, ac mae angen i ni bwyso ar y rhain er mwyn deall yn well beth sydd wrth wraidd agweddau ar ddiffyg presenoldeb – ac yn bwysicaf oll, mae angen i ni nodi beth sy’n gweithio ble, a pha gamau ymarferol eraill sy’n bosibl fel y gallwn ymgysylltu â phobl ifanc o’r newydd a’u cael nhw’n ôl i’r dosbarth.

Wrth ymateb i’r pwysau ynghylch presenoldeb, lles, ymddygiad ac agweddau parhaus eraill ar waddol Covid, rydyn ni i gyd yn gwybod pa mor gwbl hanfodol yw hi ein bod yn cynnal disgwyliadau uchel a chyson am ein dysgwyr, pob un o’n dysgwyr.

Dwi’n gwybod eich bod chi i gyd yn rhannu fy mhryderon am ‘golli’r hyn a ddysgwyd’, sy’n rhywbeth y gwyddom sydd wedi digwydd ers y pandemig. Diolch i’ch gwaith da chi, roedd Cymru wedi gwneud cynnydd i’w groesawu o ran llythrennedd a rhifedd dros y blynyddoedd diwethaf, gydag arwyddion, yn sicr mewn rhai grwpiau oedran, fod y bwlch cyrhaeddiad yn culhau, ond rydyn ni’n gwybod bod y pandemig wedi amharu ar hynny.

Mae adroddiadau Estyn wedi tynnu sylw at faterion yn ymwneud â llythrennedd a rhifedd. Mae lefelau da o lythrennedd a rhifedd yn hanfodol, wrth gwrs.

Dyna pam eu bod wedi’u gwreiddio yn y Cwricwlwm i Gymru fel sgiliau trawsgwricwlaidd gorfodol. Y cwricwlwm, gyda’i gynnig eang, ei ddisgwyliad o safonau uchel, yw’r ffordd orau o ennyn diddordeb dysgwyr. Dyma’r ffordd orau i’w hannog i fod yn uchelgeisiol ac i wireddu eu dyheadau.

Mae llythrennedd a rhifedd da yn anhepgor i’n pobl ifanc fel y gallan nhw fanteisio ar gyfoeth llawn y Cwricwlwm i Gymru newydd. Maen nhw’n gwbl allweddol i gyfleoedd y tu hwnt i’r ysgol – i gyflogaeth, hyfforddiant ac addysg bellach neu addysg uwch.

Mae’n rhaid i ni sicrhau o leiaf hynny, felly mae’n amlwg bod angen ffocws cenedlaethol parhaus ar lythrennedd a rhifedd.

Mae sicrhau bod pawb yn meddu ar y sgiliau darllen sydd eu hangen arnyn nhw i wireddu eu potensial yn fater o gyfiawnder cymdeithasol.

Cyflawni hynny yw nod ein pecyn cymorth darllen a llafaredd, sydd wedi’i ddatblygu ar y cyd ag ymarferwyr o bob cwr o Gymru. Rydyn ni wrthi’n ei ddiweddaru ar hyn o bryd i sicrhau eglurder ynghylch addysgu ffoneg yn systematig ac yn gyson, yn unol â’r bwriad a nodwyd yn ein map trywydd “Safonau a dyheadau uchel i bawb”.

Ochr yn ochr â hyn, mae hyrwyddo meddylfryd cadarnhaol o ran mathemateg yn hanfodol. Dwi’n gwybod eich bod chi i gyd yn cytuno nad oes angen i ni ymddiheuro am fynnu disgwyliadau uchel ar gyfer pob dysgwr. Er mwyn helpu i gyflawni hyn, byddwn yn cyhoeddi cynllun Mathemateg a Rhifedd. Bydd hwn, ymhlith pethau eraill, yn cefnogi athrawon gyda chynnig cenedlaethol ar ddysgu proffesiynol ar gyfer sgiliau mathemategol ar draws y cwricwlwm newydd.

Yn ystod yr wythnosau nesaf, byddwn yn cyhoeddi adroddiad ystadegol ar batrymau cenedlaethol cyrhaeddiad mewn darllen a rhifedd i lywio ein hymdrechion ar draws ein system addysg, gan ddefnyddio data ar lefel genedlaethol o asesiadau personol. Mae hyn yn ymwneud â thueddiadau ledled Cymru ar draws ein system ysgolion, felly ni fydd y wybodaeth yn cael ei chyhoeddi fesul ysgol, awdurdod lleol na rhanbarth. Dwi eisiau gwneud yn siŵr fod asesiadau personol yn cael eu defnyddio i’r perwyl hwnnw’n unig, yn hytrach nag at ddibenion atebolrwydd – felly bydd hyn yn ymwneud â bwrw golwg ddiduedd ar y darlun cenedlaethol.

Rydyn ni’n sgwrsio heddiw wrth i ni dynnu at derfyn tymor yr hydref, tymor sydd wedi teimlo’n un hir i chi, dwi’n siŵr. Wrth siarad â phenaethiaid ac athrawon ar ymweliadau yn ystod y tymor hwn, dwi bob amser yn ymwybodol bod pwysau llwyth gwaith ac effeithiau cronnol y swydd yn teimlo’n arbennig o ddwys. Gan adeiladu ar y trafodaethau a gafwyd yn gynharach eleni yn ystod y gweithredu diwydiannol, roeddwn i’n teimlo ei bod hi’n arbennig o bwysig ein bod ni’n gallu gwneud cynnydd wrth fynd i’r afael â’r llwyth gwaith. Dwi’n  hynod falch o fod wedi gallu rhoi diweddariad cadarnhaol yr wythnos diwethaf ar y camau go iawn ac amlwg rydyn ni wedi gallu eu cymryd i leihau pwysau llwyth gwaith. Dwi eisiau i chi wybod mai dyma’r cam cyntaf yn y gwaith hwnnw, ac y byddwn ni’n parhau i ganolbwyntio yr un mor galed ar hyn yn ystod y misoedd i ddod.

Ac o sôn am dymor hir yr hydref, hoffwn siarad â chi am ein cynlluniau i edrych eto ar ffurf y flwyddyn ysgol.

Pan ddechreuais i yn y swydd hon, fe wnes i ddweud y byddwn i’n gwneud fy ngorau i sicrhau y byddai pob penderfyniad y byddwn i’n ei wneud yn cael ei dywys gan anghenion dysgwyr a’u lles, gyda ffocws ar gulhau anghydraddoldebau addysgol. Er mwyn gwneud hyn, mae’n rhaid i ni fod yn agored i ffyrdd newydd o wneud pethau, a pheidio â bod ofn gwneud newidiadau.

Dwi eisoes wedi siarad heddiw am y nifer fawr o ffyrdd y mae ein hysgolion, a chithau fel arweinwyr ysgolion, wedi cydnabod, cofleidio a sbarduno rhai o’r newidiadau hynny.

Roedd ein maniffesto, a’n cytundeb gyda Phlaid Cymru, yn ein hymrwymo i edrych ar flwyddyn galendr yr ysgol ac ystyried ai dyma’r ffordd orau o wneud pethau – ar gyfer disgyblion, ar gyfer staff, ar gyfer pawb.

Rydyn ni’n edrych ar effaith gwahanol opsiynau mewn perthynas ag ailddosbarthu cyfnodau gwyliau a hyd tymhorau.

Mae tystiolaeth yn awgrymu y gall blinder a lludded fod yn waeth yn ystod tymhorau hirach, ac y gall cyflwyno’r cwricwlwm mewn ffordd gynhwysfawr fod yn heriol os yw hyd hanner tymor yn fyr iawn.

Yn bwysig iawn, mae llawer ohonoch wedi sôn eich bod yn credu mai ein dysgwyr mwyaf difreintiedig sy’n dioddef fwyaf o golli’r hyn a ddysgwyd dros yr hafau hir.

Pa bynnag newidiadau sy’n cael eu cynnig, bydd nifer y diwrnodau gwyliau a diwrnodau addysgu yn aros yr un fath.

Byddwn yn lansio ymgynghoriad cyhoeddus yn fuan iawn, gyda chynigion gwahanol ar sut i ail\-lunio’r flwyddyn ysgol i fynd i’r afael â rhai o’r pryderon hyn, a dwi’n eich annog i gyd i leisio eich barn pan fydd yn cael ei gyhoeddi.

Cyn gorffen, dwi eisiau mynd i’r afael â rhywbeth sy’n cael lle amlwg ym meddyliau pob un ohonom ar hyn o bryd – cyllidebau. Mae lefelau uchel o chwyddiant, ynghyd â blynyddoedd di\-ben\-draw o gyni dan Lywodraeth y DU, wedi golygu ein bod ni i gyd yn gweithio gyda chyllidebau llai. Dydy hynny ddim yn hawdd.

Rydych chi’n amlwg wedi gweld ein cyhoeddiadau cyllideb yn ystod y flwyddyn yn nodi sut y bu’n rhaid dod o hyd i arian ar draws y llywodraeth.

Gallaf eich sicrhau, drwy gydol y broses, fy mod i wedi gwneud popeth posibl i sicrhau ein bod yn diogelu gwasanaethau rheng flaen.

Mae’r cyllid sydd wedi’i ryddhau o’r gyllideb sydd ar gael i mi wedi dod o danwariant ynghlwm wrth bolisïau sy’n cael eu harwain gan alw, fel cymorth cynhaliaeth myfyrwyr prifysgol. Llwyddwyd i osgoi gwneud toriadau uniongyrchol i raglenni ysgolion neu gyllid ysgolion a cholegau, er y byddwn fel arfer wedi bwriadu defnyddio’r math hwnnw o danwariant i ryddhau rhagor o arian i ysgolion a cholegau yn ddiweddarach yn y flwyddyn.

Mae’n rhaid i mi ddweud y bydd angen gwneud penderfyniadau anoddach ar gyfer cyllideb y flwyddyn nesaf. Fel y gwyddoch, mae’r mwyafrif helaeth o gyllidebau ysgolion yn dod gan awdurdodau lleol – felly fy mlaenoriaeth bennaf yw diogelu eu cyllidebau *nhw* i ddiogelu eich cyllidebau *chi*.

Byddaf yn gwneud popeth o fewn fy ngallu i’ch cefnogi chi, drwy benderfyniadau cyllidebol, drwy raglenni gwella a thrwy gydweithio.

Wrth weithio gyda phartneriaid yn yr undebau, rydyn ni’n gwneud cynnydd da o ran lleihau’r llwyth gwaith. Rydyn ni’n ceisio diwygio’r ffordd rydyn ni’n cyhoeddi grantiau, symleiddio’r system, symleiddio prosesau adrodd a darparu mwy o hyblygrwydd. Rydyn ni’n cynnal adolygiad o gyfeiriad, rolau a chyfrifoldebau partneriaid addysg yn y dyfodol – y cyfan er mwyn gallu cefnogi eich ysgolion *chi* i gefnogi eich disgyblion *chi* yn well.

Dwi wrth fy modd hefyd y bydd Simon Pirotte, Prif Swyddog Gweithredol newydd y Comisiwn Addysg Drydyddol ac Ymchwil, ar banel y prynhawn yma. O fis Ebrill y flwyddyn nesaf, bydd y comisiwn yn gyfrifol am ariannu, rheoleiddio a chynllunio addysg ôl\-16 gan gynnwys y chweched dosbarth, er mwyn sicrhau bod ein dysgwyr yn gallu gwneud y dewis cywir ar gyfer eu dysgu ble bynnag maen nhw’n byw yng Nghymru. Agwedd sylfaenol ar ein diwygiadau i addysg ôl\-16 yw’r nod o annog cydweithredu ar draws y sector i gyflawni ar gyfer ein dysgwyr.

Drwy’r cydweithredu hwnnw ym mhob rhan o’n system addysg, a thrwy weithio gyda’n gilydd – dyna sut y bydd pob un ohonon ni sydd yma heddiw yn gallu mynd ati orau i gefnogi ein pobl ifanc, fel y gallwn ni greu’r system addysg â safonau a dyheadau uchel i bawb yr ydyn ni i gyd wedi ymrwymo iddi.

Diolch yn fawr.







Translation:


 
Good morning. It’s fantastic to see so many people here today with so many schools and senior education leaders represented.


Thank you Chantelle and Anna for co\-hosting this event. You are both making a huge contribution to education in Wales.


It is one of the real benefits of being a smaller nation that we can all meet together like this.


And over recent years we haven’t had as many opportunities to get together in person: to share ideas, to share our hopes for the future, and – naturally \- to share the occasional woe!


Because it’s important for us all to know that we are not alone in this.


The explorer Ernest Shackleton, who led expeditions to Antarctica, claimed that ‘loneliness is the penalty of leadership’.  Shackleton has become something of a role model for leadership in extreme circumstances. His people\-centred approach, a talent for bringing order from chaos. He even had a ship named Endurance. So perhaps some of us are feeling a resonance already?


As leaders, during and after the pandemic, you have had to navigate some pretty choppy waters, and \- not to extend the explorer metaphor too far \- sometimes having to do so without a route map. Making decisions in an ever\-changing context, where the needs of pupils, the perceptions of parents, and the expectations from and of staff are changing and sometimes challenging.  I am sure it can indeed be lonely at times.  So I hope today is a chance to share some of that load, as well as share ideas, with other leaders facing similar demands.


But let’s take a breath to reflect on what has been achieved against that challenging backdrop.


Together we have started to roll out the new curriculum, now in every school, we’re halfway through the implementation of an enormous programme of reform to meeting additional learning needs, preparing for a new suite of qualifications, a new approach to inspection, a new approach to self\-improvement, and progressing well with our Welsh in education plans. The list goes on.


And when I visit your schools and colleges, and when I speak to heads and principals one to one or in candid group discussions, despite the pressures of managing change which touches almost all aspects of school life, I see huge levels of enthusiasm and positivity about the reform journey we are all on together. And I see huge levels of creativity in responding to some of the challenges I spoke about earlier.


One of the things which has struck me since becoming education minister is that for each question we are looking to solve, there is a school somewhere that has found a solution, or at least a good part of the solution. That’s the creativity and leadership I am talking about. And so often the task is to identify where that is, and to make sure that schools elsewhere can learn from, adapt, build on that.


So I want to thank you for your continued commitment to our national mission in Wales. For the energy you bring to our work and for your dedication to teaching and supporting our learners.


And you’re doing so at a time when there is a sense that not only are schools changing as a result of deliberate policy. They are changing in different ways as a result of factors beyond school.


The most obvious still I think is the continuing effects of the pandemic. These have not gone away. Far from it.


Our very young children missed key developmental stages. Too much school time was missed by children and young people of all ages. Some children and perhaps parents too, developed a different attitude towards school, different expectations coloured by that experience, different capabilities impacted by that experience. And we know it is an experience which as so often, has had a greater effect on those with additional learning needs or who are living in poverty.


The pandemic – compounded now by the cost\-of\-living crisis \-highlighted the inequalities that still exist in society.


As a government we resolved to focus most of our support on those groups most impacted. We invested £500 million in our renew and reform programme and we know that this was deployed very effectively by schools and colleges.


But the challenge is broader than a set of interventions at school and college level. When we read coverage of the ongoing effects on education of covid in the media, the assumption very often is that the answer to every problem falls to schools or colleges alone. But I think this is simplistic. I recognise that it will take a sustained, collaborative, and national effort to turn this around. Schools and colleges are at the heart of this, but it can only be tackled in partnership.


And the challenge of increasing attendance is perhaps one of the starkest examples of this. We need all children to be at school. That is the best thing for their education and for their wellbeing too.


We know that greater engagement with families has a positive impact on improving attendance. So the Welsh government increased our investment for family engagement officers this year to over £6\.5 million.


And we invested more in the education welfare service this year, to create additional capacity. Helping the service to provide earlier support before issues escalate. And to provide more intensive support to learners with high levels of absence.


But this requires a multi\-agency response if we are to really get to the heart of the issues facing our young people. This is the thinking behind the national taskforce I have brought together \- to draw together experience from education, youthwork, health, social services, police, parents and beyond. Each with their own relationship with families, we need to draw on these to better understand what lies behind aspects of non\-attendance – and most crucially, to identify what is working where, and what other practical actions we can take re\-engage young people and get them back into class.


But in responding to the pressures around attendance, wellbeing, behaviour and other ongoing dimensions of the covid legacy, we all know how absolutely vital it is that we keep the expectations we have of our learners, all learners, high and consistent.


So, I know that you all share my concerns about the ‘learning loss’ which we know has happened since the pandemic. Thanks to your good work, Wales made welcome progress in literacy and numeracy over recent years, with signs certainly in some age groups of a narrowing in the attainment gap. But we know that the pandemic has set us back.


Estyn reports have highlighted issues around literacy and numeracy. Good levels of literacy and numeracy are of course essential.


This is why they are embedded in the curriculum for Wales as mandatory cross\-curricular skills. The curriculum, with its broad offer, its expectation of high standards, is the best way to engage learners. It is the best way to encourage them to be ambitious and to realise their aspirations.


And good literacy and numeracy are indispensable for our young people to be able to access the full richness of our new curriculum for Wales. And they are absolutely key to opportunities beyond school – into employment, training and further or higher education.


It is the very least we need to ensure. So, it is clear we need a sustained national focus on literacy and numeracy.


Ensuring that everyone has the reading skills that they need to reach their potential is a matter of social justice.


Our reading and oracy toolkit, co\-developed with practitioners from across Wales aims to deliver this. And we are updating it at the moment to ensure clarity on the systematic and consistent teaching of phonics, as we said we would do in set our “high standards and aspirations for all” roadmap.


Alongside this, promoting a positive ‘can do’ mindset when it comes to maths is crucial. I know you all agree we should have unapologetically high expectations for all learners. To help achieve this, we will publish a mathematics and numeracy plan. This will, amongst other things, support teachers with a national offer on professional learning for mathematical skills across the new curriculum.


And in the coming weeks we will be publishing a statistical report on national patterns in attainment in reading and numeracy to inform our efforts across our education system, using national\-level data from personalised assessments. This is about Wales\-wide trends across our school system so the information will not be published for schools, local authorities, or regions. I want to make sure that personalised assessments are used for just that, rather than accountability purposes – so this will be about a candid look at the national picture.


We are talking today, as we approach the end of what I am sure you will feel is a long autumn term. When I speak to heads and to teachers on visits during this term, I am always conscious that the pressures of workload and the accumulated effects of the job feel particularly acute. And building on the discussions we had earlier in the year during the industrial action, I felt it was particularly important that we could make progress in tackling workload so I was pleased to have been able to give a positive update last week on the real and tangible steps we have been able to take to reduce workload pressures. But I want you to know that this is the first instalment in that work, and we are not going to reduce our focus on this in the coming months.


And talking about the long autumn term,


I want to talk to you about our plans to look again at the shape of the school year.


When I started this job, I said that I would do my best to ensure that every decision I made would be guided by the needs of learners and their well\-being, and a focus on narrowing educational inequalities.  To do this, we must be open to new ways of doing things, and not be afraid to make changes.


I have already spoken today about the many, many ways in which our schools and you as school leaders have recognised, embraced, and driven forward some of those changes.


Our manifesto, and our agreement with Plaid Cymru, committed us to look at the school calendar year and see whether it is the best way to do things – for pupils, for staff, for everyone.


We are looking at the impact of different options in relation to redistributing holiday periods and term lengths.


Evidence indicates that fatigue can be high in longer terms, and covering curriculum content comprehensively can be challenging in very short half\-terms.


Importantly, many of you have told me that you believe that our most disadvantaged learners are impacted most by learning loss over the long summers.


Whatever changes we propose, the number of school holiday days and teaching days will remain the same.


We will be launching a public consultation very soon, with different proposals for how we could reshape the school year to address some of these concerns, and I encourage all of you to have your voice heard when it is published.


Before I finish, I want to address something which is uppermost in all our minds at the moment \- budgets. High levels of inflation, alongside, endless years of austerity overseen by the UK government, has meant we are all working with reduced budgets. It is not easy.


You have obviously seen the in\-year budget announcements we made setting out how money has had to be found across the government.


I can assure you that throughout the process, I have done absolutely everything possible to ensure we protect frontline services.


The funding that was released found from within my budget, has come from underspends from demand\-led policies, such as university student maintenance support. We were able to avoid making direct cuts to school programmes or school and college funding though of course I would ordinarily have planned to use that kind of underspend to release further funds to schools and colleges later in the year.


I have got to say to you that more difficult decisions will need to be made for next year’s budget. As you know, the vast majority of school budgets come from local authorities – therefore protecting *their* budgets to protect *your* budgets is my number one priority.


I will do all that I can to support you, through budget decisions, through improvement programmes, and through collaboration.


Working with union partners, we are making good progress on reducing workload. We are looking to reform the way we issue grants, simplifying the system, streamlines reporting and providing more flexibility. And we are undertaking a review of the future direction, roles and responsibilities of education partners \- all so we can support *your* schools to better support *your* pupils.


I’m delighted as well that Simon Pirotte as the new CEO of the commission for tertiary education and research will be on a panel this afternoon.  From April next year the commission will be responsible for funding, regulating, and planning post\-16 education including sixth forms, to make sure our learners are able to make the right choice for them for their learning wherever they live in Wales. And fundamental to our reforms to post\-16 education is the aim of encouraging collaboration across the sector to deliver for our learners.


It is through that collaboration in all parts of our education system, working together that all of us here today can support our young people best so that we build that education system that has high standards and aspirations for all which we are all committed to.


Diolch yn fawr, thank you very much.