Translate the text from Welsh to English.



 
Mae lleoliadau gofal plant a gwaith chwarae, gan gynnwys ein lleoliadau Dechrau’n Deg, wedi bod yn rhan allweddol o’n hymateb i COVID\-19 ers i’r pandemig ddechrau. Ni ellir gorbwysleisio pa mor bwysig yw rôl y lleoliadau hyn o ran cynnig amgylcheddau sy’n meithrin ein plant. Maent hefyd yn darparu cymorth hollbwysig i rieni, yn enwedig i’r rhai sy’n dibynnu ar ofal plant i allu gweithio. Nid yw hyn wedi bod yn hawdd bob amser, ac rydym yn gwybod bod ein lleoliadau gofal plant a gwaith chwarae wedi gorfod gwneud llawer o newidiadau i’r ffordd y maent yn darparu eu gwasanaethau i sicrhau eu bod mor ddiogel â phosibl.


I gefnogi ein lleoliadau, rydym wedi darparu canllawiau ar y Mesurau Diogelu mewn Lleoliadau Gofal Plant. Rydym hefyd wedi darparu canllawiau ychwanegol ar gyfer lleoliadau Dechrau’n Deg, ac ar gyfer darpariaeth chwarae mynediad agored. Caiff y sector hefyd ei gefnogi drwy gynnig prawf llif unffordd ddwywaith yr wythnos i staff, sy’n helpu i leihau’r risg o drosglwyddo’r feirws ac i gadw staff a phlant yn ddiogel. Gyda’i gilydd, mae’r mesurau hyn ac ymrwymiad ein lleoliadau wedi golygu bod nifer yr achosion COVID\-19 mewn lleoliadau gofal plant a gwaith chwarae, ar y cyfan, wedi aros yn gymharol isel.


Mae ein canllawiau sydd wedi'u diweddaru'n rheolaidd i adlewyrchu ein dealltwriaeth o'r feirws, dealltwriaeth sy’n parhau i ddatblygu, ac maent bob amser yn seiliedig ar y dystiolaeth ac ar y sefyllfa o ran iechyd y cyhoedd. Er bod y sefyllfa o ran iechyd y cyhoedd yn parhau i achosi pryder, rwy’n falch ein bod mewn sefyllfa lle y gallwn yn awr lacio un o'r gofynion sydd wedi achosi'r pryder mwyaf i'r sector.  


Hyd yma, bu'n ofynnol i leoliadau gofal plant sicrhau bod plant yn cael eu cadw mewn grwpiau cyswllt cyson. Lle bynnag y bo modd, gofynnwyd iddynt hefyd adlewyrchu'r grwpiau cyswllt y mae plant ynddynt yn yr ysgol, a sicrhau nad oes cymysgu rhwng grwpiau. Profodd y dull hwn i fod yn fesur hanfodol yn ystod anterth y pandemig  chyn cyflwyno profion a brechlynnau yn y gymuned. Fodd bynnag, rydym yn gwybod eu bod wedi cyfyngu ar nifer y plant a all elwa ar y gwasanaethau y gall ein darparwyr gofal plant a gwaith chwarae, gan gynnwys lleoliadau Dechrau'n Deg, eu cynnig. Maent hefyd yn achosi heriau logistaidd a gweithredol sylweddol i leoliadau, yn enwedig pan fo plant yn mynychu mwy nag un lleoliad, neu'n defnyddio darpariaeth gofal plant neu waith chwarae ynghyd â'r ysgol. 


Er nad yw'r pandemig wedi diflannu, a rhaid inni barhau i fod yn wyliadwrus, rydym yn awr mewn sefyllfa lle'r ydym wedi gallu ymlacio nifer o'r cyfyngiadau ehangach a gyflwynwyd i reoli'r feirws. I blant a phobl ifanc, mae hyn wedi arwain at ailgyflwyno gweithgareddau a drefnir, gan eu galluogi i gymysgu ag eraill yn ehangach. Mae hyn wedi golygu bod llawer o blant bellach yn cael eu hunain mewn sawl grŵp cyswllt, ar draws yr ysgol, gofal plant ac unrhyw weithgareddau ychwanegol y maent yn eu cyflawni. O ganlyniad, a’r haf ar ei ffordd, mae bellach yn briodol inni adolygu'r defnydd o grwpiau cyswllt mewn lleoliadau gofal plant a gwaith chwarae ac addasu'r dull  o ystyried y sefyllfa iechyd cyhoeddus.


Mewn trafodaeth â swyddogion iechyd cyhoeddus ac yn unol â'r dull cymunedol ehangach o liniaru'r risg o drosglwyddo mae’r penderfyniad wedi’i wneud i symud oddi wrth y gofyniad i gynnal grwpiau cyswllt cyson ar draws ein lleoliadau gofal plant a gwaith chwarae, gan gynnwys lleoliadau Dechrau’n Deg.  Ni fydd angen defnyddio grwpiau cyswllt cyson mwyach o ddydd Llun 19 Gorffennaf ymlaen.


Bydd y ddibyniaeth ar grwpiau cyswllt cyson yn cael ei disodli gan ffocws cryfach ar olrhain cyswllt. Bydd angen i leoliadau sicrhau eu bod yn cadw cofnodion manwl o bresenoldeb a gweithgareddau er mwyn galluogi adnabod cysylltiadau agos ag achos cadarnhaol yn glir. Gyda'r mesurau hyn ar waith, byddai'r risgiau trosglwyddo mewn lleoliadau gofal plant yn parhau i gael eu lliniaru.


Mae’r newid hwn yn ymateb i effaith gynyddol brechu oedolion yng Nghymru, cynnig profion ddwywaith yr wythnos i staff mewn lleoliadau gofal plant, a'n system olrhain cysylltiadau effeithiol. Nid yw'n arwydd o lacio'r holl fesurau rheoli, nac yn golygu y gallwn fod yn llai gofalus yn awr. Mae parhau i ddilyn camau rheoli eraill, fel arferion awyru da, golchi dwylo’n drylwyr a glanhau’n well yn hollbwysig er mwyn lleihau'r risg o drosglwyddo’r feirws. Rhaid i leoliadau hefyd sicrhau nad ydyn nhw'n caniatáu i staff neu blant sydd wedi profi'n bositif neu a ddylai fod yn hunan\-ynysu fynychu'r lleoliad.


Bydd y canllawiau ar y Mesurau Diogelu mewn Lleoliadau Gofal Plant a’r ddogfen Cwestiynau Cyffredin yn cael eu diweddaru i adlewyrchu’r newid hwn ac i ddarparu cyngor ychwanegol ar gyfer lleoliadau ynghylch sut mae aros yn ddiogel o ran covid.   







Translation:


 
Childcare and playwork settings, including our Flying Start settings, have been a key part of our response to COVID\-19 since the pandemic began.  The role of these settings in offering nurturing environments for our children as well as the vital support they provide to parents, particularly those who rely on childcare to be able to work, cannot be overstated.  This has not always been easy, and we know that our childcare and playwork settings have had to make many changes to the way in which they provide their services to ensure they are as safe as possible.


To support our settings we have provided guidance on the Protective Measures in Childcare Settings.  We have provided additional guidance for Flying Start settings, and for open access play provision. The sector is also supported by the twice weekly Lateral Flow Device testing offer which helps to minimise the risk of transmission and keeps staff and children safe. Collectively, these measures and the dedication of staff has meant that overall the number of outbreaks of COVID\-19 in childcare and playwork settings has remained relatively low.


Our guidance, which has been regularly updated to reflect our evolving understanding of the virus, has always been rooted in both the evidence, and the public health position.  While the public health position remains of concern I am pleased that we are at a position where we are now able to relax one of the requirements which has been of most concern to the sector.  


Up until now childcare settings have been required to ensure that children are kept in consistent contact groups. Wherever possible they have also been asked to mirror the contact groups children are in at school, and to ensure there is no mixing between groups.  This approach proved to be a vital measure during the peak of the pandemic, and before the roll out of community testing and vaccines.  However, we know they have limited the number of children that can benefit from the services our childcare and playwork providers, including Flying Start settings, can offer.  They also cause significant logistical and operational challenges to settings, particularly where children attend more than one setting, or use childcare or playwork provision alongside school. 


While the pandemic has not gone away, and we must remain vigilant, we are in a position where we have been able to ease a number of the wider restrictions brought in to manage the virus.  For children and young people this has seen the reintroduction of organised activities, enabling them to mix with others on a broader basis.  This has meant that many children now find themselves in several contact groups, across school, childcare and any extra activities they undertake.  As a consequence, and with the summer coming, it is now appropriate for us to review the use of contact groups in childcare and playwork settings and adapt the approach as our public health response evolves.


In discussion with public health officials and in line with the wider community approach to mitigating the risk of transmission, the decision has been taken to move away from a focus on the requirement to maintain consistent contact groups across our childcare and playwork settings, including Flying Start settings.  The use of consistent contact groups will no longer be required from Monday 19 July.


The reliance on consistent contact groups will be replaced by a stronger focus on contact tracing. Settings will need to ensure that they maintain detailed records of attendance and activities to enable clear identification of close contacts to a positive case.  With these measures in place, the risks of transmission in childcare settings would continue to be mitigated.


This change is a response to the increasing role being played by the vaccination of adults in Wales, the twice weekly testing offer to staff in childcare and our effective contact tracing system.   It does not signal a relaxation of all control measures, or mean that we can now become complacent.  The continued implementation of other control measures, such as good ventilation, thorough hand hygiene and enhanced cleaning practices remain paramount to reducing the risk of transmission. Settings must also ensure that they do not allow staff or children who have tested positive or who should be self\-isolating to attend the setting.


The Protective Measures in Childcare Settings guidance and associated FAQs will be updated to reflect this change and to provide additional advice for settings on how to remain covid\-secure.