English: Thank you very much, Minister. Good to see you're still here - that helps with continuity, I must admit. First of all, something that has actually become clearer from this statement today in terms of this assessment tool is something that's - and I think you used the word a couple of times - ongoing. Because one of my early concerns about this test, and I completely recognise that this isn't about accountability, was how frequently it would be used. Professor Donaldson was explicit that he thought that frequent testing was to be avoided, so my first question, I suppose, is: how frequently will an individual child be assessed in a given year in order to provide meaningful data to both the child and teachers about progress? If the purpose of the test is to guide learners with more bespoke support - I suppose that's the best way to put it - and, as you say in your statement, more freedom for teachers to teach in the way that best meets the needs of pupils, something I support, I would still expect to hear a little bit more about how the effectiveness of those individual bespoke mini programmes, if you like, are themselves likely to be measured. Because where I disagree with your comments made back in 2017 is here, where you said, and I'm quoting: 'it would not be right to use individual children's test scores to judge the performance of that school.' Whereas I would say I think it's entirely proper for a school to be judged on the progress made between those tests in the case of individual children - anonymised, of course - because there is something that can be told to parents and us here in the Assembly about how efficient and effective those bits of bespoke support for children have been. It's great to offer it, but if that still doesn't work we need to know about that as well. So, bearing in mind that Professor Donaldson recommended that Welsh Government needed to establish a comprehensive assessment and evaluation framework, we know something about the assessment now, but can you tell us a little bit about how the evaluation side of it will work? Bearing in mind, and the point I accept, that this isn't in itself an evaluation tool, it's an assessment tool, but we need something to talk about the progress between test No. 1 and test No. 2 and test No. 3 and so forth, because outcomes really do still matter. As you say in your statement, the new tests are about raising standards, so a couple of questions on that - one is about self-evaluation, obviously something supported by the OECD. One of the reasons that, perhaps, we're in this place at the moment is that there was a loss of confidence in teachers' predictions of children's level of achievement at the end of primary school, before they went up to secondary school. Part of that was because there was an over-reliance on internal self-assessment, I suppose, or certainly internal assessment. So, without stepping on teachers' toes here, is there any kind of guidance you will be bringing forward - or who might even bring this forward; it could be Estyn, I don't know - that might help schools, including the pupils, if I understand this correctly, to self-evaluate in a way that we can all have some confidence in? Again, in the case or situation of raising standards, you said last year that £5.6 million was going to consortia for professional learning, in part to prepare for these assessments. How are you going to evaluate how effectively the consortia have contributed to these becoming a success? I appreciate that they haven't really started yet, but the preparation for them will have happened. So, if you can give us a bit of information on that, that would be great. The timing - I completely agree with you that it's up to schools how and when they do the timing, but I also agree with you that the last thing that's useful to parents and, indeed, children is a report that lands on the last day of term, particularly at the end of the summer term, when there's quite often a bit of rollback for some children over the summer holidays. So, I certainly wouldn't be happy if you were telling schools when to do this assessment, but will you be dropping them any heavy hints about avoiding that last week of term? Finally, on the £1.7 million for schools most in need of improving their information technology, I wonder if you can tell us whether that's ring-fenced and when we might see it distributed, because I can think immediately of one school in my region that would be very interested in a new funding stream for precisely that. It would be helpful to be able to tell them that it is targeted at IT rather than disappearing into the revenue support grant or schools' funding generally. Thank you.
Welsh: Diolch yn fawr iawn, Gweinidog. Mae'n dda gen i weld eich bod chi yma o hyd - mae hynny'n helpu gyda'r dilyniant, mae'n rhaid imi gyfaddef. Yn gyntaf, rhywbeth sydd wedi dod yn fwy eglur gyda'r datganiad hwn heddiw mewn gwirionedd o ran y dull asesu hwn yw mai rhywbeth cyfredol ydyw - ac rwy'n credu eich bod chi wedi defnyddio'r ymadrodd hwn fwy nag unwaith. Un o'm pryderon cynharaf i o ran y prawf hwn, ac rwy'n cydnabod yn llwyr nad yw hyn yn ymwneud ag atebolrwydd, oedd pa mor aml y câi ei ddefnyddio. Roedd yr Athro Donaldson yn bendant yn credu y dylid osgoi profion rheolaidd, felly fy nghwestiwn cyntaf i, mae'n debyg, yw: pa mor aml y bydd plentyn unigol yn cael ei asesu mewn blwyddyn er mwyn darparu data ystyrlon i'r plentyn ac i'r athrawon fel ei gilydd am gynnydd? Os mai diben y prawf yw arwain dysgwyr drwy gynnig iddynt gymorth mwy pwrpasol - mae'n debyg mai dyna'r ffordd orau o fynegi hynny - ac, fel y dywedwch chi yn eich datganiad, rhoi mwy o ryddid i athrawon addysgu yn y ffordd sy'n ateb anghenion y disgyblion orau, rhywbeth yr wyf i'n ei gefnogi, eto i gyd byddwn yn disgwyl cael clywed ychydig mwy am sut y bydd effeithiolrwydd y rhaglenni bach unigol pwrpasol hynny, os mynnwch chi, yn debygol o gael eu mesur. Oherwydd rwy'n anghytuno â'r sylwadau a wnaethoch yn ôl yn 2017 pryd y dywedasoch chi, ac rwy'n dyfynnu: na fyddai'n deg defnyddio sgoriau profion plant unigol i farnu perfformiad yr ysgol honno. Byddwn i'n dweud fy mod yn credu ei bod yn gwbl briodol i ysgol gael ei barnu ar gynnydd a wnaed rhwng y profion hynny yn achos plant unigol - heb eu henwi nhw, wrth gwrs - oherwydd ceir rhywbeth y gellir ei ddweud wrth rieni ac wrthym ni yma yn y Cynulliad am ba mor effeithlon ac effeithiol y bu'r darnau hynny o gymorth pwrpasol i blant. Mae'n wych cynnig hynny, ond os nad yw hynny'n gweithio chwaith mae angen inni gael gwybod am hynny hefyd. Felly, o gofio bod yr Athro Donaldson wedi argymell bod angen i Lywodraeth Cymru sefydlu fframwaith gwerthuso ac asesiad cynhwysfawr, rydym ni'n gwybod rhywbeth am yr asesiad erbyn hyn. Ond a wnewch chi ddweud ychydig bach wrthym ni am sut y bydd yr ochr werthuso o hyn yn gweithio? Gan gadw mewn cof, ac rwy'n derbyn y pwynt, nad yw hwn ynddo'i hun yn offeryn gwerthuso, yn hytrach mae'n offeryn asesu, ond mae angen rhywbeth i'w drafod arnom ni o ran y cynnydd rhwng prawf Rhif 1 a phrawf Rhif 2 a phrawf Rhif 3 ac ati, oherwydd mae canlyniadau yn bwysig o hyd. Fel y dywedwch yn eich datganiad, mae'r profion newydd yn ymwneud â chodi safonau. Felly dyma gwestiwn neu ddau ar hynny - un yn ymwneud â hunanwerthuso, rhywbeth a gefnogir yn amlwg gan y Sefydliad ar gyfer Cydweithrediad a Datblygiad Economaidd (yr OECD). Un o'r rhesymau ein bod ni yn y sefyllfa bresennol, o bosib, yw y collwyd hyder yn rhagolygon athrawon o lefel cyrhaeddiad ar ddiwedd ysgol gynradd, cyn i'r plant fynd i ysgol uwchradd. Roedd hynny'n rhannol oherwydd yr orddibyniaeth ar hunanasesiad mewnol, mae'n debyg, neu asesiad mewnol yn sicr. Felly, heb sathru ar gyrn athrawon yn hyn o beth, a oes unrhyw fath o ganllawiau i'w cyflwyno gennych chi - neu pwy allai gyflwyno hynny hyd yn oed; a allai Estyn wneud hynny, wn i ddim - fe allai hynny helpu ysgolion, gan gynnwys y disgyblion, os wyf wedi deall hyn yn iawn, i hunanwerthuso mewn ffordd y gall pob un ohonom fod â rhywfaint o hyder ynddi? Unwaith eto, o ran codi safonau, roeddech chi'n dweud y llynedd fod £5.6 miliwn am fynd i gonsortia ar gyfer dysgu proffesiynol, yn rhannol i baratoi ar gyfer yr asesiadau hyn. Sut fyddwch chi'n gwerthuso pa mor effeithiol y bu'r consortia wrth gyfrannu at lwyddiant y rhain? Rwy'n sylweddoli nad ydyn nhw wedi dechrau eto mewn gwirionedd, ond bydd y gwaith paratoi ar eu cyfer wedi digwydd. Felly, pe byddech chi'n rhoi ychydig o wybodaeth i ni am hynny, byddai hynny'n beth ardderchog iawn. Yr amseriad - rwy'n cytuno'n llwyr â chi mai'r ysgolion ddylai bennu dull ac amseriad eu hasesiadau, ond rwy'n cytuno â chi hefyd mai peth diwerth iawn i rieni ac, yn wir, i blant yw adroddiad sy'n cyrraedd ar ddiwrnod olaf y tymor, yn arbennig felly ar ddiwedd tymor yr haf, pan fydd plant yn aml iawn yn llithro'n ôl ychydig dros wyliau'r haf. Felly, mae'n sicr na fyddwn i'n hapus pe byddech chi'n gorfodi ysgolion i gynnal yr asesiad hwn ar ddyddiad arbennig, ond a fyddech chi'n cael gair i gall â nhw o ran osgoi gwneud hynny yn ystod wythnos olaf y tymor? Yn olaf, ar y £1.7 miliwn ar gyfer yr ysgolion sydd â'r angen mwyaf i wella eu technoleg gwybodaeth, tybed a wnewch chi ddweud wrthym a yw hynny wedi cael ei neilltuo a phryd allem ni ei weld yn cael ei ddosbarthu. Oherwydd gallaf feddwl yn syth am un ysgol yn fy rhanbarth i a fyddai'n awyddus iawn i gael ffrwd ariannu newydd ar gyfer yr union beth hwnnw. Byddai'n ddefnyddiol gallu dweud wrthyn nhw ei fod wedi ei dargedu ar gyfer TG yn hytrach na'i fod yn diflannu i'r grant cynnal refeniw neu i ariannu'r ysgolion yn gyffredinol. Diolch.