English: Education is the key to success in one's life, and teachers make a lasting impact on the lives of their students. Education is the passport to the future, enabling our young people to reach and to achieve their full potential. However, the Welsh Government is failing our young people to achieve that. In the last 10 years, GCSE results have not improved. Wales trails behind other parts of the United Kingdom in both the international PISA results and tables and the key results such as GCSE A* to C grades. It is shocking that GCSE results are worse than they were in 2007. Also, the key stage 2 and 3 results have deteriorated for the first time since 2007. This decline in educational standards places a barrier in the way of pupils, hindering their potential earnings and impacting on their lives and careers. Research shows that an investment in maths and English skills provides a substantial social and economic return. Learners who have achieved English and maths qualifications secure earning premiums ranging from 5 per cent to 8 per cent. However, Estyn's annual report says that in half of schools, provision for the development of pupil literacy, particularly writing, and numeracy across the curriculum is inconsistent. They went on to say that there are too few opportunities for pupils to develop their skills progressively in authentic contexts. Further, teachers do not have a firm grasp of how to make sure that their provision of skills is appropriate and leads to progression. The Future Generations Commissioner for Wales has outlined that nearly 45 per cent of school leavers in Wales could not achieve five good GCSE results between 2015 and 2020. These shortcomings in education standards translate themselves into poor employment chances. Wales has the lowest take-home pay of all 12 regions of the United Kingdom. Take-home pay in Wales is £60 less than the UK average. Thirty-six per cent of employees in Wales were in the low-skilled jobs in 2018-19, compared to a UK average of 32 per cent. Over a fifth of Wales students lack the required reading skills to function in the workforce. Without sufficient progress in these areas, the Welsh Government will continue to fail to provide our young people with the support they need to have the best possible chance of a secure future. The Welsh Government has a long-standing commitment to protect school funding, yet the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers' latest figures estimate the funding gap between pupils in England and Wales to be a staggering £645. School funding has not been protected. Between 2010-11 and 2018-19 school funding has fallen by nearly 8 per cent in real terms. Extra funding on education in England has resulted in an extra £1.25 billion for Wales over the next three years. The Welsh Government must commit to tackling the historic underfunding of schools. The declining standard must be reversed, Deputy Presiding Officer, if future generations of pupils are not to be let down. It is a very famous saying of Benjamin Franklin, an America President, who said, 'An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.' It is about time for the Welsh Government to deliver this investment in Wales. Thank you.
Welsh: Addysg yw'r allwedd i lwyddiant ym mywyd rhywun, ac mae athrawon yn cael effaith barhaol ar fywydau eu myfyrwyr. Addysg yw'r pasbort i'r dyfodol, sy'n galluogi ein pobl ifanc i gyrraedd ac i gyflawni eu potensial llawn. Fodd bynnag, mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn gwneud cam â'n pobl ifanc o ran cyflawni hynny. Yn ystod y 10 mlynedd diwethaf, nid yw canlyniadau TGAU wedi gwella. Mae Cymru ar ei hôl hi o gymharu â rhannau eraill o'r Deyrnas Unedig yng nghanlyniadau a thablau rhyngwladol PISA a'r canlyniadau allweddol megis graddau TGAU A* i C. Mae'n frawychus fod y canlyniadau TGAU yn waeth na'r hyn oeddent yn 2007. Hefyd, mae canlyniadau cyfnod allweddol 2 a 3 wedi gwaethygu am y tro cyntaf er 2007. Mae'r dirywiad hwn mewn safonau addysgol yn gosod rhwystr yn ffordd disgyblion, gan gyfyngu ar eu henillion posibl, ac effeithio ar eu bywydau a'u gyrfaoedd. Dengys ymchwil fod buddsoddiad mewn sgiliau mathemateg a Saesneg yn darparu enillion cymdeithasol ac economaidd sylweddol. Mae dysgwyr sydd wedi cyflawni cymwysterau Saesneg a mathemateg yn sicrhau premiwm enillion sy'n amrywio rhwng 5 y cant ac 8 y cant. Fodd bynnag, dywed adroddiad blynyddol Estyn fod y ddarpariaeth ar gyfer datblygu llythrennedd disgyblion, yn enwedig ysgrifennu, a rhifedd ar draws y cwricwlwm yn anghyson yn hanner yr ysgolion. Aethant ymlaen i ddweud bod rhy ychydig o gyfleoedd i ddisgyblion ddatblygu eu sgiliau'n gynyddol mewn cyd-destunau dilys. At hynny, nid oes gan athrawon afael cadarn ar sut i sicrhau bod eu darpariaeth sgiliau'n briodol ac yn arwain at gynnydd. Mae Comisiynydd Cenedlaethau'r Dyfodol Cymru wedi nodi na allai bron i 45 y cant o'r rhai sy'n gadael ysgol yng Nghymru gyflawni pum canlyniad TGAU da rhwng 2015 a 2020. Mae'r diffygion hyn yn y safonau addysg yn trosi'n gyfleoedd cyflogaeth gwael. Cymru sydd â'r cyflog isaf o bob un o 12 rhanbarth y Deyrnas Unedig. Mae cyflogau yng Nghymru £60 yn llai na chyfartaledd y DU. Roedd 36 y cant o weithwyr yng Nghymru mewn swyddi sgiliau isel yn 2018-19, o gymharu â chyfartaledd y DU o 32 y cant. Nid oes sgiliau darllen angenrheidiol i allu gweithredu yn y gweithlu gan dros un rhan o bump o fyfyrwyr Cymru. Heb gynnydd digonol yn y meysydd hyn, bydd Llywodraeth Cymru yn parhau i fethu rhoi'r gefnogaeth sydd ei hangen ar ein pobl i sicrhau'r gobaith gorau posibl o gael dyfodol diogel. Mae gan Lywodraeth Cymru ymrwymiad hirsefydlog i ddiogelu cyllid ysgolion, ac eto mae ffigurau diweddaraf Cymdeithas Genedlaethol yr Ysgolfeistri ac Undeb yr Athrawesau yn amcangyfrif bod y bwlch cyllido rhwng disgyblion yng Nghymru a Lloegr yn £645, sy'n ffigur syfrdanol. Nid yw cyllid ysgolion wedi'i ddiogelu. Rhwng 2010-11 a 2018-19 mae cyllid ysgolion wedi gostwng bron i 8 y cant mewn termau real. Mae cyllid ychwanegol i addysg yn Lloegr wedi arwain at £1.25 biliwn yn ychwanegol i Gymru dros y tair blynedd nesaf. Rhaid i Lywodraeth Cymru ymrwymo i fynd i'r afael â thanariannu hanesyddol i ysgolion. Rhaid gwrthdroi'r safon sy'n dirywio, Ddirprwy Lywydd, os nad ydym am wneud cam â chenedlaethau'r dyfodol o ddisgyblion. Mae dywediad enwog iawn gan Benjamin Franklin, un o Arlywyddion America, yn dweud mai 'Buddsoddi mewn gwybodaeth sy'n talu'r elw gorau.' Mae'n hen bryd i Lywodraeth Cymru sicrhau'r buddsoddiad hwn yng Nghymru. Diolch.