English: I think the Chair of the committee, Lynne Neagle, encapsulated perfectly the views of the committee on some of the key issues that we raised, and there was a very strong degree of specificity on the issues that we felt were pertinent to this. Therefore, I won't go back over those things but will just pick up some recommendations. But I would say, as a child of the 1980s, 'Bacc to the Future' has got to be one of the best committee reports that we've ever had. [ Laughter.] The Minister notes in her introduction to her response to the report that the content of the specification presents schools with a choice of delivery models, so a creative approach to curriculum requirements can be undertaken. That's what she says, and I think that fits very much with the approach of the new curriculum and the development of the new curriculum and how that will be implemented too, so there's a parallel there. And I think Suzy Davies touched on that in some of the things that she was saying about how it develops. But that also raises that question - . I don't want to echo too much of what Suzy said, but to what degree do we balance the autonomy of individual schools, colleges and lecturers against the need for consistency throughout the qualification? That's a clear challenge that the different approaches can also lead to a lack of consistency in the approaches taken to the Welsh bac, and can therefore lead to the undermining of the delivery. Recommendations 8 and 10 touch on that, in that they call for - and it's been accepted by the Government - that continual evaluation of and learning about the impact of the Welsh baccalaureate on other education reforms and the wider change that is going through the curriculum at the moment. The Minister will know that I've raised with her experiences that schools have had on those wider issues. It's encouraging that the Minister has accepted both those recommendations, 8 and 10. I had a meeting with ColegauCymru during the inquiry and afterwards to discuss some of the concerns that they may have that would be raised in the report but also more broadly. They noted recommendation 7 about the concerns about the mental health and well-being of learners. ColegauCymru also said that they're aware of learners who potentially struggle to juggle the demands of the Welsh bac, their main chosen qualifications and also resits in either English, Welsh or maths GCSE particularly. And it's a lot to take on and could have a detrimental impact on the learners' well-being as well as their ability to achieve both the advanced Welsh baccalaureate as opposed to the skills challenge certificate, and the Minister has accepted that recommendation and makes reference to the joint ministerial task and finish group, and I think this is the one that the Chair of the committee is a member of. I think it would be helpful to have a little bit more detail on precisely what will be done with regard to the Welsh bac via that committee. And finally, ColegauCymru also raised the issue of changes to the way the Welsh bac is funded in the next academic year. They said that if FE colleges don't register learners for the qualification, they stand to lose several hundred pounds per learner, while this situation doesn't apply to schools. This is what they told me. And, ultimately, funding drives behaviour in choices, so you could end up seeing a differential between the ways FE and schools approach the Welsh bac. It wasn't directly covered by the report itself, but I think it would be helpful to have a response from the Minister on that as well.
Welsh: Credaf fod Cadeirydd y pwyllgor, Lynne Neagle, wedi crynhoi barn y pwyllgor yn berffaith ar rai o'r materion allweddol a godwyd gennym, ac roedd cryn fanylder ynghylch y materion y teimlem eu bod yn berthnasol i hyn. Felly, nid af yn ôl dros y pethau hynny, ond yn hytrach, rwyf am grybwyll rhai argymhellion. Ond fel plentyn yr 1980au, buaswn yn dweud bod yn rhaid bod 'Bacc to the Future' yn un o'r adroddiadau pwyllgor gorau a gawsom erioed. [ Chwerthin.] Mae'r Gweinidog yn nodi yn ei chyflwyniad i'w hymateb i'r adroddiad fod cynnwys y fanyleb yn cynnig dewis o fodelau cyflwyno i ysgolion, felly gellir mynd ati i ymdrin â gofynion y cwricwlwm mewn ffordd greadigol. Dyna mae hi'n ei ddweud, ac rwy'n credu bod hynny'n gweddu'n fawr i ddull y cwricwlwm newydd o weithredu a datblygiad y cwricwlwm newydd a'r modd y caiff hwnnw ei weithredu hefyd, felly mae yna elfen gyfatebol yn hynny o beth. Ac rwy'n credu bod Suzy Davies wedi crybwyll hynny yn rhai o'r pethau a ddywedodd am y ffordd y mae'n datblygu. Ond mae hynny hefyd yn codi'r cwestiwn - . Nid wyf am adleisio gormod o'r hyn a ddywedodd Suzy, ond i ba raddau yr ydym yn cydbwyso annibyniaeth ysgolion, colegau a darlithwyr unigol yn erbyn yr angen am gysondeb yn y cymhwyster drwyddo draw? Mae honno'n her amlwg y gall y gwahanol ddulliau gweithredu hefyd arwain at ddiffyg cysondeb yn y dulliau o gyflwyno bagloriaeth Cymru, ac felly gall arwain at danseilio'r ddarpariaeth. Mae argymhellion 8 a 10 yn cyffwrdd â hynny, yn yr ystyr eu bod yn galw am - ac mae'r Llywodraeth wedi derbyn hyn - gwerthuso parhaus a dysgu am effaith bagloriaeth Cymru ar ddiwygiadau addysg eraill a'r newid ehangach sy'n digwydd i'r cwricwlwm ar hyn o bryd. Bydd y Gweinidog yn gwybod fy mod wedi trafod y profiadau y mae ysgolion wedi'u cael gyda'r materion ehangach hynny gyda hi. Mae'n galonogol fod y Gweinidog wedi derbyn y ddau argymhelliad hwnnw, sef argymhellion 8 a 10. Cefais gyfarfod gyda ColegauCymru yn ystod yr ymchwiliad ac ar ôl hynny i drafod rhai o'r pryderon a allai fod ganddynt a fyddai'n cael eu codi yn yr adroddiad ond hefyd yn fwy cyffredinol. Nodwyd argymhelliad 7 ganddynt ynglŷn â'r pryderon ynghylch iechyd meddwl a lles dysgwyr. Dywedodd ColegauCymru hefyd eu bod yn ymwybodol o ddysgwyr sydd o bosibl yn cael trafferth ymdopi â gofynion bagloriaeth Cymru, eu prif gymwysterau dewisol, yn ogystal ag ailsefyll Saesneg, Cymraeg neu fathemateg TGAU yn arbennig. Ac mae'n llawer i'w wneud a gallai gael effaith niweidiol ar les y dysgwyr yn ogystal â'u gallu i gyflawni'r fagloriaeth Gymreig uwch yn hytrach na'r dystysgrif her sgiliau, ac mae'r Gweinidog wedi derbyn yr argymhelliad hwnnw ac yn cyfeirio at y cyd-grŵp gorchwyl a gorffen Gweinidogol, a chredaf mai hwn yw'r un y mae Cadeirydd y pwyllgor yn aelod ohono. Credaf y byddai'n ddefnyddiol cael ychydig mwy o fanylion ynglŷn â beth yn union sy'n cael ei wneud mewn perthynas â bagloriaeth Cymru drwy'r pwyllgor hwnnw. Ac yn olaf, soniodd ColegauCymru hefyd am y newidiadau i'r ffordd y caiff bagloriaeth Cymru ei hariannu yn y flwyddyn academaidd nesaf. Os nad yw colegau addysg bellach yn cofrestru dysgwyr ar gyfer y cymhwyster, dywedasant y byddant yn colli cannoedd o bunnoedd y dysgwr, er nad yw'r sefyllfa hon yn berthnasol i ysgolion. Dyma a ddywedasant wrthyf. Ac yn y pen draw, mae cyllid yn ysgogi ymddygiad mewn perthynas â dewisiadau, felly gallech weld gwahaniaeth rhwng ymagwedd addysg bellach ac ysgolion tuag at fagloriaeth Cymru. Nid oedd yr adroddiad yn ymdrin â'r mater yn uniongyrchol, ond credaf y byddai'n ddefnyddiol cael ymateb gan y Gweinidog ar hynny hefyd.