English: Thank you, Minister, for today's statement. It was good to hear clearly at the beginning of your statement that the welfare of the workforce is a leading consideration in everything, and I echo those sentiments in terms of its importance. Like several other Members, I attended a lunch-time event here in the Senedd for the launch of the short guide, 'Tackling child poverty together', by the National Education Union of Wales and Child Poverty Action Group, and heard very powerful evidence about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, not only on children and young people, but also the workforce. The additional stress on teachers in terms of supporting learners and their families is an important matter for us to consider, and I would like to ask today what further steps are being taken by the Government to ensure more support for the education workforce in this regard. The impact of this on staff was supported by the teachers' union survey, which found that 58 per cent of teachers said that they had given food or clothes to pupils, that six in every 10 had sought support from external agencies for families, and that 35 per cent have supported a pupil's family to gain access to a food bank. We heard clearly from learners at today's event how they consider the cost of transport to be a barrier to people getting to school. With schools being measured on attendance, and pressure on teachers to reach targets in terms of attendance, this is, certainly, a challenge. You know they are being measured in terms of attendance with pupils, and that's something that headteachers are working towards, because we know the importance of having children in school. But that is an additional challenge, when we need to convince families of the importance of that and support them to be able to afford to reach the school. But we also must also remember that the workforce not only supports people who have been affected by the cost of living crisis, but that they also face challenges themselves, with the price of fuel, for example, having increased, meaning that traveling to work is more expensive, not to mention an increase in other costs that all of us face. Furthermore, and you've already mentioned the importance of teaching assistants, we must also recognise that they are specifically affected by the cost-of-living crisis. A host of headteachers have shared with me that they have set up food banks in schools, not only to support learners and their families but also staff. What work is being done, therefore, by the Government to understand the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on the education workforce as a whole? As I mentioned last week during questions, Scotland has started to place advisers in schools in order to provide support and ensure that everyone knows how to receive the financial support that's available for them, whether they are pupils or staff or part of the broader community. At the moment, this burden seems to fall entirely on teachers and headteachers. Have you had an opportunity to consider further the benefits of trying to emulate a scheme like Scotland's here in Wales? Because, as you've mentioned in your statement, there is a burden on teachers in terms of the new curriculum and ALN. The cost-of-living crisis is obviously another element of that, and I'd appreciate more information on that.
Welsh: Diolch, Weinidog, am y datganiad heddiw. Da oedd clywed yn glir ar ddechrau eich datganiad fod lles y gweithlu yn ystyriaeth flaenllaw ym mhopeth, a dwi'n ategu'r sylwadau hynny o ran y pwysigrwydd. Fel amryw o Aelodau eraill, mynychais ddigwyddiad dros ginio yma y Senedd ar gyfer lansiad y canllaw byr, 'Mynd i'r afael â thlodi plant gyda'n gilydd', gan Undeb Addysg Cenedlaethol Cymru a'r Grŵp Gweithredu ar Dlodi Plant, a chlywed tystiolaeth hynod o bwerus ynglŷn ag effaith yr argyfwng costau byw, nid yn unig ar blant a phobl ifanc, ond hefyd y gweithlu. Mae'r straen ychwanegol ar athrawon o ran cefnogi dysgwyr a'u teuluoedd yn rhywbeth sy'n bwysig i ni ei hystyried, a hoffwn ofyn heddiw pa gamau pellach sydd yn cael eu cymryd gan y Llywodraeth i sicrhau mwy o gefnogaeth i'r gweithlu addysg o ran hyn. Ategwyd effaith hyn ar staff gan arolwg yr undeb athrawon, a ganfu bod 58 y cant o athrawon wedi dweud eu bod wedi rhoi bwyd neu ddillad i'w disgyblion, bod chwech ymhob 10 wedi cael cymorth asiantaethau allanol i deuluoedd, a bod 35 y cant wedi cefnogi teulu disgybl i gael mynediad at fanc bwyd. Clywsom gan y dysgwyr yn y digwyddiad heddiw hefyd yn glir sut y maent yn ystyried cost trafnidiaeth ysgol yn rhwystr i bobl fod yn cyrraedd yr ysgol. Gydag ysgolion yn cael eu mesur ar bresenoldeb, a phwysau ar athrawon i gyrraedd targedau o ran presenoldeb, yn sicr, mae hyn yn her. Rydych chi'n gwybod eu bod nhw'n cael eu mesur o ran presenoldeb hefyd efo disgyblion, ac mae hynny yn rhywbeth mae prifathrawon yn gweithio'n galed arno fo, oherwydd ein bod ni i gyd yn gwybod pwysigrwydd cael plant yn yr ysgol. Ond mae hynny'n her ychwanegol, pan fo'n rhaid argyhoeddi teuluoedd o bwysigrwydd hynny a'u cefnogi nhw i allu fforddio cyrraedd yr ysgol. Ond rhaid hefyd cofio bod y gweithlu nid yn unig yn cefnogi pobl sydd wedi'u heffeithio gan yr argyfwng costau byw, ond eu bod hefyd yn wynebu eu heriau eu hunain, gyda phris tanwydd, er enghraifft, wedi cynyddu, gan olygu bod teithio i'r gwaith yn ddrutach, heb sôn am gynnydd mewn costau eraill mae pawb ohonom yn eu hwynebu. Yn bellach, a chithau wedi sôn am bwysigrwydd cynorthwywyr addysgu, rhaid hefyd cydnabod eu bod nhw'n benodol yn cael eu heffeithio gan yr argyfwng costau byw. Mae llu o brifathrawon wedi rhannu gyda mi eu bod wedi sefydlu banciau bwyd mewn ysgolion, nid yn unig i gefnogi dysgwyr a'u teuluoedd ond hefyd staff. Pa waith, felly, sy'n cael ei wneud gan y Llywodraeth i ddeall effaith yr argyfwng costau byw ar y gweithlu addysg yn ei gyfanrwydd? Fel y crybwyllais wythnos diwethaf yn ystod y sesiwn gwestiynu, mae'r Alban wedi dechrau lleoli cynghorwyr arbenigol mewn ysgolion er mwyn darparu cymorth a sicrhau bod pawb yn gwybod sut mae derbyn y gefnogaeth ariannol sydd ar gael iddynt, boed hwy'n ddisgyblion neu'n staff neu'n rhan o'r gymuned ehangach. Ar y funud, mae'r bwrdwn hwn i'w weld yn disgyn ar athrawon a phrifathrawon. Felly, ydych chi wedi cael cyfle i ystyried yn bellach manteision ceisio efelychu cynllun fel yr Alban yma yng Nghymru? Oherwydd, fel rydych chi wedi sôn yn eich datganiad, mae yna fwrdwn ar athrawon rhwng y cwricwlwm newydd, anghenion dysgu ychwanegol ac ati. Mae'r argyfwng costau byw yn amlwg yn elfen arall o hynny, a byddwn i yn gwerthfawrogi mwy o wybodaeth os gwelwch yn dda.