English: Can I begin as well by thanking Louise Casella and Qualifications Wales for the advice that they've given the Minister on this? I have to begin, though, by saying that while I was completely understanding of your position in wanting to issue a written statement a little earlier today so that schools would know that this is the way that you are proceeding, I'm deeply disappointed that The Sunday Times seems to have had hold of this story at least 48 hours before presenting it on the floor of this Chamber. Rumour has it that it was the result of an interview two weeks ago, but perhaps you can clarify that, Minister, because obviously - [ Interruption.] Well, as a long-time Member of the opposition, I would have hoped that you would have realised how important it is to make statements of this nature on the floor of the Chamber. Anyway, I'm glad to hear that you said it's an exceptional year. I wouldn't want to run away from the decision today as a precedent, when this is clearly a response to a particular set of challenges. Coronavirus, of course, is going to be with us for the foreseeable future, but the response to it just can't be a perpetual cycle of closing down year groups or even schools, so perhaps I think my first question would be whether you're making the argument for priority for the new vaccine to be offered to children and teachers. Now, obviously I understand it's early days as far as the progress of the vaccination is going, but perhaps you could give us a little bit of an insight into your thoughts on that to make sure that this kind of disruption is limited in the future, because I think what these reviews have revealed is that home learning and blended learning are really no equivalent of learning in a school. The inconsistency of the experience of young people, and, to be fair, our teachers as well, that time out of school - it's been effectively pin-pointed in your decision today as a prime reason for dropping exams as we know them, and rather than the uncertainty about what the summer will look like, it's what we've already experienced that seems to be a driving force in this. So, I'm glad that you've gone with the Qualifications Wales proposal on the alternative to exams insofar as there's an external element to this, which I think - . Setting these assessments externally and marking them externally gives them a level of comparability, I think, with the traditional exams that we're more familiar with. So, in choosing this way forward, what consideration did you give to the content of these assessments having an identifiable similarity with what's gone before and therefore supporting the argument that I've just made that there's a level of comparability between years? And while this was about fairness, equity and well-being for learners, as you highlighted in the statement today, how much consideration did you give to the well-being of teachers too? Because personally I think teachers have got plenty on their plate at the moment dealing with the catch-up, dealing with preparations for the curriculum, and the last thing I think they needed now was to be taking up time as major players in the design of a moderation system. So, how influential was Qualifications Wales's observation that getting a robust moderation system up and running, given this time, was pretty much impossible? But had there been time to introduce a system of moderation for centrally assessed grades, would that have been your preferred option? I'd also appreciate your early thoughts on how you think teachers might manage assessments within the classroom if a school, at a crucial time, has to either be suspended totally, or that year group has to be sent home. I can't really see this working online, so what's the alternative for that, if you've got a school year that can't sit a teacher-managed classroom-based assessment? I think I just need to ask you something about the A-levels. I understand the reason you've given for why A-level students won't be sitting an exam of any kind, and I also hear what you said about the universities saying that they're used to this sort of thing, but what advice would you give your successor about making sure that universities stick to their word on this? Are there any thoughts about how their decisions - it's going to be next summer, isn't it - are likely to be monitored to make sure that they're sticking to their word? And then finally on vocational qualifications, I'm really glad you mentioned these. I know this is a far more complicated picture because it's a UK picture, pretty much. I wonder if you could tell me what the response to the UK guidance issued about a month ago has been like, and also, to square this circle, the position of students studying for vocational qualifications primarily in colleges - their position will have been exactly the same as those studying for general qualifications in terms of disruption, and yet the presumption is they will be sitting exams in the summer. So, why are exams for these students fair when they're not fair for A-level students? Thank you.
Welsh: A gaf innau ddechrau hefyd drwy ddiolch i Louise Casella a Cymwysterau Cymru am y cyngor y maen nhw wedi ei roi i'r Gweinidog ynglŷn â hyn? Mae'n rhaid imi ddechrau, serch hynny, drwy ddweud, er fy mod i'n deall eich safbwynt chi'n llwyr o ran dymuno cyhoeddi datganiad ysgrifenedig ychydig yn gynharach heddiw fel y bydd ysgolion yn deall mai hon yw'r ffordd yr ydych chi'n bwrw ymlaen â hi, rwy'n siomedig iawn ei bod yn ymddangos bod y Sunday Times wedi cael gafael ar y stori hon o leiaf 48 awr cyn ei chyflwyno ar lawr y Siambr hon. Y sibrydion yw bod hynny o ganlyniad i gyfweliad bythefnos yn ôl, ond efallai y gwnewch chi egluro hynny, Gweinidog, oherwydd yn amlwg - [ Torri ar draws.] Wel, yn Aelod hir sefydlog o'r wrthblaid, roeddwn i wedi gobeithio y byddech chi wedi sylweddoli pa mor bwysig yw hi inni wneud datganiadau o'r fath ar lawr y Siambr. Beth bynnag am hynny, rwy'n falch o'ch clywed chi'n dweud bod hon yn flwyddyn eithriadol. Ni fyddwn i'n dymuno ffoi oddi wrth benderfyniad heddiw oherwydd ei fod yn gosod cynsail, pan mae'n amlwg mai ymateb yw hwn i gyfres benodol o heriau. Mae'r coronafeirws, wrth gwrs, yn mynd i fod gyda ni hyd y gellir rhagweld, ond ni ddylai'r ymateb iddo fod yn gylch parhaus o gau grwpiau blwyddyn neu ysgolion hyd yn oed. Felly, efallai mai fy nghwestiwn cyntaf, rwy'n credu, fyddai a ydych chi'n dadlau dros roi blaenoriaeth i blant ac athrawon wrth gynnig y brechlyn newydd. Nawr, mae'n amlwg fy mod i'n deall mai dyddiau cynnar iawn yw hi o ran cyflwyniad y brechiadau, ond efallai y gwnewch chi roi ychydig o ddealltwriaeth i ni o'ch barn chi am hynny i sicrhau bod tarfu fel hyn yn cael ei gyfyngu yn y dyfodol, oherwydd rwyf i o'r farn mai'r hyn a ddatgelodd yr adolygiadau hyn yw nad yw addysg yn y cartref na dysgu cyfunol yn cyfateb o gwbl i ddysgu mewn ysgol mewn gwirionedd. Fe gafodd yr anghysondeb o ran profiad pobl ifanc, a'n hathrawon hefyd, a bod yn deg, yn y cyfnod hwnnw pan oedd yr ysgol ar gau - fe'i nodwyd i bob pwrpas yn eich penderfyniad chi heddiw yn brif reswm dros ddiddymu arholiadau fel yr ydym ni'n meddwl amdanynt. Ac yn hytrach na'r ansicrwydd ynghylch y sefyllfa y byddwn ni ynddi yn yr haf, mae'n ymddangos mai'r hyn a welwyd yn barod a fu'n ysgogydd i hyn. Felly, rwy'n falch eich bod chi wedi cytuno ar gynnig Cymwysterau Cymru o ran dewis amgen i arholiadau cyn belled ag y bydd yna elfen allanol yn hyn, sydd, yn fy marn i - . Mae gosod yr asesiadau hyn yn allanol a'u marcio nhw'n allanol yn rhoi cyfradd o gydraddoldeb iddyn nhw, rwy'n credu, â'r arholiadau traddodiadol yr ydym ni'n fwy cyfarwydd â nhw. Felly, wrth ddewis y ffordd hon ymlaen, pa ystyriaeth a wnaethoch chi ei rhoi i gynnwys yr asesiadau hyn o ran cydraddoldeb y gellir ei nodi â'r hyn sydd wedi bod o'r blaen ac felly'n cefnogi'r ddadl a wnes i gynne o ran cael cyfradd o gydraddoldeb rhwng blynyddoedd? Ac er bod hyn yn ymwneud â thegwch, cyfiawnder a lles i ddysgwyr, fel yr oeddech chi'n ei ddweud yn eich datganiad heddiw, faint o ystyriaeth a roddwyd i les athrawon hefyd? Oherwydd yn bersonol rwyf i o'r farn fod gan yr athrawon ddigon ar eu plât ar hyn o bryd yn ceisio dal i fyny, ac yn ymdrin â pharatoadau ar gyfer y cwricwlwm, a'r peth olaf sydd ei angen arnyn nhw nawr, yn fy marn i, yw treulio amser yn cymryd rhan fawr yn nyluniad system gymedroli. Felly, pa mor ddylanwadol oedd sylw Cymwysterau Cymru ynglŷn â sefydlu system gymedroli gadarn, o ystyried y tro hwn ei bod hi bron yn amhosibl gwneud hynny? Ond pe bai amser i gyflwyno system gymedroli ar gyfer graddau a aseswyd yn ganolog, ai hwnnw fyddai eich dewis chi wedi bod? Fe fyddwn i'n falch o glywed eich syniadau cynnar chi ynglŷn â sut rydych chi'n credu y gallai athrawon reoli asesiadau yn y stafell ddosbarth os bydd yn rhaid cau ysgol, ar adeg dyngedfennol, naill ai'n gyfan gwbl neu ei bod yn rhaid anfon grŵp blwyddyn adref. Nid wyf i'n gweld hyn yn gweithio ar-lein mewn gwirionedd, felly beth yw'r dewis arall ar gyfer hynny, os oes gennych chi flwyddyn ysgol heb fod mewn sefyllfa i gael asesiad yn y stafell ddosbarth a reolir gan athrawon? Rwy'n credu bod angen imi ofyn rhywbeth ichi am Lefel A. Rwy'n deall y rheswm a roddoch i egluro pam na fydd myfyrwyr Lefel A yn sefyll arholiad o unrhyw fath, ac rwy'n deall yr hyn y dywedasoch am y prifysgolion yn adrodd eu bod nhw wedi arfer â phethau o'r fath, ond pa gyngor a fyddech chi'n ei roi i'ch olynydd chi ynghylch sicrhau bod prifysgolion yn cadw eu gair yn hyn o beth? A oes unrhyw syniadau gennych o ran sut y mae eu penderfyniadau nhw - haf nesaf fydd hi, onid e - yn debygol o gael eu monitro i wneud yn siŵr eu bod nhw'n cadw at eu gair? Ac yna'n olaf ynglŷn â chymwysterau galwedigaethol, rwy'n falch iawn eich bod chi wedi crybwyll y rhain. Rwy'n gwybod mai darlun llawer mwy cymhleth yw hwn gan ei fod yn ddarlun o'r DU, fwy neu lai. Tybed a wnewch chi ddweud wrthyf sut ymateb a fu i ganllawiau'r DU a gyhoeddwyd tua mis yn ôl, a hefyd, i sgwario'r cylch hwn, beth yw sefyllfa myfyrwyr sy'n astudio ar gyfer cymwysterau galwedigaethol mewn colegau yn bennaf - fe fyddan nhw wedi bod yn yr union sefyllfa o ran tarfu â'r rhai sy'n astudio ar gyfer cymwysterau cyffredinol, ac eto i gyd y rhagdybiaeth yw y byddan nhw yn sefyll arholiadau yn yr haf. Felly, pam mae arholiadau ar gyfer y myfyrwyr hyn yn deg pan nad ydyn nhw'n deg i fyfyrwyr Lefel A? Diolch.