English: Diolch, Llywydd. Can I thank the Members for their contributions to the debate, and thank the petitioner again for bringing the petition forward? I will make a short synopsis of some of the comments that were made. Andrew R.T. Davies made the point of a rural school often being at the heart of a community, citing Llancarfan school in his constituency as an example of closing a school that has a strong argument to be kept open. Rhun ap Iorwerth argued that a school does not have to be large in order to give a good educational experience, and also spoke of difficulty in obtaining teachers for small rural schools as an acknowledgement of, often, how it is difficult for local authorities to keep schools open. He also reiterated Andrew's point about rural schools being part of the community. He also, of course, asked for more financial support for local authorities, which comes outside the bidding process. Jane Hutt questioned why the existing procedures could still result in closing successful rural schools, and also questioned why, often, alternatives were not always fully explored. Siân Gwenllian first of all spoke, of course, of Ysgol Gymuned Bodffordd and then acknowledged that there are cases where schools have to close, but also mentioned the distances that pupils may have to travel - sometimes up to 20 miles - and that that should be taken into account when decisions are made about closing rural schools. Turning to the Cabinet Secretary's replies, she acknowledged the community resource that rural schools often represent. The Cabinet Secretary asserted that this was one of the reasons for strengthening the code. She also made the point that there now has to be a full consultation by the authorities before they actually close a school, and they have a duty to abide by the statutory requirements of the code. I'm not sure that she's actually answered the petition in saying that, because the petition calls for there to be some pressure on authorities to look at the spirit of the code in the light that the code has been strengthened. The Petitions Committee will return to consider the petition again at a future meeting. In so doing, we will seek to consider the petitioner's reaction to the points raised today, and, of course, the response from the Cabinet Secretary for Education. On behalf of the Petitions Committee, I am grateful to all Members for their contributions and for the opportunity to debate this matter today. Diolch.
Welsh: Diolch, Lywydd. A gaf fi ddiolch i'r Aelodau am eu cyfraniadau i'r ddadl, a diolch i'r deisebydd unwaith eto am gyflwyno'r ddeiseb? Rwyf am grynhoi'n fyr rai o'r sylwadau a wnaed. Gwnaeth Andrew R.T. Davies y pwynt fod ysgol wledig yn aml yn galon i'r gymuned, gan gyfeirio at ysgol Llancarfan yn ei etholaeth fel enghraifft o gau ysgol y ceir dadl gref dros ei chadw ar agor. Dadleuodd Rhun ap Iorwerth nad oes angen i ysgol fod yn fawr er mwyn rhoi profiad addysgol da, a siaradodd hefyd am yr anhawster i gael athrawon i ysgolion gwledig bach fel cydnabyddiaeth o ba mor anodd yw hi, yn aml, i awdurdodau lleol gadw ysgolion ar agor. Ailadroddodd y pwynt a wnaeth Andrew am ysgolion gwledig yn rhan o'r gymuned. Hefyd, wrth gwrs, gofynnodd am fwy o gymorth ariannol i awdurdodau lleol heb orfod mynd drwy broses o ymgeisio amdano. Roedd Jane Hutt yn cwestiynu pam y gallai'r gweithdrefnau presennol ddal i arwain at gau ysgolion gwledig llwyddiannus, a hefyd yn cwestiynu pam, yn aml, nad yw dewisiadau amgen bob amser yn cael eu harchwilio'n llawn. Siaradodd Siân Gwenllian yn gyntaf oll, wrth gwrs, am Ysgol Gymuned Bodffordd a chydnabu wedyn fod yna achosion lle mae ysgolion yn gorfod cau, ond hefyd soniodd am y pellteroedd y gallai disgyblion orfod eu teithio - weithiau hyd at 20 milltir - ac y dylid ystyried hynny wrth wneud penderfyniadau ynglŷn â chau ysgolion gwledig. I droi at ymatebion Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet, cydnabu gymaint o adnodd cymunedol yw ysgolion gwledig yn aml. Dywedodd Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet mai dyma oedd un o'r rhesymau dros gryfhau'r cod. Hefyd gwnaeth y pwynt fod yn rhaid i'r awdurdodau gynnal ymgynghoriad llawn yn awr cyn cau ysgol mewn gwirionedd, ac mae dyletswydd arnynt i gydymffurfio â gofynion statudol y cod. Nid wyf yn siŵr ei bod hi wedi ateb y ddeiseb mewn gwirionedd wrth ddweud hynny, oherwydd mae'r ddeiseb yn galw am roi rhywfaint o bwysau ar awdurdodau i edrych ar ysbryd y cod yng ngoleuni'r ffaith bod y cod wedi'i gryfhau. Bydd y Pwyllgor Deisebau yn dychwelyd i ystyried y ddeiseb eto mewn cyfarfod yn y dyfodol. Wrth wneud hynny, byddwn yn ceisio ystyried ymateb y deisebydd i'r pwyntiau a godwyd heddiw, ac wrth gwrs, yr ymateb gan Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet dros Addysg. Ar ran y Pwyllgor Deisebau, rwy'n ddiolchgar i'r holl Aelodau am eu cyfraniadau ac am y cyfle i drafod y mater hwn heddiw. Diolch.