English: Can I thank the Cabinet Secretary for her statement this afternoon and, indeed, the advance copy of the OECD's report yesterday, which I believe was shared with all of the political parties? I think what's very clear, having read the report, is that not everything was as rosy as the picture that was painted back in December, when the Cabinet Secretary wrote to the Chair of the Children, Young People and Education Committee suggesting that the OECD was somehow vindicating her policy position, because it's very clear that there is a sense of déjà vu effectively in the report because there are some things being said that are consistent with the things that were being said by a chorus of voices, including the OECD back in 2014, about a lack of clear leadership, about the need to raise the status of the profession, about the need to invest more in the quality of and access to continuing professional development, for example. I think that it is very concerning really that we are hearing these messages again so many years after they had been repeated in other reports. That said, I think there are some very positive things as well that can be gleaned from the report and you've touched on a few of them in your statement. Some of the ones that you didn't touch on, of course, related to a national funding formula, which was something that the OECD have said might be something that could be potentially taken forward. Both the Cabinet Secretary and I know that there's significant variability from one local authority to the next in terms of the amount per head that's spent on schooling and pupils. That is something that cannot be justified in terms of the investment that we need to make in our children and young people, and I would specifically ask the Cabinet Secretary what her initial assessment of that particular recommendation is about the need for a national funding formula. I think also that I want to put on record a very warm welcome for the suggestion that we need to link evidence to policy. The Cabinet Secretary will know that I've expressed some concern about the lack of evidence that there is for the Cabinet Secretary's aim to get early years class sizes down to 25, given the tens of millions of pounds that could be invested elsewhere in the education system to get a better bang for our buck. And I wonder, Cabinet Secretary, whether you will revisit your position on class sizes as a result of the comment in the OECD's report that we need to have a clear link between evidence and education policy. Can you also tell us how that particular recommendation might help to shape the Reid review of higher education research that is ongoing? Because there's no doubt that our higher education institutions can have a part to play in developing policy recommendations linked to the research that they do to put forward to both the National Assembly and the Welsh Government. I also want to put on record our welcome for the OECD's proposal to reduce the administrative burden on school leaders, in order to free them up to concentrate on raising standards in the teaching profession and supporting their colleagues. We know that it can be a significant distraction - the administrative duties that many headteachers face - and I think it is a very positive recommendation and suggestion that there needs to be investment in more business managers across the board in the Welsh education system. But I do wonder, Cabinet Secretary, what consideration you have given to how achievable that might be, given the fact that we've got a lot of small schools in Wales, and whether you think that the regional education consortia or, indeed, collaborative arrangements between smaller schools, might be a way forward in terms of giving the opportunity to invest in business management, in order that headteachers can focus on their educational leadership. One of the things that is concerning in the report is that the OECD found that there was a lack of clear communication with the sector and with key stakeholders about how the education journey is going to proceed. The Cabinet Secretary will know from some of the evidence that the Children, Young People and Education Committee has received from people in the profession, and from other stakeholders, that there does appear to have been a bit of wooliness over how the new curriculum is going to be shaped, and whether the cart is being put before the horse in terms of not really understanding what the assessment framework is going to look like in the future. And I wonder what your response might be to the assertion from the OECD that we don't have a clear narrative about the journey, and how you envisage being able to bring some shared ambitions and goals to the fore.
Welsh: A gaf i ddiolch i Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet am ei datganiad y prynhawn yma ac, yn wir, am y copi ymlaen llaw o adroddiad y Sefydliad ar gyfer Cydweithrediad a Datblygiad Economaidd ddoe, y cafodd ei rannu â phob un o'r pleidiau gwleidyddol, rwy'n credu? Rwyf o'r farn mai'r hyn sy'n glir iawn, ar ôl darllen yr adroddiad, yw nad oedd popeth cystal â'r darlun a roddwyd ym mis Rhagfyr, pan ysgrifennodd Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet at Gadeirydd y Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl Ifanc ac Addysg yn awgrymu bod y Sefydliad ar gyfer Cydweithrediad a Datblygiad Economaidd rywsut yn amddiffyn ei safbwynt polisi, gan ei bod yn glir iawn fod yna ymdeimlad o déjà vu yn yr adroddiad, i bob pwrpas, oherwydd ei fod yn dweud rhai pethau sy'n gyson â'r hyn a oedd yn cael ei ddweud gan gôr o leisiau, gan gynnwys y Sefydliad ar gyfer Cydweithrediad a Datblygiad Economaidd yn 2014, ynghylch diffyg arweinyddiaeth glir, yr angen i godi statws y proffesiwn, yr angen i fuddsoddi mwy mewn ansawdd datblygiad proffesiynol parhaus a mynediad ato, er enghraifft. Rwy'n credu ei bod hi'n destun pryder mawr mewn gwirionedd ein bod yn clywed y negeseuon hyn eto flynyddoedd lawer ar ôl iddynt gael eu hailadrodd mewn adroddiadau eraill. Wedi dweud hynny, rwy'n credu bod rhai pethau cadarnhaol iawn hefyd y gellir eu dysgu o'r adroddiad ac rydych chi wedi crybwyll rhai ohonyn nhw yn eich datganiad. Roedd rhai o'r pwyntiau na wnaethoch eu crybwyll, wrth gwrs, yn ymwneud â fformiwla ariannu genedlaethol, sef rhywbeth y mae'r Sefydliad ar gyfer Cydweithrediad a Datblygiad Economaidd wedi dweud y gellid ei datblygu o bosibl. Mae Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet a minnau yn gwybod bod amrywio sylweddol o un awdurdod lleol i'r llall o ran y swm y pen sy'n cael ei wario ar addysg a disgyblion. Mae hynny'n rhywbeth na ellir ei gyfiawnhau o ran y buddsoddiad y mae angen i ni ei wneud yn ein plant a'n pobl ifanc, a byddwn i'n gofyn yn benodol i Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet beth yw ei hasesiad cychwynnol o'r argymhelliad penodol hwnnw o ran yr angen am fformiwla ariannu genedlaethol. Rwy'n credu hefyd fy mod i'n dymuno cofnodi croeso cynnes iawn i'r awgrym bod angen i ni gysylltu tystiolaeth â pholisi. Bydd Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet yn gwybod fy mod wedi mynegi pryder ynghylch y diffyg tystiolaeth sydd ar gael ar gyfer amcan Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet i ostwng maint dosbarthiadau'r blynyddoedd cynnar i 25, o ystyried y degau o filiynau o bunnoedd y gellid eu buddsoddi mewn mannau eraill yn y system addysg i gael gwell gwerth am ein harian. A tybed, Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet, a fyddwch chi'n ailystyried ar eich safbwynt ar faint dosbarthiadau o ganlyniad i'r sylw yn adroddiad y Sefydliad ar gyfer Cydweithrediad a Datblygiad Economaidd fod angen cysylltiad clir arnom rhwng tystiolaeth a pholisi addysg. A wnewch chi ddweud wrthym hefyd sut y gallai'r argymhelliad penodol hwnnw helpu i lywio adolygiad Reid o ymchwil addysg uwch sydd ar y gweill ar hyn o bryd? Oherwydd nid oes dim amheuaeth y gall ein sefydliadau addysg uwch chwarae rhan wrth ddatblygu argymhellion polisi sy'n gysylltiedig â'r ymchwil y maen nhw'n ei wneud i'w gyflwyno i'r Cynulliad Cenedlaethol a Llywodraeth Cymru. Rwyf i hefyd yn dymuno cofnodi'r ffaith ein bod yn croesawu cynnig y Sefydliad ar gyfer Cydweithrediad a Datblygiad Economaidd i leihau'r baich gweinyddol ar arweinwyr ysgolion, er mwyn rhyddhau amser iddyn nhw ganolbwyntio ar godi safonau yn y proffesiwn addysgu a chefnogi eu cydweithwyr. Gwyddom y gall hyn darfu yn sylweddol - y dyletswyddau gweinyddol y mae llawer o benaethiaid yn eu hwynebu - ac rwy'n credu ei fod yn argymhelliad ac yn awgrym cadarnhaol iawn fod angen buddsoddi mewn rhagor o reolwyr busnes ar draws y system addysg yng Nghymru. Ond tybed, Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet, ba ystyriaeth yr ydych chi wedi'i rhoi i ba mor gyraeddadwy y gallai hynny fod, o ystyried y ffaith bod gennym lawer o ysgolion bach yng Nghymru, ac a ydych chi'n credu y gallai'r consortia addysg rhanbarthol neu, yn wir, y trefniadau cydweithredol rhwng ysgolion llai, fod yn ffordd ymlaen o ran rhoi'r cyfle i fuddsoddi mewn rheoli busnes, fel y gall penaethiaid ganolbwyntio ar eu harweinyddiaeth addysgol. Un o'r pethau sy'n destun pryder yn yr adroddiad yw'r ffaith y canfu'r Sefydliad ar gyfer Cydweithrediad a Datblygiad Economaidd fod yna ddiffyg cyfathrebu clir gyda'r sector a gyda rhanddeiliaid allweddol ynghylch sut y bydd y daith addysg yn mynd rhagddi. Bydd Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet yn gwybod o'r dystiolaeth y mae'r Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl Ifanc ac Addysg wedi ei chael gan bobl yn y proffesiwn, a gan randdeiliaid eraill, ei bod yn ymddangos y bu rhywfaint o amwysedd o ran sut y bydd y cwricwlwm newydd yn cael ei lunio, ac a yw'r cart yn cael ei roi o flaen y ceffyl o ran peidio â deall yn iawn sut y bydd y fframwaith asesu yn edrych yn y dyfodol. A tybed sut y byddech yn ymateb i'r honiad gan y Sefydliad ar gyfer Cydweithrediad a Datblygiad Economaidd nad oes gennym naratif clir am y daith, a sut yr ydych chi'n rhagweld y byddwch yn gallu amlygu rhai o'r uchelgeisiau a'r nodau a rennir.