English: Thank you for your statement, Cabinet Secretary. School closures, and even the threat of school closures, cause divisions within and between rural communities, especially when there is competition between pupils for school places. When the school is closed, there is a loss of a social and cultural resource and physical meeting place for members of the committee. The local school acts as an employer and consumer in the local area, and some studies note that parents feel less inclined to become involved in a new, larger school if their local school closes. Small, rural schools may have particular benefits for students, such as smaller classes and a community ethos. What happens to the schools that are closed? The local authority makes a profit by closing the school and selling off the land for development, and at the same time, a major cog in community life is removed. Additionally, parents' views are ignored or largely not taken into account. A local newspaper near me quoted that parents had been left shell-shocked by the decision to close Ysgol Maes Edwin on Flint mountain. Even the local Labour MP for the area, David Hanson, didn't want the school closed. Mr Hanson spoke particularly about how new housing developments in the area, like Croes Atti, a development of 100-plus houses within the catchment area of the school, mean that it would be wrong to close the school, as the people moving into those new houses will probably need some school places for their children. The local authority should listen to him, perhaps. I welcome the Cabinet Secretary for Education's declared ambition for small and rural schools. However, I would have much preferred to have seen a full commitment from her, plus the appropriate use of resources being pledged, to support rural and small schools staying open and the reversal of recent decisions to close small schools in my region, for instance, the school on Flint mountain. Thank you.
Welsh: Diolch am eich datganiad, Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet. Mae cau ysgolion, a hyd yn oed y bygythiad o gau ysgolion, yn achosi rhaniadau o fewn cymunedau gwledig a rhyngddynt, yn enwedig pan fo cystadleuaeth rhwng disgyblion am leoedd mewn ysgol. Pan fydd yr ysgol yn cau, mae'r ardal yn colli adnodd cymdeithasol a diwylliannol a man cyfarfod ffisegol i aelodau'r pwyllgor. Mae'r ysgol leol yn gweithredu fel cyflogwr ac fel defnyddiwr yn yr ardal leol, ac mae rhai astudiaethau yn nodi bod rhieni'n teimlo'n llai tueddol i gyfrannu mewn ysgol newydd, fwy os yw eu hysgol leol yn cau. Gall ysgolion bach, gwledig greu manteision penodol i fyfyrwyr, fel dosbarthiadau llai ac ethos cymunedol. Beth sy'n digwydd i'r ysgolion sy'n cael eu cau? Mae'r awdurdod lleol yn gwneud elw drwy gau'r ysgol a gwerthu'r tir i'w ddatblygu, ac ar yr un pryd, yn chwalu rhan bwysig o fywyd y gymuned. Yn ogystal, caiff barn y rhieni ei hanwybyddu neu ei diystyru i raddau helaeth. Dywedodd papur bro yn fy ardal i fod rhieni wedi cael eu syfrdanu gan y penderfyniad i gau Ysgol Maes Edwin ar fynydd Fflint. Nid oedd hyd yn oed AS Llafur lleol yr ardal, David Hanson, o blaid cau'r ysgol. Siaradodd Mr Hanson yn benodol am sut y mae datblygiadau tai newydd yn yr ardal, fel Croes Atti, datblygiad o 100 a mwy o dai o fewn dalgylch yr ysgol, yn golygu na fyddai'n iawn i gau'r ysgol, gan y gallai fod angen lleoedd ysgol ar blant y bobl a fydd yn symud i mewn i'r tai newydd hynny. Dylai'r awdurdod lleol wrando arno ef, efallai. Rwy'n croesawu'r uchelgais y mae Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet dros Addysg wedi'i ddatgan ar gyfer ysgolion bach ac ysgolion gwledig. Fodd bynnag, byddai wedi bod yn llawer gwell gennyf i weld ymrwymiad llawn ganddi, yn ogystal ag addewid i ddefnyddio adnoddau'n briodol, i gefnogi cadw ysgolion gwledig ac ysgolion bach ar agor a gwrthdroi penderfyniadau diweddar i gau ysgolion bach yn fy rhanbarth i, er enghraifft, yr ysgol ar fynydd Fflint. Diolch.