English: Diolch yn fawr, Siân, and I'm so sorry for the disruption in making you start again. My Welsh is improving, but it's a blwyddyn 2 or blwyddyn 3 standard, and not good enough for the Chamber. I think what I absolutely welcome is your understanding that without excellence in the teaching workforce, we cannot realise, I believe, a shared endeavour across this Chamber to provide first-class education. That's why the committee stressed so much the importance of finding these resources. If we look to past Estyn reports, it has highlighted the need to invest in the quality of our teaching as a priority, and that's why it's absolutely right to find this money. We can have a debate about the mechanisms by which this money will find its way to the frontline, but, as you've recognised yourselves, often the first thing to go is investment in staff and training. And, therefore, if we are to invest in our staff, I have made the decision that the only way that we can be absolutely sure that that will happen is via a hypothecated grant. I don't think it should be a binary choice either - that this is either about money for the RSG or money for professional learning. We need to do better than that, and I would also reiterate that the Government continues to look at what more it can do to support the RSG going forward. But, Presiding Officer, Siân Gwenllian used the word 'crisis'. What I believe will be a crisis is if our new curriculum is introduced on a statutory basis in 2022 and our teachers are not in a position to deliver it. Now that, indeed, would be a crisis. And unless we prioritise this expenditure on support and professional learning, the new curriculum will not do what it needs to do. I think that indeed would be a crisis that we would find ourselves in. That's why I have made this decision to prioritise and make these resources specifically available to invest in our staff. As I said, it's been done in conjunction with our teaching union colleagues and they have welcomed this resource. You're also absolutely right to recognise that both teaching assistants and supply teachers have an equal right to access professional learning opportunities. They are much valued and valuable members of our education workforce and have a significant role in developing and delivering on education, on our national mission. Therefore, we will be, as part of the monitoring process, looking to consortia to report on the amount of training that is taken up and made available both to supply teachers, but also looking and giving schools flexibility on their ability to use their resources to support their teachers but also their teaching assistant staff. Some schools already do that; some schools say they're not in a position to do that. So, there will be flexibility for individual schools and clusters to make arrangements for both teaching staff and teaching assistant staff and we will be monitoring issues around supply. I know issues around supply continue to be of concern to Members across this Chamber; they are of concern to me. That's why we continue with our work to look to enshrine better terms and conditions via our national procurement of these services and look to ensure access to professional training as a prerequisite to agencies working in this area. As I said, I'm under no illusions about the challenges facing the RSG, but, if we're serious about getting the profession ready for the new curriculum, and we are serious about the curriculum being successful, then we have to invest in our workforce and we have to do that now, at this point. It'll be too late if we wait for a couple of years' time, if and when the financial system may or may not be - the financial sector, financial atmosphere, may or may not be better. We have to take this opportunity right now.
Welsh: Diolch yn fawr, Siân, ac mae'n flin iawn gyda fi am yr amhariad a gorfod gwneud ichi ailddechrau. Mae safon fy Nghymraeg yn gwella, ond hyd at flwyddyn 2 neu flwyddyn 3, ac nid yn ddigon da ar gyfer y Siambr. Rwy'n credu mai'r hyn a groesawaf yn bendant yw eich dealltwriaeth na allwn ni sylweddoli, heb ragoriaeth yn y gweithlu addysgu, yr ymdrech ar y cyd ar draws y Siambr hon i ddarparu addysg o'r radd flaenaf. Dyna pam y tynnodd y Pwyllgor sylw at bwysigrwydd dod o hyd i'r adnoddau hyn. Os edrychwn ar adroddiadau blaenorol Estyn, tynnwyd sylw at yr angen i fuddsoddi yn ansawdd ein dysgu fel blaenoriaeth, a dyna pam mae hi'n hollol iawn dod o hyd i'r arian hwn. Gallwn gael dadl am y dulliau y gall yr arian hwn fynd i'r rheng flaen, ond, fel yr ydych chi eich hunain wedi ei gydnabod, yn aml y peth cyntaf i ddiflannu yw buddsoddiad mewn staff a hyfforddiant. Ac, felly, os ydym eisiau buddsoddi yn ein staff, rwyf wedi penderfynu mai'r unig ffordd y gallwn fod yn gwbl sicr y bydd hynny'n digwydd yw drwy grant wedi'i neilltuo. Nid wyf i o'r farn y dylai fod yn ddewis deuaidd chwaith - ei fod yn arian ar gyfer y grant cynnal refeniw neu'n arian ar gyfer dysgu proffesiynol. Mae angen inni wneud yn well na hynny, a byddwn yn ailadrodd hefyd bod y Llywodraeth yn parhau i edrych ar yr hyn y gellir ei wneud i gefnogi'r grant cynnal refeniw yn y dyfodol. Ond, Llywydd, defnyddiodd Siân Gwenllian y gair 'argyfwng'. Credaf i mai argyfwng fyddai ein cwricwlwm newydd yn cael ei gyflwyno ar sail statudol yn 2022 ac na fyddai ein hathrawon mewn sefyllfa i'w gyflawni. Byddai hwnnw'n argyfwng gwirioneddol. A heb i ni flaenoriaethu'r gwariant hwn ar gymorth a dysgu proffesiynol, ni fydd y cwricwlwm newydd yn cyflawni'r hyn y mae angen iddo'i gyflawni. Rwy'n credu y byddai hynny'n argyfwng gwirioneddol inni. Dyna pam yr wyf wedi gwneud y penderfyniad hwn i flaenoriaethu a rhoi'r adnoddau hyn yn benodol i fuddsoddi yn ein staff. Fel y dywedais, gwnaed hyn ar y cyd â'n cydweithwyr yn undebau'r athrawon ac maen nhw wedi croesawu'r adnodd hwn. Rydych chi yn llygad eich lle i gydnabod bod gan gynorthwywyr addysgu ac athrawon cyflenwi hefyd yr un hawl i gael cyfleoedd dysgu proffesiynol. Maen nhw i raddau helaeth iawn yn aelodau gwerthfawr a werthfawrogir o'n gweithlu addysg ac mae ganddyn nhw swyddogaeth sylweddol wrth ddatblygu a chyflawni gydag addysg, ar ein cenhadaeth genedlaethol. Felly, yn rhan o'r broses fonitro, byddwn yn ceisio cael y consortia i adrodd ar y niferoedd sy'n manteisio ar yr hyfforddiant a faint ohono sydd ar gael i athrawon cyflenwi, ond hefyd yn edrych ar, ac yn rhoi, hyblygrwydd i ysgolion o ran eu gallu i ddefnyddio eu hadnoddau i gefnogi athrawon, a hefyd eu staff addysgu cynorthwyol. Mae rhai ysgolion yn gwneud hynny eisoes; mae rhai ysgolion yn dweud nad ydyn nhw mewn sefyllfa i wneud hynny. Felly, ceir hyblygrwydd ar gyfer ysgolion unigol a chlystyrau i wneud trefniadau ar gyfer staff addysgu a staff cynorthwyol addysgu a byddwn yn monitro materion sy'n ymwneud â chyflenwi. Gwn fod materion ynghylch cyflenwi yn parhau i beri pryder i'r Aelodau ar draws y Siambr hon; maen nhw'n peri pryder i minnau. Dyna pam rydym yn parhau â'n gwaith o geisio ymgorffori telerau ac amodau gwell yn sgil ein caffael cenedlaethol o'r gwasanaethau hyn ac yn bwriadu sicrhau bod hyfforddiant proffesiynol ar gael fel rhagofyniad i asiantaethau sy'n gweithio yn y maes hwn. Fel y dywedais, nid wyf dan unrhyw gamargraff o ran yr heriau sy'n wynebu'r grant cynnal refeniw, ond, os ydym yn ddifrifol o ran sicrhau bod y proffesiwn yn barod ar gyfer y cwricwlwm newydd, a'n bod ni'n ddifrifol o ran llwyddiant y cwricwlwm, yna bydd yn rhaid inni fuddsoddi yn ein gweithlu ac mae'n rhaid inni wneud hynny nawr. Bydd yn rhy hwyr os arhoswn am flwyddyn neu ddwy arall, os neu pan fyddai neu na fyddai'r system ariannol - y sector ariannol, yr awyrgylch ariannol, yn well neu beidio. Mae'n rhaid achub ar y cyfle hwn nawr.