English: Can I thank David Melding for his contribution and his continued campaigning in this area? David, you and I are two of only nine of the original class of '99, and you have consistently, throughout the period of the last 17 years, championed the rights of looked-after children, and I commend you. Much of the change that we have seen has been as a result of people like you continuing to press these issues - and my Cabinet colleague Ken Skates, with his interest in the rights of looked-after children. It is the attention that has been paid to the issue within this Chamber that has allowed us the space to be able to push things forward. I commend you once again for your strong work in this area. Now, Estyn's recent report on good practice in education services to support looked-after children is very welcome to me. I will formally publish a response shortly. As I said to Darren Millar, every single child in Wales, including those who are looked after, has the right to expect an excellent education. We need to learn from the best, like Brynteg. That's why a self-improving system is so important, not just for looked-after children, but for improvement generally across the board, by allowing individual teachers, school leaders and schools to be able to see for themselves, first hand, excellence, and to be able to use that to inspire their own teaching and reflect on their own practice and their own institutions. It is by that strong focus on a self-improving system - professional standards and continuous professional development - that we will be able to drive things up. Presiding Officer, it was remiss of me, and I don't want to be accused of trying to dodge the subject - Darren Millar did ask questions about class sizes, and I'm sure he thinks that I deliberately did not answer them. Can I just say that there is not a single approach, Darren, to addressing this issue? I've asked officials to scope out what we can do, starting with our largest classes first; there are classes with over 30 children. What do we need to get those class numbers down? I also recognise that, in some schools, there may be physical constraints or there may be sustainability constraints, so, therefore, we will need to address the problem from a different direction. What I am determined to do is to address the problem, and I will look at a multiple range of interventions that will allow us to do what we all want - that is, give teachers the time that they need to give the attention to those children. We will have to do it in a variety of ways and be creative in how we do it.
Welsh: Hoffwn ddiolch i David Melding am ei gyfraniad a'i ymgyrchu parhaus yn y maes hwn? David, rydych chi a minnau yn ddau o ddim ond naw o ddosbarth gwreiddiol '99, ac rydych yn gyson, drwy gydol yr 17 mlynedd diwethaf, wedi hyrwyddo hawliau plant sy'n derbyn gofal, ac rwy'n eich canmol. Mae llawer o'r newid a welsom wedi bod o ganlyniad i bobl fel chi yn parhau i wthio'r materion hyn - a'm cydweithiwr Cabinet Ken Skates, gyda'i ddiddordeb yn hawliau plant sy'n derbyn gofal. Y sylw a roddwyd i'r mater hwn o fewn y Siambr hon sydd wedi caniatáu'r gofod i ni allu gwthio pethau ymlaen. Rwy'n eich cymeradwyo unwaith eto am eich gwaith cryf yn y maes hwn. Nawr, mae adroddiad diweddar Estyn ar arfer da mewn gwasanaethau addysg i gefnogi plant sy'n derbyn gofal yn dderbyniol iawn i mi. Byddaf yn cyhoeddi ymateb yn ffurfiol cyn bo hir. Fel y dywedais wrth Darren Millar, mae gan bob plentyn unigol yng Nghymru, gan gynnwys y rhai sy'n derbyn gofal, yr hawl i ddisgwyl addysg ardderchog. Mae angen i ni ddysgu oddi wrth y gorau, fel Brynteg. Dyna pam mae system hunanwella mor bwysig, nid yn unig ar gyfer plant sy'n derbyn gofal, ond ar gyfer gwelliant yn gyffredinol. Mae'n caniatáu i athrawon unigol, arweinwyr ysgolion ac ysgolion allu gweld rhagoriaeth drostynt eu hunain, yn uniongyrchol, a defnyddio hynny i ysbrydoli eu haddysgu eu hunain a myfyrio ar eu harferion eu hunain a'u sefydliadau eu hunain. Gan ganolbwyntio'n gryf ar system hunanwella - safonau proffesiynol a datblygiad proffesiynol parhaus - byddwn yn gallu gyrru pethau ymlaen. Lywydd, roedd yn esgeulus ar fy rhan i, ac nid wyf am gael fy nghyhuddo o geisio osgoi'r pwnc - holodd Darren Millar gwestiynau am faint dosbarthiadau, ac rwy'n siŵr ei fod yn credu fy mod yn fwriadol wedi peidio ag ymateb iddynt. A gaf i ddweud nad oes un dull penodol, Darren, i fynd i'r afael â'r mater hwn? Rwyf wedi gofyn i swyddogion bennu cwmpas yr hyn y gallwn ei wneud, gan ddechrau gyda'n dosbarthiadau mwyaf yn gyntaf; ceir dosbarthiadau â mwy na 30 o blant. Beth sydd ei angen arnom i sicrhau bod niferoedd y dosbarthiadau hynny yn gostwng? Rwyf hefyd yn cydnabod, mewn rhai ysgolion, y gall fod cyfyngiadau corfforol neu gall fod cyfyngiadau cynaliadwyedd, felly, gan hynny, bydd angen i ni fynd i'r afael â'r broblem o gyfeiriad gwahanol. Yr hyn yr wyf yn benderfynol o'i wneud yw mynd i'r afael â'r broblem, a byddaf yn edrych ar ystod luosog o ymyraethau a fydd yn ein galluogi i wneud yr hyn yr ydym i gyd ei eisiau - hynny yw, rhoi'r amser sydd ei angen arnynt i athrawon allu rhoi sylw i'r plant hynny. Bydd yn rhaid inni wneud hynny mewn amrywiaeth o ffyrdd a bod yn greadigol yn y ffordd yr ydym yn ei wneud.