English: I'm speaking this afternoon in my capacity as Chair of the Assembly's Children, Young People and Education Committee. We've recently undertaken a comprehensive inquiry into the emotional and mental health of children and young people in Wales. Tomorrow, we will hold our final oral evidence session, hearing from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services and the Cabinet Secretary for Education. We are aiming to report before Easter this year, so I will avoid pre-empting our conclusions and recommendations in my contribution today. However, I wanted to draw Members' attention to the valuable evidence we have taken on this subject in recent months, and the particular emphasis that has been placed on the importance of effective preventative work by expert stakeholders, front-line staff and children and young people themselves. We began our inquiry last summer. The first thing we did was to visit settings that are providing support to children and young people at opposite ends of the spectrum of need. While some of us visited Wales's two in-patient units, which provide support for those suffering the most acute mental ill health and requiring the most specialist of support, others visited Ysgol Pen y Bryn in Colwyn Bay, a primary school that has embedded mindfulness across its primary and junior school teaching. While visiting Ysgol Pen y Bryn, Members saw first-hand what can be achieved in terms of children's resilience if a whole-school approach is adopted that promotes well-being and good mental health for all pupils from an early age. Children as young as six told us that mindfulness helped them when they were worried, nervous or anxious. In contrast, the young people with whom we spoke in Tŷ Llidiard, the unit for children and young people in south Wales who require in-patient care, told us that more needed to be done to raise awareness about mental health and to empower young people to talk about their concerns. They told us that they'd been suffering with mental health problems for a long time before they had access to any form of support, specialist or otherwise. During the course of our evidence gathering, it has become clear that school settings are key to promoting emotional well-being and good mental health. There is a strong consensus that by addressing issues as early as possible, before matters become serious enough to merit specialist intervention, significant deterioration in mental well-being can be avoided. We heard that if support is to be truly preventative in nature, we need to make sure that children and young people can speak openly about their emotional well-being and know where to turn if they have concerns about themselves or others. The opportunities afforded by the reform of the curriculum in Wales have been raised by almost every witness. Nevertheless, it is also clear that a step change is needed to realise this ambition. The evidence we've heard demonstrates that, despite an overarching desire to see education, health and social care working more closely to align their support, in practice, this has yet to be implemented to the degree necessary. Despite the efforts of organisations such as the Samaritans to roll out support such as the DEAL project - Developing Emotional Awareness and Listening - too many children find themselves without the tools they need to enable them to respond with resilience to the pressures that life throws at them from an increasingly early age. As Dr Liz Gregory, a consultant clinical psychologist, told us, too often when we have concerns about the mental health of our children, we turn to an adult model of care. This fails to recognise the inherent vulnerability and lack of control children have over their own lives at such a relatively early stage in their life journey. In closing, I want to note that, as a committee, we have shone a light on this topic over the last six months, with the aim of reforming a system that has, for too long, relied on children and young people reaching a point where treatment and medical intervention is needed before support is provided. When we report later this term, we will focus on the steps we need to take to reverse this, to encourage good mental health and well-being so that our children and young people are enabled to discuss their emotions without fear of stigma and to ensure they have the tools they need to face pressures and challenges with resilience and confidence. Thank you.
Welsh: Rwy'n siarad y prynhawn yma yn rhinwedd fy swydd fel Cadeirydd Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl Ifanc ac Addysg y Cynulliad. Yn ddiweddar fe gynhaliwyd ymchwiliad cynhwysfawr gennym i iechyd emosiynol a meddyliol plant a phobl ifanc yng Nghymru. Yfory, byddwn yn cynnal ein sesiwn tystiolaeth lafar olaf, ac yn clywed gan Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet dros Iechyd a Gwasanaethau Cymdeithasol ac Ysgrifennydd y Cabinet dros Addysg. Rydym yn anelu at gyflwyno adroddiad cyn y Pasg eleni, felly rwyf am osgoi achub y blaen ar ein casgliadau a'n hargymhellion yn fy nghyfraniad heddiw. Fodd bynnag, roeddwn am dynnu sylw'r Aelodau at y dystiolaeth werthfawr a gawsom ar y pwnc hwn yn y misoedd diwethaf, a'r pwyslais arbennig a roddwyd ar bwysigrwydd gwaith ataliol effeithiol gan randdeiliaid arbenigol, staff rheng flaen a phlant a phobl ifanc eu hunain. Dechreusom ein hymchwiliad yr haf diwethaf. Y peth cyntaf a wnaethom oedd ymweld â lleoliadau sy'n darparu cymorth i blant a phobl ifanc ar ddau ben y sbectrwm angen. Tra bu rhai ohonom yn ymweld â dwy uned cleifion mewnol Cymru, sy'n darparu cymorth i rai sy'n dioddef y salwch meddwl mwyaf dwys ac sydd angen gofal mwyaf arbenigol, ymwelodd eraill ag Ysgol Pen y Bryn ym Mae Colwyn, ysgol gynradd sydd wedi ymgorffori ymwybyddiaeth ofalgar ar draws ei haddysg gynradd ac iau. Ar eu hymweliad ag Ysgol Pen y Bryn, gwelodd yr Aelodau drostynt eu hunain beth y gellir ei gyflawni o ran gwytnwch plant os mabwysiedir dull gweithredu ysgol gyfan sy'n hybu lles ac iechyd meddwl da i bob disgybl o oedran cynnar. Dywedodd plant mor ifanc â chwech oed wrthym fod ymwybyddiaeth ofalgar yn eu helpu pan oeddent yn gofidio, yn nerfus neu'n bryderus. Ar y llaw arall, dywedodd y bobl ifanc y buom yn siarad â hwy yn Nhŷ Llidiard, yr uned ar gyfer plant a phobl ifanc yn ne Cymru sydd angen gofal cleifion mewnol, fod angen gwneud mwy i godi ymwybyddiaeth am iechyd meddwl ac i rymuso pobl ifanc i siarad am yr hyn sy'n peri pryder iddynt. Dywedasant wrthym eu bod wedi bod yn dioddef problemau iechyd meddwl am amser hir cyn iddynt gael mynediad at unrhyw fath o gymorth, arbenigol neu fel arall. Yn ystod y cyfnod y buom yn casglu tystiolaeth, mae wedi dod yn amlwg fod lleoliadau ysgol yn allweddol i hyrwyddo lles emosiynol ac iechyd meddwl da. Ceir consensws cryf y gellir osgoi gwaethygu sylweddol mewn lles meddyliol drwy ymdrin â materion cyn gynted ag y bo modd, cyn i broblemau ddod yn ddigon difrifol i fod angen ymyrraeth arbenigol. Os yw cymorth yn mynd i fod yn wirioneddol ataliol o ran ei natur, clywsom fod angen inni wneud yn siŵr fod plant a phobl ifanc yn gallu siarad yn agored am eu lles emosiynol a gwybod lle i droi os oes ganddynt bryderon amdanynt eu hunain neu am eraill. Tynnodd bron bob tyst sylw at y cyfleoedd a gynigir gan ddiwygio'r cwricwlwm yng Nghymru. Serch hynny, mae'n amlwg hefyd fod angen newid sylweddol i wireddu'r uchelgais hwn. Er gwaethaf awydd cyffredinol i weld addysg, iechyd a gofal cymdeithasol yn gweithio'n agosach i gydlynu eu cymorth, dengys y dystiolaeth a glywsom nad yw hyn wedi'i roi ar waith yn ymarferol eto i'r graddau sy'n angenrheidiol. Er gwaethaf ymdrechion mudiadau fel y Samariaid i gyflwyno cymorth fel prosiect DYEG - datblygu ymwybyddiaeth emosiynol a gwrando - mae gormod o blant heb yr arfau sydd eu hangen arnynt i'w galluogi i ymateb yn wydn i'r pwysau y mae bywyd yn ei roi arnynt o oedran mwyfwy cynnar. Fel y dywedodd Dr Liz Gregory, seicolegydd clinigol ymgynghorol, wrthym, yn rhy aml pan fo gennym bryderon ynglŷn ag iechyd meddwl ein plant, rydym yn troi at fodel gofal oedolion. Mae hyn yn dynodi methiant i gydnabod y gwendid cynhenid a'r diffyg rheolaeth sydd gan blant ar eu bywydau eu hunain ar gam cymharol gynnar yn nhaith bywyd. Wrth gloi, hoffwn nodi ein bod, fel pwyllgor, wedi taflu goleuni ar y pwnc hwn dros y chwe mis diwethaf gyda'r nod o ddiwygio system sydd wedi dibynnu, am gyfnod rhy hir, ar adael i blant a phobl ifanc gyrraedd pwynt lle mae angen triniaeth ac ymyrraeth feddygol cyn y darperir cymorth. Pan fyddwn yn cyflwyno ein hadroddiad yn ddiweddarach y tymor hwn, byddwn yn canolbwyntio ar y camau sydd angen inni eu cymryd i wrthdroi hyn, er mwyn hybu lles ac iechyd meddwl da fel y galluogir ein plant a'n pobl ifanc i drafod eu hemosiynau heb ofni stigma a sicrhau bod ganddynt yr arfau sydd eu hangen arnynt i wynebu heriau a phwysau yn wydn a hyderus. Diolch.