English: Thank you, Diprwy Lywydd, and I'm pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to the debate this afternoon. We've heard from professionals in the field of education recently that they believe that the low levels of school funding in Wales are preventing them from teaching lessons to the standards that they require. There is a lack of resources, and, increasingly, the lack of a full staffing complement is undermining the ability of schools in Wales to ensure the very highest educational standards. Those aren't my words, but the words of NUT Wales, and the evidence shows that the current funding model is having a real impact on educational standards across Wales, particularly in my constituency. Unfortunately, earlier this year, school category figures from the Welsh Government showed that Pembrokeshire has the highest percentage of primary schools needing the most support. According to those figures, 10.7 per cent of the authority's primary schools were placed in the red category, compared to only 3.6 per cent the previous year. That's a significant jump over just 12 months, and, as Suzy Davies said, by now, more than one in 10 primary schools in Pembrokeshire is in the red category and in need of additional support. Now, while I accept that the funding model is not the only reason why Pembrokeshire faces a challenge in school standards, it is certainly clear that the assessments based on school services indicators are not meeting the needs of schools in my constituency. It's clear that funding levels across different parts of Wales are inconsistent and that this inconsistency is impacting standards. This inconsistency was raised last year by Michael Davies, head of Ysgol y Preseli in Crymych, who said that his school is looking at 'deeper cuts than ever before', including GCSE courses and partnerships with local colleges. He warned, and I quote: 'We've cut everything down to the bone - and now unfortunately we're having to look at cutting that most important resource of all, which is the teaching staff and support staff.' So, perhaps, in responding to this debate this afternoon, the Minister could tell us what steps the Welsh Government has taken to get to grips with the specific concerns of headteachers in Pembrokeshire over the past year, and also tell us what further steps the Welsh Government will be taking to get to grips with this situation. Now, in response to school categorisation statistics, the Minister has noted that the system has become more sophisticated over time. Indeed, perhaps this is what has happened, but, to many in Wales, the system appears to be too bureaucratic, and, as the statistics themselves demonstrate, in some parts of Wales the regional consortia are not providing for pupils in some areas. Figures from the Association of School and College Leaders demonstrate that the school improvement consortium retains £40 million, which doesn't, therefore, reach our schools, at a time when schools are being underfunded. This is simply unacceptable. It isn't right that vital funding is being kept back when schools across Wales have to cope with smaller budgets. Indeed, the National Association of Head Teachers in Wales has questioned whether the regional consortia are providing value for money, stating that, I quote, 'Over the past few years, schools have faced significant cuts, especially in terms of lower levels of delegated funds, as a result of multi-layered governance in Wales.' Therefore, it's vital that the Welsh Government now assesses the effectiveness of the regional consortia to see whether they are genuinely achieving the results that we need to see in schools across Wales. The question is whether these consortia add value to our education system or are they simply a waste of resources, creating an additional level of bureaucracy. Dirprwy Lywydd, at the heart of this debate is the desire to see schools in Wales flourishing and we, on this side of the Siambr, believe that the Welsh Government needs to evaluate its funding formulae so that we can better understand outcomes for learners and value for money. The current situation makes it very difficult to discover how effective school funding is in Wales, and without understanding the effectiveness of expenditure, very few levers remain to the Welsh Government to achieve the improvements that are needed in the education system. Of course, we all have our own ideas about how to improve the system, such as direct funding of schools by the Welsh Government, and this would certainly lead to more funding reaching our classrooms. Naturally, there are other challenges, not least of which is Wales's geography. Providing services in rural areas is expensive as compared to educating pupils in larger schools. We know that rural authorities have referred to school transport costs as something that is difficult to manage, and that issue doesn't arise in our urban areas. So, the Welsh Government must ensure that its funding models are rural-proofed to ensure that rural authorities aren't at a disadvantage in the funding they receive from the Welsh Government. So, in concluding, Dirprwy Lywydd, our proposal calls on the Welsh Government to review its funding models and seek a better way to monitor the effectiveness of its expenditure so that the public can understand the way that individual schools are funded and so that we can achieve the best possible results for learners in Wales. And so, I urge Members to support this motion.
Welsh: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd, a dwi'n falch o gael y cyfle i gymryd rhan yn y ddadl hon y prynhawn yma. Rŷn ni wedi clywed gan weithwyr proffesiynol yn y byd addysg yn ddiweddar eu bod yn credu bod y lefelau isel o ariannu ysgolion yng Nghymru yn rhwystro eu gallu i gyflwyno gwersi i'r safonau y maen nhw eu hangen. Mae yna ddiffyg adnoddau, ac, yn gynyddol, mae diffyg cyflenwad staffio llawn yn tanseilio gallu'r ysgolion yng Nghymru i sicrhau'r safonau addysg gorau posib. Nid fy ngeiriau i yw'r rhain, ond geiriau NUT Cymru, ac mae'r dystiolaeth yn dangos bod y model cyllido bresennol yn cael effaith wirioneddol ar safonau addysgol ledled Cymru, yn enwedig yn fy etholaeth i. Yn anffodus, yn gynharach eleni, dangosodd ffigurau categori ysgolion Llywodraeth Cymru fod gan sir Benfro'r canran uchaf o ysgolion cynradd sydd angen y gefnogaeth fwyaf. Yn ôl y ffigurau hynny, cafodd 10.7 y cant o ysgolion cynradd yr awdurdod eu categoreiddio fel coch, o'i gymharu â dim ond 3.6 y cant yn y flwyddyn flaenorol. Mae hynny'n naid syfrdanol mewn dim ond 12 mis, ac, erbyn hyn, fel dywedodd Suzy Davies, mae mwy nag un o bob 10 ysgol gynradd yn sir Benfro yn y categori cymorth coch, sydd angen cymorth ychwanegol. Nawr tra fy mod i'n derbyn nid y model cyllido yw'r unig reswm pam mae sir Benfro yn wynebu her mewn safonau ysgol, mae'n sicr yn glir dyw'r asesiadau sydd yn seiliedig ar ddangosyddion gwasanaethau'r ysgol ddim yn cwrdd ag anghenion ysgolion yn fy etholaeth i. Mae'n amlwg bod lefel anghyson mewn cyllid ar draws gwahanol rannau o Gymru a bod yr anghysondeb yma yn rhwystro safonau. Codwyd yr anghysondeb hwnnw y llynedd gan Michael Davies, pennaeth Ysgol y Preseli yng Nghrymych, a ddywedodd fod ei ysgol yn edrych ar doriadau dyfnach nag erioed o'r blaen, gan gynnwys cyrsiau TGAU a phartneriaethau â cholegau lleol. Rhybuddiodd, a dwi'n dyfynnu: Rydym wedi torri popeth i lawr i'r asgwrn - ac, yn anffodus, mae'n rhaid inni edrych ar dorri'r adnodd pwysicaf oll, sef y staff addysgu a'r staff cynorthwyol. Felly, efallai, wrth ymateb i'r ddadl hon y prynhawn yma, gall y Gweinidog ddweud wrthym ni sut mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi mynd i'r afael yn benodol â phryderon penaethiaid yn sir Benfro dros y flwyddyn ddiwethaf, a hefyd dweud wrthym ni pa gamau pellach y bydd y Llywodraeth yn eu cymryd i fynd i'r afael â hyn. Nawr, mewn ymateb i ystadegau dosbarthu ysgolion, mae'r Gweinidog wedi nodi bod y system wedi dod yn fwy soffistigedig dros amser. Yn wir, efallai mai dyma beth sydd wedi digwydd, ond, i lawer yng Nghymru, gwelir bod y system yn rhy fiwrocrataidd, ac, fel y mae'r ystadegau eu hunain yn dangos, mewn rhai rhannau o Gymru nid yw'r consortia rhanbarthol yn darparu ar gyfer disgyblion mewn rhai meysydd. Dengys ffigurau gan Gymdeithas Arweinwyr Ysgolion a Cholegau Cymru fod consortiwm gwella ysgolion yn cadw £40 miliwn, sydd felly ddim wedi cyrraedd ein hysgolion, ar adeg pan fo ysgolion yn cael eu tan-ariannu. Mae hyn, yn syml, yn annerbyniol. Dyw e ddim yn iawn fod cyllid hanfodol yn cael ei gadw pan fo ysgolion ledled Cymru yn gorfod ymdopi â chyllidebau llai. Yn wir, mae Cymdeithas Genedlaethol Penaethiaid Cymru wedi holi a yw'r consortia rhanbarthol yn rhoi gwerth am arian, gan ddweud, a dwi'n dyfynnu, 'Dros y blynyddoedd diwethaf, mae ysgolion wedi torri'n sylweddol, yn enwedig o ran lefelau llai o gyllideb ddirprwyedig, o ganlyniad i lywodraethu trydedd haen ormodol yng Nghymru.' Felly, mae'n hanfodol bod Llywodraeth Cymru nawr yn asesu effeithiolrwydd y consortia rhanbarthol a gweld a ydynt yn wirioneddol yn cyflawni'r canlyniadau y mae angen inni eu gweld mewn ysgolion ledled Cymru. Y cwestiwn yw: a yw'r consortia hyn yn ychwanegu gwerth at ein system addysg, neu a ydyn nhw yn syml yn wastraff adnoddau ac yn creu lefel ychwanegol o fiwrocratiaeth? Dirprwy Lywydd, wrth wraidd y ddadl hon yw'r awydd i weld ysgolion yng Nghymru'n ffynnu ac rŷn ni ar yr ochr hon o'r Siambr yn credu bod angen i Lywodraeth Cymru werthuso ei fformiwlâu ariannu fel y gellir deall yn well ddeilliannau dysgwyr a gwerth am arian. Mae'r sefyllfa bresennol yn ei gwneud hi'n anodd iawn i ganfod pa mor effeithiol yw cyllid ysgolion yng Nghymru. Heb ddeall effeithiolrwydd y gwariant, ychydig iawn o liferau sydd ar ôl gan Lywodraeth Cymru er mwyn cyflawni'r gwelliannau sydd eu hangen ar y system addysg. Wrth gwrs, mae gyda ni ein syniadau ein hunain fel mae gwella'r system, megis ariannu ysgolion yn uniongyrchol gan Lywodraeth Cymru, a byddai hyn yn sicr yn arwain at fwy o arian yn cyrraedd ein hystafelloedd dosbarth. Yn naturiol, mae heriau eraill hefyd, nid yn bennaf oll daearyddiaeth Cymru. Mae cost darparu gwasanaethau mewn ardaloedd gwledig yn ddrud o'i chymharu ag addysgu disgyblion mewn ysgolion mwy. Rŷn ni'n gwybod bod awdurdodau gwledig wedi cyfeirio at gostau cludiant ysgol fel rhywbeth sy'n anodd ei reoli, ac nid yw'r gost honno'n bodoli yn ein hardaloedd trefol. Felly, rhaid i Lywodraeth Cymru sicrhau bod ei modelau cyllido wedi pasio'r prawf gwledig i sicrhau bod awdurdodau gwledig ddim o dan anfantais wrth dderbyn cyllid gan Lywodraeth Cymru. Felly, wrth gloi, Dirprwy Lywydd, mae ein cynnig ni yn galw ar Lywodraeth Cymru i edrych ar ei modelau cyllido a sefydlu ffordd well o fonitro effeithiolrwydd ei gwariant fel bod y cyhoedd yn gallu deall sut mae ysgolion unigol yn cael eu hariannu ac felly rŷn ni'n gallu cyflawni'r canlyniadau gorau posib i ddysgwyr yng Nghymru. Felly, dwi'n annog Aelodau i gefnogi'r cynnig.