English: Diolch, Lywydd dros dro. I think we're all liable to forget how difficult it can be to be a young person. There are so many pressures that society places on the young - yes exams, but also stresses and expectations about what they should look like, body image ideals permeated by adverts and Instagram, bullying, and pressure to get the right career placement or make the right decision on their Universities and Colleges Admissions Service form. Growing up in our society is hard enough as it is, but this year, away from their friends and a normal school routine, our young people will have faced unprecedented strain and loneliness. Over the summer, 17 and 18-year-olds went through needless anxiety when they were told that an algorithm would be the best way of determining their future, even though that algorithm punished people for living in poor areas - an algorithm that placed a ceiling over their heads. I was glad that the Welsh Government u-turned on that disastrous decision, and that young people were given their futures back. But we have to learn a lesson from what happened. That mistake cannot be repeated, and that is why our motion today is calling for a guarantee that examinations will not be held next year and will be replaced by a robust teacher assessment process. This is vital for the next few months. But, as Plaid's shadow Minister for the future, I think that we need to assess what we want our children to get out of school. As the future generations commissioner has pointed out, skills like creativity, problem-solving and emotional intelligence will be even more important in the future because we'll likely have to work longer and adapt skill sets more rapidly. We need to find better ways of nurturing these skills that are transferrable instead of just awarding static finite marks on a piece of paper. Is it really fair to give a mark to a 16-year-old that can either open doors or forever close them? Surely, education should be about linking children to their community and other generations, because learning has a social impact too. This week, Members from across this Senedd will be launching a new cross-party group on inter-generational solidarity, and I think that this is an area that our politics will have to return to. Away from exams, our motion today speaks to the myriad pressures that our young people face. At the end of August, a report was published that asked children in 35 countries about how they felt about the future and themselves. The children in Wales had some of the lowest scores in terms of happiness. Worst of all, those sobering results weren't taken this year, during the pandemic, but two years ago. I dread to think how much worse the outlook could be if those same young people were surveyed today. When the report was published, I wrote an open letter to the young people of Wales, saying that we shouldn't just note the findings, shake our heads and move on. They should shame us all. Young people are our future. They are our guiding light. It should stop us in our tracks that those young people's outlook on their own futures is so bleak, and we should act to change this. Llywydd dros dro, our motion today is calling for mental health support, for counselling and therapy services to be made available for every school in Wales. Our motion also calls for well-being to be an essential part of the curriculum. Lessons in school shouldn't just be designed around academic achievement, but should build young people's resilience and foster those young people's connections to their communities. Just as importantly, school should be about finding and feeling joy.
Welsh: Diolch, Lywydd dros dro. Rwy'n credu ein bod i gyd mewn perygl o anghofio pa mor anodd y gall fod i fod yn berson ifanc. Mae cymaint o bwysau y mae cymdeithas yn eu rhoi ar yr ifanc - arholiadau ie, ond hefyd straen a disgwyliadau ynglŷn â sut y dylent edrych, delfrydau ynghylch delwedd y corff wedi'u trwytho gan hysbysebion ac Instagram, bwlio, a phwysau i gael y lleoliad gyrfa cywir neu wneud y penderfyniad cywir ar eu ffurflen Gwasanaeth Derbyn y Prifysgolion a'r Colegau. Mae tyfu i fyny yn ein cymdeithas yn ddigon anodd fel y mae, ond eleni, i ffwrdd oddi wrth eu ffrindiau a threfn ysgol arferol, bydd ein pobl ifanc wedi wynebu straen ac unigrwydd digynsail. Dros yr haf, aeth pobl ifanc 17 a 18 oed drwy bryder diangen pan ddywedwyd wrthynt mai algorithm fyddai'r ffordd orau o bennu eu dyfodol, er bod yr algorithm hwnnw'n cosbi pobl am fyw mewn ardaloedd tlawd - algorithm a osododd nenfwd ar eu huchelgais. Roeddwn yn falch fod Llywodraeth Cymru wedi newid ei meddwl ynglŷn â'r penderfyniad trychinebus hwnnw, a bod pobl ifanc wedi cael eu dyfodol yn ôl. Ond mae'n rhaid i ni ddysgu gwers o'r hyn a ddigwyddodd. Ni ellir ailadrodd y camgymeriad hwnnw, a dyna pam y mae ein cynnig heddiw'n galw am warant na fydd arholiadau'n cael eu cynnal y flwyddyn nesaf ac y bydd proses gadarn o asesu gan athrawon yn dod yn eu lle. Mae hyn yn hanfodol ar gyfer y misoedd nesaf. Ond fel Gweinidog yr wrthblaid Plaid Cymru dros y dyfodol, credaf fod angen inni asesu'r hyn rydym am i'n plant ei gael o'r ysgol. Fel y mae comisiynydd cenedlaethau'r dyfodol wedi nodi, bydd sgiliau fel creadigrwydd, datrys problemau a deallusrwydd emosiynol hyd yn oed yn bwysicach yn y dyfodol oherwydd bydd yn debygol y bydd yn rhaid i ni weithio'n hirach ac addasu setiau sgiliau'n gyflymach. Mae angen inni ddod o hyd i ffyrdd gwell o feithrin y sgiliau hyn y gellir eu trosglwyddo yn hytrach na dim ond dyfarnu marciau statig cyfyngedig ar ddarn o bapur. A yw'n deg rhoi marc i unigolyn 16 oed a all naill ai agor drysau neu eu cau am byth? Does bosibl na ddylai addysg ymwneud â chysylltu plant â'u cymuned a chenedlaethau eraill, oherwydd mae dysgu'n cael effaith gymdeithasol hefyd. Yr wythnos hon, bydd Aelodau o bob rhan o'r Senedd yn lansio grŵp trawsbleidiol newydd ar undod rhwng y cenedlaethau, a chredaf fod hwn yn faes y bydd yn rhaid i'n gwleidyddiaeth ddychwelyd iddo. Ar wahân i arholiadau, mae ein cynnig heddiw'n sôn am y pwysau mawr sy'n wynebu ein pobl ifanc. Ddiwedd mis Awst, cyhoeddwyd adroddiad a ofynnodd i blant mewn 35 o wledydd sut roeddent yn teimlo am y dyfodol a hwy eu hunain. Gan y plant yng Nghymru oedd rhai o'r sgoriau isaf o ran hapusrwydd. Yn waeth na dim, nid eleni yn ystod y pandemig y casglwyd y canlyniadau sobreiddiol hyn, ond ddwy flynedd yn ôl. Rwy'n arswydo meddwl cymaint gwaeth y gallai'r rhagolygon fod pe bai'r un bobl ifanc yn cael eu harolygu heddiw. Pan gyhoeddwyd yr adroddiad, ysgrifennais lythyr agored at bobl ifanc Cymru, yn dweud nad nodi'r canfyddiadau yn unig, ysgwyd ein pennau a symud ymlaen y dylem ei wneud. Dylent fod yn destun cywilydd i bob un ohonom. Pobl ifanc yw ein dyfodol. Hwy yw'r goleuni sy'n ein harwain. Dylai wneud inni stopio'n stond fod rhagolygon y bobl ifanc hyn ar eu dyfodol eu hunain mor llwm, a dylem weithredu i newid hyn. Lywydd dros dro, mae ein cynnig heddiw yn galw am ddarparu cymorth iechyd meddwl, am wasanaethau cwnsela a therapi i fod ar gael ar gyfer pob ysgol yng Nghymru. Mae ein cynnig hefyd yn galw am wneud llesiant yn rhan hanfodol o'r cwricwlwm. Ni ddylid cynllunio gwersi yn yr ysgol ar sail cyflawniad academaidd yn unig, dylent feithrin cadernid pobl ifanc a meithrin cysylltiadau'r bobl ifanc hynny â'u cymunedau. Yr un mor bwysig, dylai'r ysgol ymwneud â chanfod a theimlo llawenydd.