English: The petition has a number of objectives: improved access for families to learn BSL, for BSL to be introduced to the national curriculum, better access to education through BSL, and making more services and resources accessible in BSL for deaf young people. I will focus for the rest of this contribution on each of the petition's objectives in turn, in order to outline the evidence the committee received, the conclusions we reached, and the responses provided by the Welsh Government. Firstly, the petition calls for improved access to families to learn BSL. Deffo! have stressed the vital importance of this so that parents and siblings can communicate with and support deaf children within their family. They told the committee that cost can be a significant problem, with basic BSL classes for adults costing £300 per person and advanced courses up to £1,600. There are also few opportunities for families to learn BSL together, as most classes available are provided through adult education centres. The Welsh Government has consistently told the committee that provision of these classes are the responsibility of local authorities. However, the result appears to be a lack of provision, because it becomes a choice within local adult education budgets. The evidence the committee received demonstrates that, in most cases, there are no free or low-cost sign language courses available to parents and children. I note that the children's commissioner has also recommended that BSL should be made accessible to all families with deaf children, and the committee has heard that the National Deaf Children's Society is disappointed that this has not been taken forward. The petitioners have argued that the current status of BSL and the fact that it is considered to be a choice rather than a medical need mean that this is the type of provision that tends to be squeezed out during times of financial pressure. They have proposed that the Welsh Government should recognise BSL as a minority language, and that local authorities should consider it to be the first language of many deaf and hard of hearing children and young people. They consider that this would serve to improve and protect provision for learning BSL. The Petitions Committee agree. We believe it is vital for families of deaf children to be offered an opportunity to learn how to communicate through BSL. As a result, we consider that the Welsh Government could do more by guiding local authorities to treat BSL as the first language of many deaf children and young people as a way to reframe the conversation about what constitutes adequate provision. Furthermore, we have recommended that the Welsh Government gives consideration to the development of a national charter for delivery of services and resources, including education, to deaf children and their families. We think this would help to improve the consistency of provision throughout Wales. I welcome the fact that the Welsh Government has accepted both of our recommendations in this area, and that it has also acknowledged that members of the deaf community face a number of issues in relation to BSL, including a shortage of interpreters. In her response, the Minister commits to reviewing the provision of BSL in Wales and considering the development of a national charter of the type recommended by the committee. We would welcome an update on this work this afternoon, and urge her to ensure this work is progressed with pace in order to begin to improve the support available for deaf children and their families. Moving on, the second call in the petition is for BSL to be included in the national curriculum. The petitioners have advised the committee that the majority of deaf children in mainstream schools do not have access to BSL in school, but are taught sign-supported English instead. This does not transfer outside of school, and therefore deaf children still have to learn BSL in order to communicate with other members of the deaf community. Deffo! argue that, if BSL were to be included within the national curriculum, it would help other learners to communicate with deaf or hard of hearing people in social and other contexts, as well as gradually improving communication in everyday life. Throughout our consideration of the petition, Deffo! have expressed frustration with their experience of seeking to engage with the Government on this matter, and with what they consider to be a lack of engagement with processes such as the Donaldson review. That said, during this time, they did have the opportunity to meet the previous Minister and the committee has welcomed the fact that BSL is included within the languages and communication area of the new curriculum.
Welsh: Mae gan y ddeiseb nifer o amcanion: sicrhau mwy o gyfleoedd i deuluoedd ddysgu BSL, cyflwyno BSL yn y cwricwlwm cenedlaethol, sicrhau gwell mynediad at addysg drwy gyfrwng BSL, a sicrhau bod mwy o wasanaethau ac adnoddau ar gael drwy gyfrwng BSL ar gyfer pobl ifanc fyddar. Bydd gweddill y cyfraniad hwn yn canolbwyntio ar bob un o amcanion y ddeiseb yn eu tro, er mwyn amlinellu'r dystiolaeth a gyflwynwyd i'r pwyllgor, y casgliadau y daethom iddynt a'r ymatebion a roddwyd gan Lywodraeth Cymru. Yn gyntaf, mae'r ddeiseb yn galw am fwy o gyfleoedd i deuluoedd ddysgu BSL. Mae Deffo! wedi pwysleisio pa mor hollbwysig yw hyn fel y gall rhieni a brodyr a chwiorydd gyfathrebu â phlant byddar a'u cefnogi o fewn eu teuluoedd. Dywedasant wrth y pwyllgor y gall cost fod yn broblem sylweddol, gyda dosbarthiadau BSL sylfaenol ar gyfer oedolion yn costio £300 y person a chyrsiau uwch yn costio hyd at £1,600. Ychydig iawn o gyfleoedd a geir hefyd i deuluoedd ddysgu BSL gyda'i gilydd, gan fod y rhan fwyaf o'r dosbarthiadau sydd ar gael yn cael eu darparu drwy ganolfannau addysg oedolion. Mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi dweud wrth y pwyllgor sawl gwaith mai cyfrifoldeb awdurdodau lleol yw darparu'r dosbarthiadau hyn. Fodd bynnag, ymddengys mai diffyg darpariaeth yw canlyniad hyn, oherwydd ei fod yn dod yn ddewis o fewn cyllidebau addysg oedolion lleol. Mae'r dystiolaeth a gyflwynwyd i'r pwyllgor yn dangos, yn y rhan fwyaf o achosion, nad oes unrhyw gyrsiau iaith arwyddion ar gael i rieni a phlant am ddim neu am gost isel. Nodaf fod y comisiynydd plant hefyd wedi argymell y dylai'r holl deuluoedd sydd â phlant byddar allu cael mynediad at BSL, ac mae'r pwyllgor wedi clywed bod y Gymdeithas Genedlaethol i Blant Byddar yn siomedig nad yw hyn wedi digwydd. Mae'r deisebwyr wedi dadlau bod statws presennol BSL, a'r ffaith ei bod yn cael ei hystyried yn ddewis yn hytrach nag angen meddygol, yn golygu mai dyma'r math o ddarpariaeth sy'n tueddu i gael ei golli mewn cyfnodau o bwysau ariannol. Maent wedi argymell y dylai Llywodraeth Cymru gydnabod BSL fel iaith leiafrifol, ac y dylai awdurdodau lleol ei hystyried yn iaith gyntaf i lawer o blant a phobl ifanc byddar a thrwm eu clyw. Maent o'r farn y byddai hon yn ffordd o wella a diogelu'r ddarpariaeth ar gyfer dysgu BSL. Mae'r Pwyllgor Deisebau yn cytuno. Rydym yn credu ei bod yn hanfodol fod teuluoedd plant byddar yn cael cyfle i ddysgu sut i gyfathrebu drwy gyfrwng BSL. O ganlyniad, rydym o'r farn y gallai Llywodraeth Cymru wneud mwy drwy arwain awdurdodau lleol i drin BSL fel iaith gyntaf llawer o blant a phobl ifanc byddar, fel ffordd o ail-fframio'r sgwrs ar beth a olygir wrth ddarpariaeth ddigonol. At hynny, rydym wedi argymell bod Llywodraeth Cymru yn ystyried datblygu siarter genedlaethol ar gyfer darparu gwasanaethau ac adnoddau, gan gynnwys addysg, i blant byddar a'u teuluoedd. Credwn y byddai hyn yn helpu i wella cysondeb y ddarpariaeth ledled Cymru. Rwy'n croesawu'r ffaith bod Llywodraeth Cymru wedi derbyn y ddau argymhelliad gennym yn hyn o beth, a " i bod hefyd wedi cydnabod bod aelodau o'r gymuned fyddar yn wynebu nifer o broblemau mewn perthynas â BSL, gan gynnwys prinder dehonglwyr. Yn ei hymateb, mae'r Gweinidog yn ymrwymo i adolygu'r ddarpariaeth BSL yng Nghymru ac ystyried datblygu siarter genedlaethol o'r math a argymhellir gan y pwyllgor. Byddem yn croesawu mwy o wybodaeth am y gwaith hwn y prynhawn yma, ac yn ei hannog i sicrhau bod y gwaith yn datblygu'n gyflym er mwyn dechrau gwella'r cymorth sydd ar gael ar gyfer plant byddar a'u teuluoedd. Gan symud ymlaen, mae'r ail alwad yn y ddeiseb yn galw am gynnwys BSL yn y cwricwlwm cenedlaethol. Mae'r deisebwyr wedi rhoi gwybod i'r pwyllgor nad oes gan y rhan fwyaf o blant byddar mewn ysgolion prif ffrwd fynediad at BSL yn yr ysgol, ond eu bod yn dysgu Saesneg â chymorth arwyddion yn lle hynny. Nid yw hyn yn trosglwyddo y tu allan i'r ysgol, ac felly mae plant byddar yn dal i orfod dysgu BSL er mwyn cyfathrebu ag aelodau eraill o'r gymuned fyddar. Pe bai BSL yn cael ei chynnwys o fewn y cwricwlwm cenedlaethol, mae Deffo! yn dadlau y byddai'n helpu dysgwyr eraill i gyfathrebu â phobl fyddar neu drwm eu clyw mewn cyd-destun cymdeithasol a chyd-destunau eraill, yn ogystal â gwella eu cyfathrebu'n raddol mewn bywyd bob dydd. Drwy gydol ein hystyriaeth o'r ddeiseb, mae Deffo! wedi mynegi rhwystredigaeth ynglŷn â'u profiad o geisio ymgysylltu â'r Llywodraeth ar y mater hwn, ac ynglŷn â'r hyn a ystyriant yn ddiffyg ymgysylltiad â phrosesau megis adolygiad Donaldson. Wedi dweud hynny, yn ystod yr amser hwn, cawsant gyfle i gyfarfod â'r Gweinidog blaenorol ac mae'r pwyllgor wedi croesawu'r ffaith bod BSL wedi'i chynnwys ym maes ieithoedd a chyfathrebu y cwricwlwm newydd.