English: Thank you very much. Our motion this afternoon focuses on important and timely aspects of the world of education in Wales. First of all, exams and assessments and the need for change that has been underlined by COVID and the requirements of the new curriculum, and I will expand on that in my contribution. Another important aspect is the identity and diversity of Wales. Including the history of Wales, including the history of the Welsh language, is vital for pupils the length and breadth of Wales so that they have an awareness of the national identity of Wales and the historic basis of our modern society. Even though some important aspects are mandatory elements of the new curriculum, for example relationships and sexuality education, there are some parts and groups in our society that have been forgotten. Black communities and communities of people of colour deserve status and respect in the new curriculum, and also the role of those communities in the history of modern Wales. So, we support the inclusion of people of colour and black history being part of the statutory part of the curriculum to strengthen the teaching of the identity of Wales and all of its diversity and to eradicate racism. We will talk about apprenticeships and further education this afternoon - the need to support apprentices who are impacted in terms of employment and in terms of finance as a result of COVID-19. We will discuss the emotional and mental well-being of our young people and we will discuss the Welsh language, and the need to take further steps to ensure that the new curriculum facilitates fluency in the Welsh language as a norm by increasing Welsh-medium education in every sector and period of learning. Swansea and Rhondda Cynon Taf have the same contribution and responsibility in the national effort as does Gwynedd and Ceredigion. I want to turn to examinations. The examinations fiasco this summer is still very much alive in the minds of our young people. They remember that it had taken a major effort - and we in Plaid Cymru were at the heart of that effort - to get rid of the algorithm system that was going to be hugely unfair to very many young people. After deciding, entirely rightly, to cancel the examinations, there was an unnecessary step taken to use a failing mathematical formula. In the end, the Minister for Education in Wales changed her mind after a period of campaigning and the teacher assessments were used. Faith was placed in the teachers, the professionals who know our young people best, but that could have been done from the very beginning, avoiding the entire fiasco and all of the concern and anxiety caused to our young people. Plaid Cymru has been saying since the summer that A-level examinations and GCSE examinations shouldn't be held next year either. We said that because the experts told us that there would be a second wave of the coronavirus in the autumn. We were of the opinion that making a swift decision, before the schools reopened, even, in September, would be a fair way of moving forward, and that our young people and their teachers and parents would know what to expect and what would happen, with plenty of time to change direction and to change arrangements. Teacher assessments could be used, and there would be plenty of time for a sensible approach in terms of standardisation. It's not too late to do that, and we are continuing to press for the cancellation of the examinations next year, and there is increasing pressure coming from all corners for that by now. We hope that there will be a decision made on 9 November, which is the date mentioned or mooted for the decision to be announced. I very much hope that the Minister for Education won't follow England slavishly again, and that we will have the right decision for the people of Wales. As the virus spreads and as the situation intensifies, pupils are missing school because they're self-isolating, and it impacts on their education and the continuity. Exam-age pupils are going to lose more of their education during the firebreak, on top of the education lost during the full lockdown. Some young people are going to lose more than one period of education, with these periods taking place at different times in different schools and different colleges, with different young people losing out on different pieces of work. And yet, everyone sitting the same exam. Doing the work remotely isn't possible for many. There are many who still don't have an electronic device, who don't have broadband connectivity and they don't have the space and the quiet in their homes to do the work, which often means that it's those children from the poorer backgrounds who lose out and who are left behind, and that isn't fair. There is an alternative method of assessing progression, which would include continuous assessment and teacher assessments. It's not as if there is no alternative but exams; there is an alternative and the sooner the better to decide on that alternative. We need to get rid of the uncertainty and give fair play to everyone. And in the longer term, we need to get rid of the Government obsession with examinations. We need to create a system that identifies the individual's progression. The entire education system needs to shift from the emphasis on examinations and certificates, and ensure that our young people have the right skills for the world of work and for life in future. The Curriculum for Wales does provide some of the answer, but the whole system needs to be changed. This includes rethinking qualifications and assessments, starting with a meaningful discussion about GCSEs. Do we need a qualification at all for young people of the age of 16, when the vast majority of them remain in education? We need to move from one exam, which is the same for everyone and gives a grade on a basis that doesn't measure the right skills. The Curriculum for Wales has the ability, if rooted correctly, to move the emphasis on to skills. The way that we assess has to be aligned to the new curriculum or it won't work, and schools will continue to focus on the grades, rather than the progress made by the individual. We have a genuine opportunity to create an excellent educational system in Wales, one that doesn't leave any child or young person behind. The curriculum does provide an opportunity for us to start on that journey. We need to scrutinise the Bill in detail over the next few months, ensuring that the curriculum will genuinely be fit for purpose in the modern Wales. And it needs to be supported with resources and meaningful training, and assessment methods need to change too. Our children and young people are our future; they are the future of our nation. They're not having an easy time of it at the moment, but there will be better times ahead. We, in the Senedd, need to give all support to them in this COVID period, but also by ensuring that the seeds that we are sowing now to revolutionise our education system - that those seeds grow into robust plants and grow in the right direction. I look forward to hearing everybody's contributions in this important debate.
Welsh: Diolch yn fawr. Mae'n cynnig ni y prynhawn yma'n canolbwyntio ar agweddau pwysig ac amserol o'r byd addysg yng Nghymru. Yn gyntaf, arholiadau ac asesu a'r angen am newid sydd wedi'i danlinellu gan COVID a gan ofynion y cwricwlwm newydd, ac mi fyddaf i'n ymhelaethu ar hyn yn fy nghyfraniad i. Agwedd bwysig arall ydy hunaniaeth ac amrywiaeth Cymru. Mae cynnwys hanes Cymru, gan gynnwys hanes yr iaith Gymraeg, yn hanfodol i ddisgyblion ar draws Cymru fel bod ganddynt ymwybyddiaeth o hunaniaeth genedlaethol Cymru ac o sail hanesyddol ein cymdeithas gyfoes. Er bod rhai agweddau pwysig yn elfennau mandadol o'r cwricwlwm newydd, megis addysg rhywioldeb a pherthnasau, mae rhai rhannau a grwpiau o'n cymdeithas ni wedi cael eu hanghofio. Mae cymunedau pobl ddu a phobl o liw yn haeddu parch a statws yn y cwricwlwm newydd, a hefyd rôl y cymunedau amrywiol hynny yn hanes Cymru fodern. Felly, cefnogwn fod hanes pobl ddu a phobl o liw yn elfen statudol o'r Bil fel rhan o strategaeth i gryfhau hunaniaeth Cymru yn ei holl amrywiaeth ac i ddileu hiliaeth. Mi fyddwn ni'n sôn am brentisiaethau ac addysg bellach y prynhawn yma - yr angen i gefnogi prentisiaid sy'n cael eu heffeithio ar lefel gwaith ac ariannol oherwydd COVID-19. Mi fyddwn ni'n trafod lles meddyliol ac emosiynol ein pobl ifanc ac mi fyddwn ni'n trafod y Gymraeg, a'r angen i gymryd camau pellach i sicrhau bod y cwricwlwm newydd yn hwyluso rhuglder yn y Gymraeg fel norm drwy gynyddu addysg cyfrwng Cymraeg ymhob sector a chyfnod dysgu. Mae gan Abertawe a Rhondda Cynon Taf yr un cyfraniad a'r un cyfrifoldeb yn yr ymdrech genedlaethol hon ag sydd gan Wynedd a Cheredigion. Rydw i am droi at arholiadau. Mae ffiasgo arholiadau'r haf yn dal yn fyw iawn ym meddyliau ein pobl ifanc ni. Maen nhw'n cofio ei bod hi wedi cymryd ymdrech enfawr - ac mi oeddem ni ym Mhlaid Cymru yn ganolog i'r ymdrech honno - i gael gwared ar system yr algorithm, a oedd yn mynd i fod yn annheg iawn i lawer o bobl ifanc. Ar ôl penderfynu, yn gwbl iawn, i ganslo'r arholiadau, aed ymlaen yn ddiangen i ddefnyddio fformiwla fathemategol fethedig. Yn y diwedd, fe newidiodd Gweinidog Addysg Cymru ei meddwl, ar ôl cryn frwydro, ac fe ddefnyddiwyd asesiadau'r athrawon. Rhoddwyd ffydd yn yr athrawon, y bobl broffesiynol sy'n adnabod ein pobl ifanc orau, ond gellid fod wedi gwneud hynny o'r cychwyn cyntaf ac osgoi'r holl ffiasgo a'r holl boen meddwl a phryder i bobl ifanc. Mae Plaid Cymru wedi bod yn dweud ers yr haf na ddylid cynnal arholiadau lefel A a TGAU yr haf nesaf chwaith. Roeddem ni'n dweud hynny gan fod yr arbenigwyr yn dweud wrthym ni y byddai yna ail don o'r coronafeirws yn yr hydref. Mi oeddem ni o'r farn y byddai gwneud penderfyniad buan, cyn i'r ysgolion ailagor, hyd yn oed, ym mis Medi, yn ffordd deg o symud ymlaen, ac mi fyddai ein pobl ifanc ni, a'u hathrawon a'u rhieni, yn gwybod beth oedd i ddigwydd, efo digon o amser i newid cyfeiriad a newid trefniadau. Gellid defnyddio asesiadau athrawon, a byddai digon o amser i greu dull synhwyrol o safoni. Dydy hi ddim rhy hwyr, ac rydyn ni'n parhau i bwyso am ganslo arholiadau'r haf nesaf, ac erbyn hyn mae pwysau cynyddol yn dod o bob cyfeiriad. Gobeithio y daw penderfyniad ar 9 Tachwedd, sef y dyddiad sy'n cael ei grybwyll bellach ar gyfer gwneud penderfyniad. A dwi'n mawr obeithio na fydd y Gweinidog Addysg yn dilyn Lloegr yn slafaidd unwaith eto, ac y cawn y penderfyniad cywir i bobl ifanc Cymru. Wrth i'r feirws ledaenu ac wrth i'r sefyllfa ddifrifoli, mae disgyblion yn colli'r ysgol am eu bod nhw'n hunanynysu. Mae'r amharu ar rediad eu haddysg yn cynyddu yn gyflym. Mae disgyblion oed arholiadau yn mynd i golli mwy o'u haddysg yn y cyfnod clo byr; mae hyn ar ben yr addysg a gollwyd dros y cyfnod clo mawr. Ac mae rhai pobl ifanc yn mynd i golli mwy nag un cyfnod o'u haddysg, a'r cyfnodau yma'n digwydd ar wahanol amseroedd o ysgol i ysgol, o goleg i goleg, efo gwahanol bobl ifanc yn colli gwahanol ddarnau o waith. Ac eto, pawb yn eistedd yr un arholiad. Dydy gwneud y gwaith o bell ddim yn bosib i lawer. Mae yna nifer o hyd heb ddyfais electronaidd, heb gysylltedd band eang, a heb y lle a'r llonydd yn y cartref i wneud eu gwaith, gan olygu'n aml mai'r bobl ifanc o gefndiroedd tlawd sydd yn colli allan ac yn cael eu gadael ar ôl, a dydy hynny ddim yn deg. Mae yna ddull amgen o asesu cynnydd person, un fyddai'n cynnwys asesu parhaus ac asesiadau athrawon. Dydy hi ddim fel petai yna ddim dewis ond arholiadau; mae yna ddewis, a gorau po gyntaf y penderfynir ar hwnnw, a chael gwared ar yr ansicrwydd a rhoi chwarae teg i bawb. Ac yn y tymor hir, mae angen cael gwared ar obsesiwn y Llywodraeth efo arholiadau ac angen creu system sy'n cofnodi cyrhaeddiad yr unigolyn. Mae angen i'r system addysg drwyddi draw sifftio o bwyslais gormodol ar arholiadau, profion, tystysgrifau, a symud at sicrhau bod gan ein pobl ifanc y sgiliau cywir ar gyfer byd gwaith, ac ar gyfer bywyd yn y dyfodol. Mae Cwricwlwm Cymru yn cynnig rhan o'r ateb, ond mae'r system gyfan angen newid. Mae hyn yn cynnwys ailfeddwl am gymwysterau ac asesiadau, gan ddechrau efo trafodaeth ystyrlon am TGAU. Oes angen cymhwyster o gwbl ar gyfer pobl ifanc 16 oed, pan fod y mwyafrif helaeth iawn yn aros mewn addysg? Mae eisiau symud o un arholiad sydd yr un peth i bawb ac sy'n rhoi gradd ar sail nad yw'n mesur y sgiliau iawn. Mae gan Gwricwlwm Cymru, o'i wreiddio'n iawn, y gallu i symud y pwyslais i ddysgu a sgiliau. Mae'n rhaid i'r ffordd yr ydym yn asesu gael ei alinio yn iawn iddo hefyd, neu bydd o ddim yn gweithio, a bydd ysgolion yn parhau i ganolbwyntio ar y graddau yn hytrach na chynnydd yr unigolyn. Mae gennym ni gyfle gwirioneddol i greu system addysg ardderchog yng Nghymru, un sydd ddim yn gadael yr un plentyn na'r un person ifanc ar ôl. Mae'r cwricwlwm yn cynnig cyfle inni gychwyn ar y daith honno. Mae angen craffu ar y Bil yn fanwl dros y misoedd nesaf, gan wneud yn siŵr y bydd y cwricwlwm yn wirioneddol ffit i bwrpas y Gymru fodern, ac mae o angen cael ei gefnogi efo adnoddau a hyfforddiant ystyrlon, ac mae angen i'n dulliau asesu ni newid hefyd. Ein plant a'n pobl ifanc ydy ein dyfodol; nhw ydy dyfodol ein cenedl. Dydyn nhw ddim yn cael amser hawdd ar y funud, ond fe ddaw cyfnod gwell. Mae angen i ni yn y Senedd roi pob cefnogaeth iddyn nhw yn y cyfnod COVID yma, ond hefyd drwy sicrhau bod yr hadau yr ydym yn eu plannu ar gyfer gwyrdroi ein system addysg - fod yr hadau rheini yn tyfu'n gryf ac yn tyfu i'r cyfeiriad cywir. Dwi'n edrych ymlaen at glywed cyfraniadau pawb yn y ddadl bwysig yma.