English: Thank you, Deputy Llywydd, and thank you, Minister, for your statement. In my role as Plaid Cymru spokesperson on children and young people, I look forward to working with you on this policy as part of the co-operation agreement between my party and your Government. A great deal of international evidence on reform of the school day and year already exists. There are some successful examples and some less successful. It's no surprise that the impact of extending the school day depends on how that time is used. Evidence from the EPI shows us that extending the school day is most effective when we use current staff who are well trained, integrated into existing classes and activities. This is based on strong, empiric evidence, and is more effective, according to evidence, for maths. As long as this approach is taken, then additional funding to allow an extended school day is likely to lead to wins that are strong and consistent. Given that the evidence shows that extending the school day is most effective when we use current staff who are well trained, can the Minister outline how the £2 million for this pilot, as well as the broader funding for education recovery, will be used to ensure that well-trained staff are in place to ensure effective educational recovery and to take full advantage of the possible benefits of reforming the school day? You will also be aware that many stakeholders, including unions and teachers, have raised concerns that this isn't the right time for any changes such as extending the school day. There was a mixed response from the teaching unions, with Neil Butler noting and warning that there were implications for teacher workload and indeed health and safety as schools continue to have difficulty in coping with COVID. Indeed, some schools have the highest ever levels of COVID at this particular time. Although they as unions are open to changes to the school day and the school year, UCAC said that they as a union wanted to ensure that there won't be any damage to teachers' pay and conditions. Therefore, there are clear concerns in terms of workload, pay and conditions for teachers, and health and safety in terms of extending the school day and the school year. So, can the Minister respond to the unions' concerns whilst providing some assurances to teachers that they won't face a heavier workload and damaging impacts to their terms and conditions? Another issue I'd like to raise is - . Whilst I welcome the fact that the pilot is proceeding, may I raise an issue that's a cause of concern to me? What I read in the press was that you wanted 20 schools to be part of the pilot initially, but only 14 have signed up to participate. I understand that of the 14, according to an interview that you gave to Radio Cymru before Christmas, not one of these is a Welsh-medium school, and all of the schools are either in Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Neath Port Talbot or Blaenau Gwent. One challenge we have in terms of rural schools and Welsh-medium schools, particularly, is that their catchments are larger, and, therefore, pupils have to rely on bus travel to school, missing an opportunity, very often, even now, to join in breakfast clubs and after-school clubs. So, if the pilot is going to be as useful and transparent as possible, as we look at changing something that's been in place for 150 years, wouldn't it be worthwhile for the Government to look at trying to get an additional six schools that are specifically in those areas not currently represented, and look at Welsh-medium primaries and secondaries, if we are truly to learn lessons from this pilot? Related to this, the pandemic has had a very detrimental impact on the Welsh language, as we know, and has deprived many children from non-Welsh-speaking backgrounds of the opportunity to use the language regularly and naturally. Without doubt, this has had an impact on the development of learners on their way to becoming confident Welsh speakers, and it has certainly had an impact already on our efforts to reach a million Welsh speakers by 2050. Can the Minister therefore outline how he believes these plans to reform the school day and year will support the increasing use of the Welsh language? In addition to this, given the apparent shortage of Welsh-speaking teachers in Wales, can the Minister explain how you and the Welsh Government are aiming to ensure that the workforce is in place to provide the additional teaching time through the medium of Welsh?
Welsh: Diolch, Ddirprwy Lywydd, a diolch, Weinidog am eich datganiad. Yn fy rôl fel llefarydd Plaid Cymru ar blant a phobl ifanc, rwy'n edrych ymlaen at gydweithio efo chi ar y polisi hwn fel rhan o'r cytundeb cydweithredu rhwng fy mhlaid a'ch Llywodraeth. Mae cryn dipyn o dystiolaeth rhyngwladol ynglŷn â diwygio'r diwrnod a'r flwyddyn ysgol yn bodoli eisoes - rhai enghreifftiau llwyddiannus, a rhai enghreifftiau llai llwyddiannus. Nid yw'n syndod bod effeithiau ymestyn amser ysgol felly'n dibynnu ar sut mae'r amser yn cael ei ddefnyddio. Mae tystiolaeth yr EPI yn dangos i ni fod ymestyn diwrnod ysgol yn fwyaf effeithiol pan ydym yn defnyddio staff presennol sydd wedi'u hyfforddi'n dda, wedi'u hintegreiddio i ddosbarthiadau a gweithgareddau sy'n bodoli eisoes. Mae hyn yn seiliedig ar dystiolaeth empirig gadarn, ac mae'n fwy effeithiol, yn ôl tystiolaeth, ar gyfer mathemateg. Cyn belled â bod y dull hwn yn cael ei ddilyn, mae cyllid ychwanegol i alluogi amser ysgol estynedig yn debygol o arwain at enillion cyson a chryf. O gofio bod y dystiolaeth a ddarparwyd yn dangos inni fod ymestyn dyddiau ysgol yn fwyaf effeithiol pan fyddwn yn defnyddio staff presennol sydd wedi eu hyfforddi'n dda, a allai'r Gweinidog amlinellu sut y mae'r £2 miliwn o gyllid ar gyfer y peilot hwn, yn ogystal â'r cyllid ehangach ar gyfer adfer addysg, yn cael ei ddefnyddio i sicrhau bod staff sydd wedi eu hyfforddi'n dda ar waith i sicrhau adferiad addysg effeithiol ac i fanteisio i'r eithaf ar y manteision posib o ddiwygio'r diwrnod ysgol? Fe fyddwch chi hefyd yn ymwybodol bod nifer o randdeiliaid, gan gynnwys undebau ac athrawon, wedi codi pryderon nad dyma'r amser iawn ar gyfer unrhyw newidiadau megis ymestyn y diwrnod ysgol. Cafwyd ymateb cymysg gan undebau athrawon, gyda Neil Butler yn nodi a rhybuddio bod goblygiadau i lwyth gwaith athrawon, ac yn wir iechyd a diogelwch wrth i ysgolion barhau i gael trafferth gyda dygymod â COVID. Yn wir, mae rhai ysgolion gyda'r lefelau uchaf erioed o COVID yn ystod y pandemig ar yr amser hwn. Er eu bod, fel undebau, yn agored i newidiadau i'r diwrnod ysgol a'r flwyddyn ysgol, dywedodd UCAC eu bod, fel undeb, am sicrhau nad oes unrhyw niwed i delerau ac amodau athrawon. Felly, mae yna bryderon clir yma o ran llwyth gwaith, telerau ac amodau athrawon, ac iechyd a diogelwch o ran ymestyn y diwrnod ysgol a'r flwyddyn ysgol. Felly, a allai'r Gweinidog gofnodi ac ymateb i bryderon yr undeb tra'n cynnig rhywfaint o sicrwydd i athrawon na fyddant yn wynebu mwy o lwyth gwaith ac effeithiau niweidiol i'w telerau ac amodau? Mater arall yr hoffwn ei godi ydy - . Tra fy mod yn croesawu'r ffaith fod y peilot yn mynd rhagddo, gaf i godi mater sy'n peri pryder i mi? Yn ôl y wasg dwi wedi ei ddarllen, roeddech chi eisiau gweld 20 ysgol yn bod yn rhan o'r peilot i ddechrau, ond dim ond 14 sydd wedi arwyddo i fyny i gymryd rhan. Dwi'n deall, o'r 14, yn ôl cyfweliad a roesoch chi i Radio Cymru cyn y Nadolig, nad oes unrhyw un o'r rhain yn ysgolion cyfrwng Cymraeg a bod yr ysgolion i gyd un ai yng Nghaerdydd, Bro Morgannwg, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Castell Nedd Port Talbot neu Flaenau Gwent. Un her sydd gennym o ran ysgolion gwledig ac ysgolion cyfrwng Cymraeg yn benodol yw bod eu dalgylchoedd yn ehangach ac felly bod disgyblion yn gorfod dibynnu ar ddal bws i'r ysgol, gan golli cyfle yn aml, hyd yn oed rŵan, i ymuno efo clybiau brecwast a chlybiau ar ôl ysgol. Felly, os ydy'r peilot yma i fod mor ddefnyddiol a thrylwyr â phosibl, a ninnau'n edrych ar newid rhywbeth sydd wedi bodoli ers 150 o flynyddoedd, oni fyddai'n werth i'r Llywodraeth edrych hefyd ar drio cael chwech o ysgolion ychwanegol sydd yn benodol yn yr ardaloedd sydd ddim yn cael eu cynrychioli, ac edrych o ran ysgolion cynradd ac uwchradd Cymraeg, os ydyn ni wir yn mynd i ddysgu gwersi o'r peilot hwn? Yn gysylltiedig â hyn, mae'r pandemig wedi cael effaith andwyol iawn ar y Gymraeg, fel y gwyddom ni, ac mae wedi amddifadu nifer o blant o gefndiroedd di-Gymraeg rhag ei defnyddio'n rheolaidd ac yn naturiol. Heb os ac oni bai, mae hyn wedi cael effaith ar ddatblygiad dysgwyr ar eu ffordd i fod yn siaradwyr Cymraeg hyderus, ac mae'n bendant wedi cael effaith yn barod ar ein hymdrechion i gyrraedd miliwn o siaradwyr Cymraeg erbyn 2050. A allai'r Gweinidog felly amlinellu sut y mae'n credu y bydd y cynlluniau i ddiwygio'r diwrnod a'r flwyddyn ysgol yn cefnogi defnydd cynyddol o'r Gymraeg? Yn ychwanegol at hyn, o gofio'r prinder ymddangosiadol o athrawon Cymraeg yng Nghymru, a allai'r Gweinidog egluro sut yr ydych chi a Llywodraeth Cymru yn anelu at sicrhau bod y gweithlu yn ei le i ddarparu'r amser dysgu ychwanegol drwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg?