English: I appreciate the Member's interest in closing the attainment gap and she will absolutely know, from the previous discussions that we've had in this Chamber, that this is a very important priority for me and for this Government generally. I share with her the concern in relation to the results that we saw this summer, which did in fact show a widening of the attainment gap. That has been something that we feared might happen and, as I know that she's aware, the renew and reform programme of investment that we've provided to schools and the education system to respond to the challenges of the last year is significantly weighted towards supporting learners, disadvantaged learners or those who need particularly additional support in order to continue with their learning. We've provided, during the pandemic, almost £180 million in relation to the recruit, recover, raise standards programme. That itself has been weighted towards providing more intensive support for our more disadvantaged learners and that has allowed opportunities for additional coaching, for mentoring and so on. But there is more that needs to be done and the funding in the system is designed to deliver that. The question of the attainment gap is a broader set of challenges than can be achieved and addressed simply within the school environment. Many of our programme for government commitments are designed to close the attainment gap, so whether that's around extending free school meal eligibility, whether it's around reform of the school day and the school year, whether it's around community-focused schools, all of these interventions are designed to contribute to that, and I look forward to working further with the Member in relation to those if she's happy to do that.
Welsh: Rwy'n deall diddordeb yr Aelod mewn cau'r bwlch cyrhaeddiad ac fe fydd yn gwybod yn iawn, o'r trafodaethau blaenorol a gawsom yn y Siambr hon, ei bod yn flaenoriaeth bwysig iawn i mi ac i'r Llywodraeth hon yn gyffredinol. Rwy'n rhannu ei phryder mewn perthynas â'r canlyniadau a welsom yr haf hwn, a oedd mewn gwirionedd yn dangos bod y bwlch cyrhaeddiad wedi tyfu. Roedd hynny'n rhywbeth roeddem yn ofni y gallai ddigwydd ac fel y gwn ei bod hi'n gwybod, mae'r rhaglen fuddsoddi adnewyddu a diwygio rydym wedi'i darparu i ysgolion a'r system addysg er mwyn ymateb i heriau'r flwyddyn ddiwethaf wedi'i phwysoli'n sylweddol tuag at gefnogi dysgwyr, dysgwyr difreintiedig neu'r rhai y mae angen cymorth ychwanegol arnynt er mwyn parhau â'u dysgu. Yn ystod y pandemig, rydym wedi darparu bron i £180 miliwn mewn perthynas â'r rhaglen recriwtio, adfer a chodi safonau. Mae hynny ei hun wedi'i bwysoli tuag at ddarparu cymorth mwy dwys i'n dysgwyr mwy difreintiedig ac mae hynny wedi caniatáu cyfleoedd ar gyfer hyfforddiant ychwanegol, ar gyfer mentora ac yn y blaen. Ond mae angen gwneud mwy ac mae'r cyllid yn y system wedi'i gynllunio i gyflawni hynny. Mae cwestiwn y bwlch cyrhaeddiad yn gyfres ehangach o heriau nag y gellir eu cyflawni a mynd i'r afael â hwy o fewn amgylchedd yr ysgol yn unig. Mae llawer o'n hymrwymiadau yn y rhaglen lywodraethu wedi'u cynllunio ar gyfer cau'r bwlch cyrhaeddiad, felly boed yn ymwneud ag ymestyn cymhwysedd i gael prydau ysgol am ddim, diwygio'r diwrnod ysgol a'r flwyddyn ysgol, neu ysgolion bro, mae'r holl ymyriadau hyn wedi'u cynllunio i gyfrannu at hynny, ac edrychaf ymlaen at weithio ymhellach gyda'r Aelod ar y rheini os yw'n hapus i wneud hynny.