English: I congratulated you, education Minister, earlier in remarks, along with everyone involved, on the improvements that we have seen in the PISA results on this cycle. Reading your statement earlier, I was just a little concerned that you might be becoming a bit too self-congratulatory on these ones. The remarks that are positive, yes, but not perfect, for instance, I thought was a bit too much, and it's not as good as the rest of the UK. But I think in what you said now in the answers to both the spokesmen before - . And you also you added at the end of your statement - the verbal version - that this must just be the beginning, and I do recognise that. However, when you say that we spent far too long lagging behind other countries - you said Netherlands and Switzerland, and then you said, 'Well, Scotland and Northern Ireland, for that matter, we now join them in the OECD mainstream.' Do you recognise that Scotland and Northern Ireland are significantly above that mainstream for reading, and we're not quite there yet in the overall comparison? Could I refer to the - ? We had some slides circulated earlier that were jointly badged Welsh Government and Education Wales. And one of those was on high performers. You also mentioned just now the improvement at level 5 or above in reading from 3 per cent to 7 per cent - a significant improvement, and behind but beginning to approach the OECD average of 9 per cent. On the maths, not quite as good - we've gone up from 4 per cent to 7 per cent, and that compares to the 11 per cent average. You said in your statement just now - an increased proportion of top performers in the other two domains, referring to maths and science. And we also see this in the slide that was shared earlier. In science, it says it went up from 4 per cent in 2015 to 5 per cent in 2018 at level 5 and above. However, in the results report that was also circulated to us earlier, I note at page 194, it says that for science, only 4 per cent got level 5 or above for Wales in 2018. So, I just wonder if we could check that, and if we haven't seen the improvement compared to the 4 per cent in 2015, if we could, at least, correct that while recognising the improvements in the other areas at this level, which matches the emphasis you put earlier on the A* proportion at A-level. Since you came into the role, I've questioned you quite a lot about the Seren project, and it has struck me that it has been something you've been pushing personally and persuading colleagues to get behind as well. Perhaps we do see some of those outcomes coming through. Again, though, while I'd say there have been improvements and I am prepared to welcome those, I just caution against getting too far ahead of ourselves in comparisons to the rest of the UK about where we now are with Oxbridge or the Russell Group. Yes, there have been improvements, and I'm really pleased that admission staff are recognising that. But do you agree that there's still a long way to go, and keeping that trajectory going is really important if we're going to be saying that we're better than other parts of the UK? I would caution against suggesting we're there yet. One area I would like to ask about is, you have the ambition to close the attainment gap in terms of the socioeconomic basis and also to raise standards, and I just wonder if, as we push towards that, whether a tension may emerge between those two aims. The attainment gap is relatively flat for Wales when you compare with the rest of the UK, but particularly with the OECD average, where there's a very steep upward trajectory across the socioeconomic groups. And internationally, quite a lot of countries will actually see more spending for kids of well-off parents than poorer ones, and perhaps may correct for that, to a degree. But we're very unusual in going far beyond that and having substantially higher spending for the children of less well-off parents than for the better-off parents. And I just note, when you compare with England in reading, most of the difference with England is in the top half of the socioeconomic distribution, and there, we're averaging 30 to 40 points less on the reading tests than England. I just wonder, if we are to close that gap with England, we may need to see significant improvements at that level of the socioeconomic, as well as the lower level where, if you were to do it all through a closure of the attainment gap, you would be seeing attainment that would be really quite extraordinary at the lower levels, and I welcome your ambition on that. But I just wonder about the funding of some of the schools, which have their socioeconomic intakes in the upper half, and I've been struck at the primary level by barely £3,000, a bit more sometimes, per year, per child, and to some extent, at secondary. And in England, what we're seeing is a levelling up of those lower spending schools, and I worry that, if we don't also see that in Wales it will be very hard to get up to that 500 level, and particularly to get our levels close to England on the reading side in particular. Finally, you refer to advice from the OECD, and after the poor results last time, you emphasise these results and this advice and engaging with them, and I just wonder, can you clarify what that is? We've got this 262-page results report. I don't know when you've received that or whether you've got other material for them that we haven't seen yet. What is it that you do with the OECD in terms of advice? Is that an ongoing relationship? Do schools who participate in PISA have an opportunity to benefit from that as well? And what, so far, do you see as the key bits of advice as to what they're saying to you as to what's required now, having looked at these results and the improvements relative to last time, albeit still lagging behind the rest of the UK on many measures?
Welsh: Roeddwn i'n eich llongyfarch chi, Gweinidog Addysg, mewn sylwadau cynharach, ynghyd â phawb dan sylw, am y gwelliannau yr ydym ni wedi eu gweld yng nghanlyniadau PISA y tro hwn. Wrth ddarllen eich datganiad yn gynharach, roeddwn i braidd yn bryderus y gallech chi fod ychydig yn rhy barod i ganmol eich hunain. Er enghraifft, roedd y sylwadau sy'n gadarnhaol ond nid yn mynegi perffeithrwydd, braidd yn ormodol, ac nid yw hyn cystal â gweddill y DU. Ond rwy'n credu yn yr hyn yr oeddech chi'n ei ddweud nawr yn yr atebion i'r ddau siaradwr blaenorol - . Ac roeddech chi'n ychwanegu ar ddiwedd eich datganiad - y fersiwn lafar ohono - mai dim ond megis dechrau yw hyn, ac rwyf innau'n cydnabod hynny. Er hynny, pan ddywedwch ein bod wedi treulio llawer gormod o amser yn llusgo'r tu ôl i wledydd eraill - fe wnaethoch chi sôn am yr Iseldiroedd a'r Swistir, ac yna roeddech chi'n dweud, 'Wel, yr Alban a Gogledd Iwerddon, o ran hynny, rydym ni'n ymuno â nhw nawr ym mhrif ffrwd yr OECD.' A ydych chi'n cydnabod bod yr Alban a Gogledd Iwerddon gryn dipyn yn uwch na'r brif ffrwd ar gyfer darllen, ac nid ydym wedi cyrraedd y fan honno eto yn y gymhariaeth gyffredinol? A gaf i gyfeirio at y - ? Fe welsom ni sleidiau yn cael eu dangos yn gynharach a oedd â bathodyn Llywodraeth Cymru ac Addysg Cymru arnyn nhw. Ac roedd un o'r rhain am berfformwyr uchel. Roeddech chi'n sôn hefyd nawr am y gwelliant ar lefel 5 neu uwch mewn darllen o 3 y cant i 7 y cant - gwelliant sylweddol, ac er bod hyn ar ei hôl hi mae'n dechrau agosáu at gyfartaledd yr OECD o 9 y cant. O ran mathemateg, ddim cystal - rydym wedi codi o 4 y cant i 7 y cant, ac mae hynny'n cymharu â chyfartaledd o 11 y cant. Roeddech chi'n dweud yn eich datganiad gynnau fach - cyfran uwch o'r perfformwyr uchel yn y ddau faes arall, sy'n cyfeirio at fathemateg a gwyddoniaeth. A gwelwn hyn hefyd yn y sleid a ddangoswyd yn gynharach. Mewn gwyddoniaeth, mae'n dweud bod hyn wedi codi o 4 y cant yn 2015 i 5 y cant yn 2018 ar lefel 5 ac uwch. Serch hynny, yn yr adroddiad canlyniadau a ddosbarthwyd inni yn gynharach hefyd, rwy'n nodi ar dudalen 194, mae'n dweud, ar gyfer gwyddoniaeth, mai dim ond 4 y cant a gafodd lefel 5 neu uwch yng Nghymru yn 2018. Felly, tybed a allem ni wirio hynny, ac os nad ydym wedi gweld y gwelliant o'i gymharu â'r 4 y cant yn 2015, pe gallem ni, o leiaf, unioni hynny gan gydnabod y gwelliannau mewn meysydd eraill ar y lefel hon, sy'n cyfateb i'r pwyslais a roddwyd gennych chi yn gynharach ar gyfran A* Lefel A. Ers ichi ddechrau yn eich swydd, rwyf wedi holi cryn dipyn arnoch chi ynglŷn â phrosiect Seren, ac rwyf i o dan yr argraff ei fod yn rhywbeth yr ydych chi wedi bod yn ei annog yn bersonol ac wedi perswadio cydweithwyr i'w gefnogi hefyd. Efallai ein bod ni'n gweld rhai o ganlyniadau hyn yn dod i'r amlwg. Eto, er hynny, fe fyddwn i'n dweud bod gwelliannau wedi digwydd ac rwy'n barod i groesawu'r rhain, rwy'n rhybuddio rhag mynd yn rhy bell o ran ein cymharu ni â gweddill y DU ynghylch ein sefyllfa bresennol gyda Rhydychen a Chaergrawnt neu Grŵp Russell. Oes, mae gwelliannau wedi bod, ac rwy'n falch iawn bod staff derbyn yn cydnabod hynny. Ond a ydych chi'n cytuno bod ffordd bell i fynd eto, ac mae'n bwysig iawn cadw at y llwybr hwnnw os ydym am ddweud ein bod ni'n well na rhannau eraill o'r DU? Fe fyddwn i'n rhybuddio rhag awgrymu ein bod ni wedi cyrraedd y marc eto. Un maes yr hoffwn i holi yn ei gylch yw bod gennych chi'r uchelgais i gau'r bwlch cyrhaeddiad o ran y sail economaidd-gymdeithasol a chodi safonau hefyd. Tybed a fydd yna densiwn yn dod i'r amlwg rhwng y ddau nod hyn, wrth inni ymlafnio tuag at hynny. Mae'r bwlch cyrhaeddiad yn gymharol wastad ar gyfer Cymru o'i gymharu â gweddill y DU, ond yn arbennig o ran cyfartaledd yr OECD, lle mae cynnydd serth iawn ledled y grwpiau economaidd-gymdeithasol. Ac yn rhyngwladol, fe fydd cryn dipyn o wledydd mewn gwirionedd yn gweld mwy o wariant ar blant i rieni cefnog na rai tlotach, ac efallai y byddai'n unioni hynny, i ryw raddau. Ond rydym yn anghyffredin iawn wrth fynd ymhell y tu hwnt i hynny a gwario llawer mwy ar blant rhieni llai cefnog nag ar y rhieni mwy cefnog. Ac rwy'n sylwi, wrth gymharu â Lloegr ym maes darllen, bod y rhan fwyaf o'r gwahaniaeth â Lloegr yn hanner uchaf y dosbarthiad economaidd-gymdeithasol, ac yn y fan honno, rydym ni ar gyfartaledd 30 i 40 o bwyntiau yn is yn y profion darllen nag yn Lloegr. Os ydym yn dymuno cau'r bwlch hwnnw gyda Lloegr, efallai y bydd angen gweld gwelliannau sylweddol ar y lefel honno o'r sefyllfa economaidd-gymdeithasol, yn ogystal â'r lefel is lle, pe baech chi'n gwneud y cyfan drwy gau'r bwlch o ran cyrhaeddiad, byddech yn gweld cyrhaeddiad a fyddai i'w ryfeddu ar y lefelau is, ac rwy'n croesawu eich uchelgais yn hynny o beth. Ond rwy'n holi o ran cyllid rhai o'r ysgolion, sydd â'u cymeriant economaidd-gymdeithasol yn yr hanner uchaf, ac fe gefais i fy nharo gan y lefel gynradd, sef prin £3,000, ychydig yn uwch weithiau, y flwyddyn, fesul plentyn, ac i ryw raddau, yn yr uwchradd. Yn Lloegr, yr hyn a welir yw codi lefel yr ysgolion hynny sy'n gwario llai, ac mae'n ofid gennyf i, os na welir hynny yng Nghymru hefyd fe fydd hi'n anodd iawn cyrraedd y lefel honno o 500, ac yn arbennig felly i fod â'n lefelau ni'n agos at rai Lloegr o ran darllen yn benodol. Yn olaf, rydych chi'n cyfeirio at gyngor gan yr OECD, ac ar ôl y canlyniadau siomedig y tro diwethaf, rydych chi'n pwysleisio'r canlyniadau hyn a'r cyngor hwn ac yn ymgysylltu â nhw. Tybed a wnewch chi egluro beth yw'r cyngor hwnnw? Mae gennym ni'r adroddiad hwn o 262 o dudalennau ar ganlyniadau. Nid wyf yn gwybod pryd y cawsoch chi hwn neu a oes gennych chi ddeunydd arall nad ydym wedi ei weld eto. Beth ydych chi'n ei wneud gyda'r OECD o ran cyngor? A yw hon yn berthynas barhaus? A oes gan ysgolion sy'n cymryd rhan ym mhrofion PISA gyfle i elwa ar hynny hefyd? A beth, hyd yn hyn, yw'r darnau allweddol o gyngor y maen nhw'n ei ddweud wrthych sy'n angenrheidiol nawr, ar ôl edrych ar y canlyniadau hyn a'r gwelliannau o'u cymharu â'r tro diwethaf, er bod hynny'n golygu llusgo ar ôl gweddill y DU ar sawl cyfrif o hyd?