Friday 23 November 2012

Bwletin Seneddol Addysg/Assembly Education Bulletin 23/11/12

Wythnos yma yn y Senedd 23 Tachwedd


Ar ddydd Mawrth 20 Tachwedd, gwnaeth y Gweinidog dros Addysg a Sgiliau ddatganiad ar Ddarparu Gwasanaethau Addysg yng Nghymru yn y Dyfodol:

http://www.assemblywales.org/cy/bus-home/bus-chamber-fourth-assembly-rop.htm?act=dis&id=240711&ds=11/2012

Mae’r datganiad yn mynegi bwriad y Gweinidog i drawsnewid yn llwyr y strwythur o ddarparu gwasanaethau addysg.

Bydd adolygiad o ddarpariaeth gwasanaethau addysg yn cael ei gwblhau diwedd mis Mawrth 2013:

“The review will consider whether schools should be directly funded by Welsh Ministers, and/or whether there is scope for co-operative ownership of schools at a local level, combining secondary schools and the primary schools in their clusters, with shared systems of governance, which could mean reforming the system known as local management of schools. Such a system could operate in tandem with any of the proposals outlined above for regional delivery of education services. I have not ruled anything in or out, but the time is right for a full review and, obviously, the consequence of potential change would need to be considered.”

Dywedodd Simon Thomas ei fod yn cadw meddwl agored ar y ffordd ymlaen ond bod angen ymgynghoriad llawn:

“Rydym yn agored i weithredu fel plaid genedlaethol; rydym eisiau gweld gweithredu cenedlaethol ar y materion hyn, ac rydym eisiau gweld darpariaeth leol sy’n atebol i bobl leol. Mae cael y cydbwysedd yn iawn yn bwysig i ni, a byddem eisiau gweld y broses yn cael ei ymgynghori arni yn drwyadl gan y Llywodraeth.”

Mynegodd bryder ynglŷn â’r ffaith bod y Gweinidog yn rhoi’r bai ar y consortia addysg bod methiant wedi bod yn y ddarpariaeth o wasanaethau addysg ac atgoffodd y Gweinidog o’i eiriau ei hun yn nadl Plaid Cymru pythefnos ynghynt ar wella addysg a rôl y consortia:

“Cawsom ddadl bythefnos yn ôl ar y consortia rhanbarthol. Ni ddywedodd y Gweinidog unrhyw beth bryd hynny bod y ddarpariaeth yn ysbeidiol neu’n ‘patchy’; roedd yn trio dadlau bod y system yn gweithio. Bydd sawl un ar lefel awdurdod lleol mewn penbleth heddiw, ac rwyf yn gallu cydymdeimlo â hwy, achos maent yn ceisio rhoi ar waith yr hyn mae’r Gweinidog yn ofyn amdano ar hyn o bryd, sef y ddarpariaeth ranbarthol, ond mae fel pe bai’r Gweinidog yn awr yn tynnu’r rug ac yn dweud, ‘Na, rydym yn symud ymlaen at ddarpariaeth ranbarthol wahanol neu at ddarpariaeth genedlaethol’.”

Dywedodd hefyd na ddylid defnyddio addysg fel arbrawf er mwyn diwygio llywodraeth leol:

“The final thing to say, Minister, is that I suspect that the Welsh Labour Government is using education as the wedge to drive through local government reform. I think that that is the wrong way to go about it.”









This week in the Senedd 23 November

On Tuesday 20 November the Minister for Education and Skills made a statement on The Future Delivery of Education Services in Wales:

http://www.assemblywales.org/bus-home/bus-chamber-fourth-assembly-rop.htm?act=dis&id=240723&ds=11%2F2012#dataddysg

In this statement the Minister expresses his intention to transform the delivery of education services in Wales.

There is to be a review on the delivery of education services which is to report at the end of March 2013:

“The review will consider whether schools should be directly funded by Welsh Ministers, and/or whether there is scope for co-operative ownership of schools at a local level, combining secondary schools and the primary schools in their clusters, with shared systems of governance, which could mean reforming the system known as local management of schools. Such a system could operate in tandem with any of the proposals outlined above for regional delivery of education services. I have not ruled anything in or out, but the time is right for a full review and, obviously, the consequence of potential change would need to be considered.”

Simon Thomas stated that the Party of Wales will be keeping an open mind on the way forward but that it should be subject to a full consultation:

“We are open to working as a national party; we want to see action taken at a national level on these matters, and we want to see local provision that is accountable to local people. Getting that balance right is important to us, and we would want to see that process being consulted upon thoroughly by the Government.”

He expressed his concern regarding the Minister’s attempt to blame regional education consortia for failures to deliver education services and reminded the Minister of his own words during the Party of Wales’ debate on school improvement and the role of the consortia a fortnight previously:

“We had a debate a fortnight ago on the regional consortia. The Minister did not say at that point that the provision was patchy; he was trying to tell us that the system was working. A number of people at local authority level will be confused today and I can sympathise with them because they are trying to put in place what the Minister has requested, namely regional provision, and now the Minister seems to be pulling the rug from under them and saying, ‘No, we are moving towards a different sort of regional provision or even national provision’.”

He also stated that education should not be used as an experiment to drive through local government reform:

“The final thing to say, Minister, is that I suspect that the Welsh Labour Government is using education as the wedge to drive through local government reform. I think that that is the wrong way to go about it.”