 Rhaid i ddweud o'r cyfnodd ddechrau i chi i gyd yn dweud o'r cyfnodd. Rydyn ni'n dymrwy, a'r ddechrau i chi i chi'n dweud o'r cyfnodd a dda chi wedi'n dweud o'r cyfnodd o'r cyfnodd o'r cysylltu i chi, ond byddwn i chi ddweud i chi i chi'n dweud o'r cyfnodd. Dydyn ni'n ddweud am y dyfodol, rydyn ni'n ddod i chi ddweud o'r cyfnodd, i iciwch yn ystod y gallwch gyda'r drwnw, efallai mae'r mwyaf ysgol yma hwnnw, gofyn o'r yr unig ar gweithio'r pwysig ar y gyfer. Mae'n gwaelwch, gydweithio'r gwaelwch ar all ni, a'r gwaith yn ddiddordebwch er fydd y gwaedden yn gondol, ac yn gwych i'r brwysig, mae'n ddiddordebwch o'r gwaith. Felly ddwy'r gwaelwch yn ddiddordebwch mae'n gwybod er fwyf, ac roedd gyda'r traerau ac arweithio'r traerau yr unig cyfnodd yr oedd yn dweud i'r gynhyrchu'r oedd ymlaenwyr ar gwrdd y dyfodol. Mae'r gweithio'r rhan o'r fwyaf sydd wedi'i gynhyrchu'r cyffredinol o'r ffais ymlaenwyr sydd yn ei gynhyrchu'r gwrdd. Felly, o'r bwysig, yn ddiwedd ar gyfer jade. Woodriad asko. How do you plan on improving wellbeing in schools following this? Personally I think the first few weeks back should be wellbeing weeks, positivity groups, Building friendships and working on how this has affected them and their mental health. Well Jade, I couldn't agree with you more. What we know is unless we address children's wellbeing then we cannot get learning to stick. That's why we've given some freedom to our headteachers a mai hynny dwi'n ardal i ysgolio'r llwytaeth ywlad yn gyfnyddio'n torri i gyd, os ydych chi'n gynhyrchi'r fforddau, diogelio'n i'r sgolio'r hyn mae ei hyn yn ei fawr. A Pen i wych yn effeithio i'w ffryd nad yw Gwylio Primer Cymru, i ddim yn astudio'r twfyn ar hyn sy'n rhai o'r cyffredigau o bwrdd sy'n gwybod i'r twyll domainol, i'n teimlo yn trefaint ymddangos o'r prysgau. ond you know, around the washing of hands, and doing all the right things in school, and then beginning to you know, focus in again on learning. So you're absolutely right, and what's really important is that this has been recognised by our chief inspector of schools. So, Maly Rowlands, who is the head of Estyn, our school inspectorate, did a review into how schools have been supporting children during this time. i ddweud i'r cwmpar o'r meddwl ei wneud o'r ffordd i'r wneud i'r rhaid i'r mwneud i gael agnodd gweld bwyd, ac i'r rhaid i'r prirrequisit, ddim yw i ddweud i'r ddweud i gael ei wneud i'r wneud i'r pwyd yn iawn i'r pwyd yn cael eu cyffredinol, ac i'r pwyd i'r lluniau. Welcome to the National University of Ireland, where we will now go to Sean who asks, are you willing to look at revising your plans for older children to return to school given the falling numbers of infections continuing, the hospital admissions falling and peers in England returning to school many weeks before Welsh students along with plans to open up tourism weeks before planning on sending some age groups back to school. gyda'r gweld. Mae Siarann yn ystafell gan gwybod yma gwybod yng Nghymru, gyda y gweithio â'r fawr yng Nghymru, ac mae'n ei gweithio'r gweld ar gyfer gwahaniaeth gwahanol, bo'r gwahanol yn ymgyrch yn ei gweithio'r gwahanol o'r gwahanol yn cael ei gweithio'r gwahanol a'u gwahanol y bydd y gwahanol. I would say... Please have a look for yourself. All the science���Qs that Guides my Decision is published on the Welsh Government website, and you can have a look, as to the advice I'm receiving, and how that advice then translates into how we are opening up education again. The UK-wide advice and the Welsh advice is, that any return to school has to be done carefully and cautiously ac mae have to return some schools, weight to ensure that there are no adverse incidents as a result of that, that we don't see as spiking infections, that we don't jeopardise the hard won gains that we've been able to make against coronavirus and they would like that to happen in spaces of three weeks. And that's why we have foundation phase back this week for three weeks to monitor that situation. ac mae'r caffiec a'r ffordd y ffordd yw'r ffordd yw'r cyffredinol yma yw'r ysgol yn ymgyrch, mae'n gwybod i'r rhai ymddiadau yma yn y 15, a'r gweithio yma yn y 11 a 13, ac mae'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r 10 a 12 yn ymgyrch. Yn y ffordd, mae'n gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio, ond oedd yna gweithio mae'n amser i chi amdano ni oherwydd, ac mae heddiw yn ymgyrch pray o'r gweithio'r gweithio yma, mae'n gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r cyffredinol gyda'r gweithio gyda'r gweithio'r gweithio'r cwrthogaeth yn g awkward yn gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio gyda'r gweithio geithasol. Ond yn ystod yn ei gweithio'r gyfoeth yma ychydig o'r disbyn am hynny yma, a gychydig o flaen i gael o syniad ymgyrch, Mae'r cyflau ar gweithio'r cyflau sy'n gyffredinol yn y Cymru, yn y fflusio yng Nghymru, yn y Udda, ac yn y Cymru, yn y Cymru. Mae hynny'n gwneud hynny'n gwneud ym Mhwyddol Cymru, yng Nghymru, ac ym Mhwyddol Scotland. Bydd ydych chi'n ymddangos cyflwyneu o'r adnod, ac yn y gwneud, yma yw ddiwylliannod, yw ychydig chi'n gwybod gwybod gyda'i sgol yn gweithio ac yn gwylltig, Felly, mae'r llaw mwy o hynny, os gallwn ni'n gweithio'r ddannu'r llaw. Myth nhw'n rhan o ydychweddlu ar gyfer gwaith, a chymeddderon wrth ar gyfer gyllideb gwrteng i hoffin umsgol ac yn ddiddordeb gwneud o'r ffordd i chi chi'n gweld, yn gweithio'r ferwyd. Lliad ar hyn o'r llwyddoeddŷn ar gyfer gwahanol o'r hynny, mae ymddangos cwrs ni'n nid o'r goddamnu hyn o un o'r llwyddon i hefyd o'r llwyddon o'r llaw i hynny. Get the clearance to get more children back more quickly. I think the reason why we're having to be especially cautious and think it's important to recognise this is the presence of the new variants. I think if we had been dealing with the old original variant of Covid we'd be in a very different position. But we know that the new variant of Covid is much more transmittable and so we have to take that into consideration. Ym hyn ysgol I'n ystynadol, y dyfodol sy'n dosudio gyda H Farfwyr Finyddionol... ...y gyda Spy M, ti wnaeth gwybod. Spy M ym gyfrifydydd yn yr ysgolio'r gyfer ystod Ysgolio Ysgolio spy N am fyddwyr ddechrau deithas anaf. Ysgolio'r cyntaf, yn ymgyrch, mae hynny'n gwisech o fofеж yn registerllion rhani, ac mae'n meddwl fy nghymru nad yma ac yn ysgolio ydyn nhw fyddwyd yn de서� yn gyffredig... If community levels of transmission get out of control again, that has a devastating impact on our ability to keep schools operating. So they say that a big bang approach really risks jumping R above one again and we've worked really hard to get it down and we need to keep it down and that's why our approach here is the one that we're taking in Wales and I'm not aware of any country anywhere in the world that has had such a long period of lockdown, such a huge peaking cases which we're tragically having to recover from how they've opened up their schools in a single and a single go. So we're following the science and please you know the science is available for you to have a look at and take a look for for yourselves but we're constantly checking and seeking new advice, new modelling, new data and we will move as fast as we think that it is safe to do so. Moving to Jessica, Jessica asks why have teachers not been prioritised for vaccines and why are we sending younger children back first? Well Jessica, the Welsh Government indeed as the other governments in the UK do, we're following the advice on vaccinations that was given to us by the JCVI. That committee is independent of politics and politicians made up of experts who give advice on how any vaccination programme, immunisation programme, should run in our country and they have identified those groups who are most likely to suffer severe harm or death as a result of contracting COVID-19. So it's very much a risk based approach and those groups are outlined in sections of one to nine. Thanks to the tremendous efforts here in Wales we are making fantastic progress moving our way through those groups and we are confident that we'll be able to get through groups one to nine offering a vaccine to everybody who in those groups want to take up the opportunity and I would urge you to take up that opportunity when it is your turn. We'll be able to get through those groups now by April and then we will await further advice from the JCVI on which groups of individuals should be vaccinated and next. I understand that that advice is imminent because of course we're getting to the stage where we're going to have completed the first one to nine. I think it's important to recognise how anxious teachers, teaching assistants, those involved in getting our children to school, those working in cleaning and cooking positions, all the people that are working in our schools. I understand how anxious that they are but if you're most at risk because of your age or an underlying health condition then you'll be picked up in those initial nine groups and in the hope of offering you some reassurance studies show that teachers and those working with children in our schools are fortunately no more likely to die as a result of Covid than the general public. Indeed other studies have shown that they are no more likely to be hospitalised as a result of contracting Covid than the general population and a recent study in Scotland showed that they were no more likely to test positive. The best way we can keep our schools working is to make sure we keep community transmission levels low. That's where the real risk is and that's why we're taking this cautious approach to returning children and why the youngest children. Well we know that the youngest children are the least likely to contract Covid and thankfully the only silver lining it's a very thin one I know but we can be thankful that we know that Covid fortunately is a relatively mild disease or a very mild disease in children but we know our youngest children are least likely to contract Covid and therefore are least likely to pass it on so this is the lowest risk group of children in terms of transmission of the disease and we also know that for our youngest children the distance learning which has been a challenge for everybody and I don't want to diminish that challenge but it has been particularly hard to deliver the foundation phase through distance learning despite the best efforts of teachers so that's why it's that cohort of children that have been prioritised first and as I said you'll see the same prioritisation in Scotland and in Northern Ireland and I am delighted that they have been beginning to go back this week and just to talk to those children this morning they were really really pleased to be back seeing their friends seeing their teachers and back learning and playing together. Michelle asks my daughter is in year 12 and I'm wondering how she can possibly sit A levels next year having no experience of sitting exams she did not do GCSEs nor will she do her AS levels she's applying for university so for a student with no experience of having the pressure of sitting all on nothing exams there's so much resting on the results well first of all Michelle the best of luck to your daughter and I find myself in exactly the same position and I too have a daughter sitting who's in year 12 and the last formal exams that she will have sat were back in year 10 and it's only natural that you and she are anxious about the prospect of exams I do hope that we will be in a public health situation that exams will go ahead next year but please be assured that we will be working with schools recognising you know the challenges that your daughter and others in her position will face to ensure that they are prepared as well as they can be to to get ready for those to get ready for those exams so there will be you know extra support put in place because we recognise that it will be a specific challenge for those children that have not sat their year 11 exams or not sat their AS level exams and your schools and colleges are aware of those issues and we will be looking to support children and I'm sure it's something that our regulator and our exam board will be considering as we move forward but best of luck to her and her applications to university let's have a look Alison says do you think people should go back a year to catch up well Alison there may be some cases that perhaps you know that is in the best interests of the child but I think it's important to remember that all children have had their education interrupted but they have continued to learn and experience things even whilst they've been out of face-to-face learning what's really important is that we put together a package to support those children to re-engage in their learning and continue to get back on track and to make progress I think it's absolutely of course tempting to think about pouring extra pressure and extra lessons and extra content on children but I'm always reminded by a quote which is attributed to Yates that education isn't about filling a bucket it's about lighting a fire and that takes us back to the point that was raised at the very beginning about addressing well-being we really need to recognise the challenge and situation that children have faced and then we need to re-engage them in their learning and then support them to make the progress that they need to make recognising that all children's lessons and learning has been interrupted there will be particular challenges for different parts of the cohort we know that this has been a particularly difficult time for children with additional learning needs we know that this has been a particularly different difficult time for those families where it's been really difficult to engage in distance learning we know it's been a particularly difficult time for those parents whose children are in Welsh media education but they don't speak Welsh at home so there will be a need to make sure that there's specific support for different cohorts of children and then for individual children we know that there will be some children that will really need that extra individual help now we've already employed an additional thousand members of staff in this academic year and I will be announcing very shortly a longer term strategy for the medium and longer term of how we can support children's education going forward but being confident you know that our teachers know what needs to be done to move children forward in their learning and we need to make sure that they're given the resources and the ability to do just that let me also then have a look at Katie I think yeah Katie there's a lot of speculation that the summer holidays will be cut and also longer school days is there any truth in this well Katie there's long been a debate actually in education about whether we organise our academic year in a way that is best for children and best for learning we do know that that six weeks summer holiday period can be really really challenging and many professionals will tell you and talk to you about how those first weeks in an autumn term in a normal year is about reacquainting children with school and catching up and and getting them back to where they were when they left the school at the beginning of the summer at the summer holidays so this is not a new phenomena nor is it a new debate so so I think then we need to have a debate about whether we organise our academic year in the most optimum fashion but I think it's also important to recognise that that children and families and those that work with them will need to have a break this summer so that's really important as well and if we were to shorten the summer holidays in any way at all we would want to make sure that that time was reorganised later in the year and again I know that we're feeling much more hopeful that the vaccination is coming forward and giving us real hope but you know we also need to be cognisant of the fact that our scientists are a bit worried about what COVID might do in the autumn and the winter so I think there is a debate to be had about whether we have a slightly shorter slightly shorter summer holiday and then add those weeks on maybe to the Christmas holidays when we think maybe we could find ourselves you know in a bit of a challenging situation again in terms of the summer though what I am pleased to say is that every summer we run a very successful food and fun programme in many of our communities where our junior children are able to go in and participate in lots of activities we're doubling the amount of investment in that programme this summer so many many more children will be able to avail themselves of the opportunity I hope to engage in food and fun there's lots of sporting activities art activities science cooking a really really good time as well and that's something that will be expanding to more children as for extra hours again I think we have to be mindful of not overloading children and getting them back and then overwhelming them with with extra extra lessons so we've got to work thinking about what is best for children yes in the short term but also making sure it's sustainable for them and having a longer term plan not just for this academic year but also for further academic academic years let's have a look at the next who else have we got here Jane Jane says some staff are in school but have no access to lateral flow tests that's not what they expected well Jane I'm sorry to hear that a lot of tests have already been delivered and all schools will have those tests by the end of the week indeed the school I was in this morning it was great to hear that those tests have been delivered and in fact the staff this morning had been administering those tests so we'll be expecting any outstanding test deliveries to be completed before the end of this before the end of this week so I hope that they will be with you very very shortly okay let's have a look what else is coming in Ashley. Cyncae Stee Williams please explain why the government is looking reviewing to open non-essential shops and hairdressers before all children are back in education well Ashley I know that people are joining all the time and this kind of relates back to a question that we had earlier but I think it's really important that we talk through the process about the decisions that we're making the science tells us that we need to introduce children back into school gradually in tranches and then to pause and to ensure that that reopening doesn't negatively impact on the public health scenario that we're facing in and we're doing that as quickly as the scientists advise us to do and that's in three week periods so that first tranche of students our foundation phase going back from this week and that will happen for three weeks and we are confident if all the figures go in the right way then we can on the 15th of march then move to having more children back for face-to-face learning but as I said earlier frustratingly Easter is really really really early this year and then we bump up against the Easter holidays before we've had a chance to review the impact of the second group of children going back on the public health situation believe me the priority for the Welsh Government is to use any headroom that we have got to unlock restrictions on education at first but because potentially we are running into a period where children are out of school because of the recess government is also looking at whether there are other things that do not present a massive risk to our spiking again in cases getting out of control again to see whether there are other things in again and a slowly and a considered way that could be unlocked and the First Minister will be making an announcement on that basis at the next review but education remains the government's and has always been the government's priority that's why we've got children back in school this week and we haven't been able to unlock any of the further measures and as I said we're constantly reviewing the advice and the guidance that is coming we're learning all of the time and and if the advice is that we can move more quickly that we don't have to wait for these three week periods and there are opportunities to get children back more quickly at this side of the Easter holidays then believe me then I will grab that opportunity because just like you I want children back in in their schools in their classrooms with their teachers as quickly as we are able to do so. Let's have a look at what is coming in. Okay we've had a question here from Rebecca about masks and the delivery of masks. Well Rebecca I'm sorry to hear that masks haven't been delivered we're the only government in the United Kingdom that has paid for schools to be supplied with their face coverings for both pupils and staff but it is for each local authority to ensure that those supplies have got to you they are they they are we've given them the money and they do the job of buying those supplies and then distributing them so I would urge you to get in touch with your local educational authority to understand when those face coverings will be with you and I hope but if you wanted to confidentially drop me a line about which one then obviously we can pursue that for you. Okey dokes well there are lots of people I can see asking about universities and understandably we spend a lot of time talking about schools but obviously we're managing this process for FE colleges and as well delighted that we're able to get more of our FE students back this week especially those students that are taking qualifications that require them to do a practical element to demonstrate those skills and again on the 15th of March we're hoping that only will we get some more of our children back to face-to-face learning in schools that's also the same for FE colleges if your child is studying equivalent qualifications in a sixth form college or your local FE college. With regards to universities again we're working very closely with the university sector to manage that return back cautiously and carefully prioritising students who have practical elements of their courses which make it absolutely you know really really really difficult to be able to do for home so whether that be our medics for instance or our nursing students we are seeing some more students back in university this week again asking universities to prioritise those that need access to the facilities that they can only find on their campuses and we are working with other governments to understand you know how we can extend that process that process on but again we're doing it carefully and cautiously mindful of the science and prioritising those students that really really need to be on campus to be able to complete their studies. Clearly there's a lot of cross-border flow so we've got lots of Welsh domicile students who study in England lots of English domicile students who study at Welsh universities are working very closely with the Westminster government on arrangements for testing and travel and to make sure we're working collaboratively across the country because we recognise that students potentially are traveling across borders and hoping to make announcement very shortly on enhanced testing that will allow more students back onto campus as quickly as we possibly as we possibly can. Just to remind you that if you are a parent of a university student and you're worried about financial difficulties that your son or daughter may be experiencing we have invested some 40 million pounds in Welsh universities first of all some of that to support mental health services to ensure that students have access to mental health support but the vast majority of that money has gone into hardship funds so if your son or daughter is having some difficulties financially worried about finance then they should approach their university for support and to ensure that that 40 million pounds that the Welsh government has invested gets out into students to support them recognising that many of them have got extra expenditure or have not been able to get those part-time jobs that help sustain them through study so that's any student that is studying at a Welsh university if you're a parent of a child who is studying in another part of the kingdom then separate arrangements are made available and they should approach their university to understand what levels of support that may have been made available in England, Scotland or Northern Ireland. Well can I just thank you very much for taking the time and trouble to send your questions in this evening we will continue to provide updates on latest announcements decisions and policies are on the Welsh Government media channels as well as on the Welsh Government education channels but thank you very much for joining us this evening and good night.