£1 YR WYTHNOS I ATAL YSGOLION BACH CYMUNEDOL RHAG CAU / £1 A WEEK TO SAVE SMALL COMMUNITY SCHOOLS FROM CLOSURE

RHOWCH £1 yr wythnos er mwyn achub ysgolion pentref rhag cau ar draws Cymru, a chewch y cyfle i ennill hyd at £500, datgelodd Glyn Roberts, Is Lywydd Undeb Amaethwyr Cymru heddiw.

Wrth siarad ar stondin UAC yn Eisteddfod Genedlaethol yn y Bala, croesawodd Mr Roberts benderfyniad Cymdeithas Cymunedau Cymru gydag Ysgolion Bach (CCCYB) i ffurfio partneriaeth gyda grp newydd sef "Hyrwyddo Ysgolion Bach - Promoting Small Schools" (HYB).

"Gydag awdurdodau addysg lleol a Llywodraeth Cynulliad Cymru yn rhoi symiau mawr o arian i gau ysgolion bach, mae'n bwysig ein bod yn ariannu darn annibynnol o ymchwil fel bod ymgyrchwyr yn medru ei ddefnyddio i ddangos y ffeithiau craidd ar gyfer cadw ein hysgolion bach ar agor ac nid tystiolaeth emosiynol anecdotaidd" dywedodd Mr Roberts.

Bydd grwp HYB yn canolbwyntio ar y cychwyn ar godi arian er mwyn cynnal adolygiad peilot er mwyn adnabod ymchwil sydd wedi ei wneud yn barod i gefnogi ysgolion bach ac adnabod ardaloedd sydd angen rhagor o ymchwil mewn ymgais i gryfhau'r ddadl o gadw ysgolion bach. Mi all hyn gynnwys ymchwil ar ardaloedd lle mae cymunedau eisoes wedi gweld ysgolion yn cau."

Mae UAC yn aelod o Gymdeithas Cymunedau Cymru gydag Ysgolion Bach ynghyd a Cronfa Ysgolion Bach; Ymgyrch Diogelu Cymru Wledig; Merched y Wawr; Ffederasiwn Sefydliadau'r Merched Cymru; a Clybiau Ffermwyr Ifanc Cymru.

Dywedodd Cris Tomos, Cadeirydd CCCYB bod £1 yr wythnos oddi wrth aelodau'r gronfa ar draws Cymru nawr wedi galluogi CCCYB i weithio mewn partneriaeth gyda HYB.

Mae'r bartneriaeth yn defnyddio'r arian a godwyd o gronfa £1 yr wythnos i gomisiynu arbenigwr annibynnol i wneud ymchwil ar effaith addysg, ymglymiad wrth rieni, gwasanaethau cymunedol a chost terfynol y trethdalwyr o gau ysgolion bach. Gellid darllen manylion y gwaith ymchwil ar wefan CCCYB sef www.acwss.org.uk

Mae'n dda gweld pobl yn fodlon rhoi £1 yr wythnos i dynfa'r gronfa er mwyn achub ysgolion bach, ond hefyd mae'n bwysig nodi bod pobl yn medru, ac wedi ennill symiau sylweddol o wobrau ariannol.

"Ers lansiad y Gronfa Ysgolion Bach yn 2005, rydym wedi talu gwerth £12,600 o wobrau allan i aelodau'r gronfa sy'n cael ei rhedeg fel loteri leol.

"Nawr, rydym am annog grwpiau ac ardaloedd newydd i fod yn rhan o'r gronfa, a bydd grwpiau sy'n denu aelodau newydd yn derbyn £5 y person fel comisiwn. Felly byddai 20 aelod newydd i grwp cymuned yn derbyn £100 o gomisiwn yn ogystal â bod o gymorth i ymchwil y dystiolaeth i gefnogi ysgolion bach.

"Mae Cronfa Ysgolion Bach yn achos gwerth chweil i fod yn rhan ohono ac rydym yn gobeithio y bydd y ddogfen ymchwil yn cael ei hystyried fel tystiolaeth annibynol pan fydd cymunedau'n cynnal ymarferion ymgynghorol i achub ysgolion bach."

Mae angen i ddarpar aelodau argraffu ffurflen aelodaeth o'r cyfeiriad gwefan uchod er mwyn cyfrannu £1 yr wythnos sy'n cael ei gasglu bob 13 wythnos trwy archeb reolaidd gyda'r banc. Mae modd i bobl dalu trwy siec hefyd.

Am gyfle i ennill gwobrau loteri CCCYB a chefnogi'r ymdrechion i achub ysgolion bach, ymunwch gyda Chronfa Ysgolion Bach trwy gysylltu gyda Cris Tomos ar 01239 831962 neu ewch i www.acwss.org.uk

Am ragor o wybodaeth am waith CCCYB, cysylltwch gyda'r ysgrifenyddes, Deb Wozencraft ar 01938 552525.

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Donate £1 a week to help save village schools throughout Wales from closure - and you could also win up to £500, Farmers' Union of Wales vice president Glyn Roberts revealed today.

Speaking on the FUW stand at the National Eisteddfod in Bala, Mr Roberts welcomed the Association of Communities in Wales with Small Schools (ACWSS) decision to set up a partnership with a new group "Hyrwyddo Ysgolion Bach - Promoting Small Schools" (HYB).

"With local education authorities and the Welsh Assembly Government devoting huge sums of money to closing small schools, it is important that we fund an independent piece of research that campaigners can use to show hard facts for keeping open small schools and not just anecdotal emotional evidence," said Mr Roberts.

"The HYB group will focus initially on raising funds to carry out a pilot review to identify research already carried out in support of small schools and identify areas for further research in a bid to strengthen the argument for retaining small schools. This may include research on areas where communities have experienced school closure."

The FUW is a member of ACWSS together with the Small Schools Fund, the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales (CPRW), Merched y Wawr, Wales National Federation of Women's Institutes (NFWI); and Wales Young Farmers Clubs (YFC).

ACWSS chairman Cris Tomos, of the Small Welsh School Fund, said £1 a week from fund members across Wales had now enabled ACWSS to work in partnership with HYB.

"The partnership is utilising the money raised from the £1 a week fund to commissioning an independent expert to carry out research on the effect of education, parental involvement, community services and total taxpayers cost of closing small schools. The details of the research work can be found on the ACWSS website www.acwss.org.uk

"It's great to see people willing to put £1 a week into the draw fund to save small schools but also it is important to note that people can and have won a substantial amount of prize money.

"Since launching the Small Schools fund in 2005 we have paid out prizes worth £12,600 to the members of the fund which is run as a local lottery.

"We now wish to encourage new groups and areas to be part of the fund and groups drawing in new members will get £5 commission per person, so 20 new members by a community group will give them £100 commission as well as helping to obtain research evidence to support small schools.

"The Small School fund is a worthwhile cause to be involved with and we hope the research document will be regarded as independent evidence when communities conduct consultation exercises to save small schools."

Prospective new members need to print off a membership form from the above website address to contribute a £1 a week collected every 13 weeks via standing order. People can also pay by cheque.

For a chance to win ACWSS lottery prizes, and support efforts to save small schools, join the Small School Fund by contacting Cris Tomos on 01239 831962 or see www.acwss.org.uk

For further information about the work of ACWSS contact the secretary, Deb Wozencraft, on 01938 552525.