Sam Rowlands, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, wants to see more help for ‘Lost Boys’.
Mr Rowlands, recently led a short debate in Welsh Parliament on the subject and this week sponsored the Welsh launch of the Lost Boys State of the Nation report in the Senedd. The report by led by the Centre for Social Justice focusses on young men and boys in Britain who have been left behind by the system.
Mr Rowlands was part of a panel who discussed the report with fellow Senedd members and an invited audience and also took part in a question and answer session.
He said:
The Lost Boys report laid bare the deep and urgent crisis facing boys and young men across the UK. From chronic underachievement in schools and record rates of school exclusion, to growing levels of violence, mental ill-health, and social disconnection, the evidence paints a stark picture of a generation at risk.
In 2022, over 17% of Welsh young men aged 19 to 24 were not in education, employment or training compared to just 11% of young women in the same year.
When compared with 18-year-olds across the UK, Welsh boys are the least likely to go on to higher education. These boys are falling behind—educationally, socially, and economically—with long-term consequences not only for them, but for our communities and society at large.
Boys and young men in Wales have so much to offer, their families, their communities and society at large, and we should be doing all we can to support them in doing so.
Mae Sam Rowlands AS yn tynnu sylw at yr angen i wneud mwy i ddelio â'r argyfwng sy'n wynebu dynion ifanc
Mae Sam Rowlands, Aelod o’r Senedd dros Ogledd Cymru, eisiau gweld mwy o gymorth yn cael ei roi i 'Lost Boys’.
Arweiniodd Mr Rowlands ddadl fer yn Senedd Cymru ar y pwnc yn ddiweddar, a'r wythnos hon noddodd lansiad adroddiad 'Lost Boys: State of the Nation' yn y Senedd. Mae'r adroddiad gan y Centre for Social Justice yn canolbwyntio ar ddynion a bechgyn ifanc ym Mhrydain sydd wedi cael eu gadael ar ôl gan y system.
Roedd Mr Rowlands yn rhan o banel fu'n trafod yr adroddiad gyda chydaelodau'r Senedd a chynulleidfa wahoddedig, a chymerodd ran mewn sesiwn holi ac ateb hefyd.
Meddai:
Mae adroddiad Lost Boys yn nodi'r argyfwng dwys a brys sy'n wynebu bechgyn a dynion ifanc ledled y DU. O dangyflawniad cronig mewn ysgolion a chyfraddau gwahardd o ysgolion ar eu huchaf erioed, i lefelau cynyddol o drais, salwch meddwl, a datgysylltiad cymdeithasol, mae'r dystiolaeth yn peintio darlun llwm o genhedlaeth mewn perygl.
Yn 2022, nid oedd dros 17% o ddynion ifanc Cymru rhwng 19 a 24 oed mewn addysg, cyflogaeth na hyfforddiant o gymharu â dim ond 11% o fenywod ifanc yn yr un flwyddyn.
Bechgyn o Gymru yw'r lleiaf tebygol o fynd ymlaen i addysg uwch, o gymharu â phobl ifanc 18 oed ledled y DU. Mae'r bechgyn hyn ar ei hôl hi - yn addysgol, yn gymdeithasol ac yn economaidd - gyda chanlyniadau hirdymor nid yn unig iddyn nhw, ond i'n cymunedau a'n cymdeithas yn gyffredinol.
Mae gan fechgyn a dynion ifanc yng Nghymru gymaint i'w gynnig, i’w teuluoedd, eu cymunedau a'u cymdeithas yn gyffredinol, a dylem wneud popeth o fewn ein gallu i'w cefnogi i wneud hynny.
