Issue - meetings

To adopt a draft of Cyngor Gwynedd’s Model Education Language Policy for Gwynedd schools so that it can be submitted for the purpose of public engagement. (Appendix 1).

The report was presented by Cllr Dewi Jones. 

DECISION

To adopt a draft of Cyngor Gwynedd’s Model Education Language Policy for Gwynedd schools in order to present it for the purpose of public engagement. (Appendix 1).

DISCUSSION

The member highlighted that the purpose of the report was to update the existing Education Language Policy. It was recognised that this was a time of change for the Welsh language in education and he referred to the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Act 2025, which had recently received Royal Assent. 

He revealed that the Council would be required to place schools in different language categories, but noted that this would not be fully operational until 2030. He highlighted that the Council, as an education authority, wanted to be proactive in ensuring that schools had adequate time to respond should any changes need to be introduced as a result of this draft Policy.

The key stakeholders that the department had consulted with in bringing the draft Policy before the Cabinet were listed. In explaining the rationale for bringing this item before the Cabinet, he emphasised the importance of public engagement to get the public's opinion on the draft Policy.

It was noted that this was a draft policy and that the Council had no right to impose any language policy on schools. It was added that it was a decision for the Governing bodies of the schools to adopt any policy.

The Chair of the Education and Economy Scrutiny Committee was welcomed to the meeting. He detailed the three times that this draft Policy had appeared before the Education and Economy Scrutiny Committee, and the resulting observations and recommendations.

Observations arising from the discussion:

·       Support for the draft Policy was expressed, and a member questioned what support would be available to those schools that would be required to change as a result of the draft Policy. The members were assured that all schools would have time to prepare and submit their delivery plans. Furthermore, it was noted that the purpose of presenting the draft Policy at this point was to ensure that schools had enough time to prepare and plan in advance for adopting the Policy. It was added that school staff were also receiving support to increase their confidence in using Welsh, and that there were plans to expand this provision through sabbatical schemes.

·       Members expressed their desire to see these transitioning schools move across the continuum and being able to show that they were making steady linguistic progress.

·       The Welsh Government's announcement stating that it planned to undertake a review of Governing bodies and their role, particularly in relation to policies such as this, was welcomed.

·       It was recognised that influencing the social language of schools was challenging, but it was hoped that this draft Policy would enable us to work with schools to promote the social opportunities and extra-curricular experiences that use Welsh.