Venue: Siambr Hywel Dda, Council Offices, Caernarfon, Gwynedd. LL55 1SH
Contact: Rhonwen Jones 01286 679780
No. | Item |
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ELECTION OF CHAIR To elect a Chairperson for this committee for 2019-20. Minutes: Resolved
to elect Councillor
Elin Walker Jones as Chair for 2019/20. |
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ELECTION OF VICE-CHAIR To elect a Vice-chairperson for this committee for the year 2019-20. Minutes: Resolved to elect Councillor Cai Larsen as Vice-chair for 2019/20.
The outgoing chair, Councillor Alwyn
Gruffydd, was thanked for his work as chair for the past two years. |
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APOLOGIES To receive apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies were received from Councillors Judith Humphreys, Elin Walker Jones and John Pughe Roberts |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declaration of personal interest Minutes: No declarations of personal interest
were received from any members present. |
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URGENT BUSINESS To note any items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chair for consideration Minutes: No urgent items were received |
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The Chair shall propose that the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 1st May 2019 be signed as a true record (attached) Minutes: The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 1 May, 2019 as a true record Councillor Alwyn
Gruffydd asked for an update on a decision made on item seven (7), 'Hunaniaith - Gwynedd's Language Initiative
- Targeting Young People aged 15+', regarding a letter to take further
action to gain the interest and commitment of Grŵp Llandrillo Menai
tutors. The Workplace Language
Development Officer responded that she had sent a letter to the Group, but that
no feedback had been received. It had
been resolved at the previous committee meeting that a committee member would
also write a letter. This had not been done. |
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CONSULTATION ON THE WELSH IN EDUCATION STRATEGIC PLAN (WESP) PDF 97 KB Presentation given by Debbie A W Jones (Education Corporate Services Officer). A report on behalf of Councillor Cemlyn Rees Williams (Cabinet Member). Consultation Draft - Welsh in Education Strategic Plans Reugulations (Wales) 2019 and guidance. The purpose is to share information and consider the observations of members as part of the process of creating a formal response to the consultation. *10:10 – 10:50 (approximation) Minutes: A presentation was given by
the Education Corporate Services Officer on the Draft Welsh in Education
Strategic Plans Regulations (Wales) 2019 and guidance (WESP) consultation. Members were asked to submit
any observations to be included as part of Gwynedd's formal response to the
consultation. It was noted that a
response to the consultation was required by the beginning of September 2019. Observations
by Members: ·
An
interesting presentation. ·
Concern
was noted as to why we were not already developing Welsh-medium education. ·
The
introduction of the factor to delete the measuring of demand was welcomed. ·
Questions
were raised as to where the Language Centres and the Language Charter were
included in the consultation. ·
Questions
were raised as to whether this consultation referred to Welsh-medium education
or bilingual education. ·
A
question was raised as to the meaning of "Welsh-language immersion". ·
Disappointment
was noted regarding the fact that there was no mention of additional resources
to support this consultation. ·
It
was noted that there was a need for the consultation to address the language of
play at school and after-school events.
There was also room to ensure that governors and friends of the school
played a role. ·
It
was suggested that there was an opportunity to establish Welsh language
champions. ·
Concern
was noted regarding the number of Welsh speakers in Gwynedd, and also regarding
the progress of education through the medium of Welsh in Wales. ·
In
addition, the need for Welsh-speaking workforce and teachers providing
education through the medium of Welsh was raised. The Education Corporate Services Officer expanded upon the
observations. She confirmed that the
consultation was currently in draft form and that anyone was welcome to give
their feedback on the consultation by the beginning of September 2019. She elaborated on specific points. ·
The
Language Centres were addressed under outcomes, progression and immersion. ·
WESP
and the new regulations did not change Gwynedd's Language Policy. ·
There
was no specific definition of educational immersion. Immersion happened in
different ways across the counties of Wales.
In Gwynedd, the foundation phase was considered, as children between
three and seven years of age were immersed through the medium of Welsh.
Children between seven and 14 years of age gained access to language centres in
order to be immersed in the Welsh language so that they were able to cope at
mainstream schools. ·
WESP
in its entirety, along with Welsh Government, set all statutory duties for
local authorities relating to this field.
It was important to think about those who were responsible for staff
recruitment at Gwynedd schools, namely Governors. This raised the point that
work was needed to equip Governors, such as raising awareness of the
expectations. · In terms of informal use of the Welsh language outside of school hours, it was possible to draw up guidance as to how someone would encourage the use of language partnership, which was a new element to the WESP guidance dialogue regarding working in partnership with organisations around schools and within communities. There was therefore a need to think ... view the full minutes text for item 7. |
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CABINET MEMBER REPORT PDF 68 KB Presentation by the Councillor Nia Jeffreys (Member Cabinet) Give members an update on the main developments in respect of the Welsh language. *10:50- - 11:30 (approximation) Minutes: The Cabinet Member for
Education provided an update on the key developments in the Welsh language
field since the previous committee meeting. Observations: Councillor Alwyn Gruffydd expressed that
it would be worth extending an invitation to Aled Roberts, the new
Commissioner, to attend the next committee meeting. The Cabinet Member for Education would
contact him. RESOLVED: To accept the report. |
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ANNUAL REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF WELSH LANGUAGE STANDARDS PDF 64 KB A presentation by Gwenllian Mair Williams (Gwynedd Language Development Officer). To present the Annual Report to the members and draw their attention to matters arising in order for the members to have a further discussion and offer any recommendations for developmental steps. *11:30 – 12:10 (approximation) Additional documents: Minutes: This report was published
annually. The report was submitted by
the Workplace Language Development Officer and the Welsh Language Learning and
Development Officer, reporting on Welsh-medium training for Council staff and
how to develop their language skills. The report was submitted to the Cabinet in June
2019 for approval and to be uploaded publicly to the Council's website. This was a report which looked at specific standards for workers' Welsh
language skills. A question often raised was that regarding staff's current
training situation in all departments of the Council other than the education
department. It was important to
emphasise that the report did not include GwE nor the Trunk Roads Agency as
they were regional partners. In the current year, the department had been able to look back over four
(4) years' worth of data regarding service provision standards; standards set
for the Council by the Welsh Language Commissioner. See the link on the website: <https://www.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/cy/Cyngor/Dogfennau-Cyngor/Strategaethau-a-pholisiau/Cynllun-iaith/Cynllun-Hybu%27r-Gymraeg-yng-Ngwynedd-2018-2023.pdf>
regarding the Welsh Language Promotion Plan for Gwynedd 2018-2023, an effort to
identify the main challenges and opportunities facing the Welsh language. Observations by members: ·
When
providing their answer to the question regarding speaking and understanding the
Welsh language included on the job application form, did applicants answer
truthfully? ·
How was
it possible to assess impact and data? ·
Data
regarding support workers - some of them did not speak Welsh. ·
Leisure
centres? ·
What was
the definition of training language? ·
Was it
possible to provide a translation service? In response to the above observations by the Workplace Language
Development Officer and the Welsh Language Learning and Development Officer, it
was shown that it was possible for members of this committee to provide input
with suggestions / recommendations for improvement on the report for the
following year. When interviewing applicants, it was possible to compare their
linguistic skills using the interview standard, judging their linguistic
responses against the results noted in the job description. It was expressed that the unit had been working with the Equality
Officer on data impact assessments in recent months. A number of factors had led to what we were
trying to achieve, and a question was raised as to how the assessments could be
improved. It was added that when the standards regarding the definition of
language and training came into force, a number of these referred to policy
formulation. The attitude of officers at the time had been to work out the best
way of achieving the standards. The
Commissioner's assurance report had been presented before the Language
Committee the previous summer to draw attention to the matter of language
assessments and equality, and to consider the best way to act. There was no way of working to the programme
in terms of the requirements, and members had been asked to consider the policy
and the best impact upon the language. Recently, the Equality Plan had looked back at the assessments to determine whether there were improvements to be made, and whether these assessments had been conducted correctly. This was ... view the full minutes text for item 9. |
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RELATING TO THE WELSH LANGUAGE PRAISE AND COMPLAINTS REPORT PDF 63 KB A presentation by Gwenllian Mair Williams (Gwynedd Language Development Officer). To present the latest information about complaints and instances of good practice to the members. *12:10 – 12:50 (approximation) Minutes: The latest information on
complaints and examples of success in promoting the use of the Welsh Language
within Council Services was presented to the committee by the Workplace
Language Development Officer. The importance of
acknowledging Council workers' successes was emphasised; those who had gone the
extra mile in promoting the Welsh language and ensuring that the residents of
Gwynedd received a high-quality service through the medium of Welsh. It was noted that unit managers
took responsibility for improving their workers' confidence when working
through the medium of Welsh. Complaints and enquiries received by the service
regarding the Council's Language Policy were read. 1.
The
European Elections form had been distributed in English only. It was explained that the forms had been sent
out by an external company. The Council
was looking into this. 2.
A
member of staff had presented information in English during a session. The matter had been raised with the service
manager, and it had been confirmed that it was a lack of confidence on the part
of the individual which had led to the situation. The manager had discussed with the Language
unit to offer training, sharing links to relevant terms in the field. OBSERVATIONS: The development was welcomed, noting that there was a need to keep an
eye on the situation and avoid slippage. RESOLVED: To accept the report. |