In accordance with the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.20 of
the Constitution, Councillor Alwyn Gruffydd will propose as follows:-
Whilst acknowledging
that any decision on the matter is a matter for the Cabinet, that this Council
strongly objects to any plan or intention to change the constitution,
organisation or staffing of Gwynedd Language Centres, in light of their
unmistakable success in teaching Welsh to incomers within a short period of
time so that they can integrate easily into the Welsh ethos of our schools.
Minutes:
(2) The
following notice of motion was submitted by Councillor Alwyn Gruffydd, in
accordance with Section 4.20 of the Constitution, and it was seconded:
"Whilst acknowledging that any decision on the matter is a matter
for the Cabinet, that this Council strongly objects to any plan or intention to
change the constitution, organisation or staffing of Gwynedd Language Centres,
in light of their unmistakable success in teaching Welsh to incomers within a
short period of time so that they can integrate easily into the Welsh ethos of
our schools."
An amendment to the proposal was proposed, as follows:
"Whilst
acknowledging and fully condemning the horrendous financial cuts forced on
local councils by Welsh Government, specifically the cut to the education
improvement grant for Gwynedd, and that any decision on the matter is a matter
for the Cabinet, that this Council strongly objects to any plan or intention to
change the constitution, organisation or staffing of Gwynedd Language Centres
that would have a detrimental impact on their unmistakable ability to teach
Welsh to incomers within a short period of time and to integrate easily into
the Welsh ethos of our schools. The Council also calls on the Cabinet to
establish a robust monitoring procedure - whether changes are made or not - to
ensure the best possible results for the learners."
The proposer of the amendment explained that he welcomed the positive
observations of the proposer of the original proposal, but that he was of the
opinion that the proposal bound the Council to never make any amendments to the
constitution, organisation or the staffing of the language centres. There may be a need to extend the service in
future should there be more incomers, or there could be less demand for the
service, and the methodology of learning languages was also developing, and
would certainly develop even further in future.
Also, there was a need to emphasise the fact that it was Welsh
Government, and not this Council, who was cutting the grant.
During the discussion on the amendment, the following observations were
submitted by individual members:
·
That there was a need to
lobby Welsh Government for more funding for Councils.
·
That the call on the Cabinet
to set up a robust monitoring procedure would strengthen the original proposal.
·
That the Westminster
Government offered free English lessons for immigrants, and that Welsh
Government should be called upon to ensure the same provision in Wales for the
Welsh language - especially if the vision of ensuring a million Welsh speakers
by 2050 was to be realised. Also, in
Gwynedd, children who moved to the county had to embark on a Welsh language
course before being able to manage with the school lessons.
·
That the Gwynedd Language
Centres was a brilliant example of good practice and, rather than cut the
service, this Council should use and develop it.
·
The Council Cabinet should
safeguard this valuable service and call on the Government to invest in the
future of the language.
·
That the Language Centres
took pressure off the teachers at schools by teaching Welsh to the
children.
·
Although the amendment was
to be welcomed, that it was not without fault either, and that the words 'that would have a detrimental impact on
their ability ...' was open to misinterpretation because it could be argued
that this thing or the other would have a detrimental impact on the units'
ability to fulfil their work.
·
That the Language Centres
was one of the bridges uniting our communities in Gwynedd, and not only
immersing and incorporating, but also developing a sense of belonging to the
communities in these children.
·
That it appeared that the
essence of the plan was to dismiss specialist and experienced teachers, and
appoint assistants in the hope that they could achieve the same work to the
same standard. The work of assistants was to provide assistance to teachers,
and not to replace them. It was important that the work already being
undertaken should not be undermined, but that this work should also be placed
on firm foundations for the future.
·
That a very clear message
should be sent that this crucial service needed to be protected, and to also
protect its quality.
·
That everyone was in
agreement that the Welsh language was central to all Council work, and that the
Council's commitment to the Welsh language was unmistakable.
·
That there was a wish to see
the language centres improving and strengthening in future, and that the
amendment would strengthen the provision.
The Cabinet Member for Education noted:
·
That the excellent work
happening at the language centres was appreciated, but that there was excellent
work taking place at the primary schools as well - specifically in the
foundation phase, with children starting without a word of Welsh and ending the
foundation phase with total fluency.
·
That the Government had been
cutting grants, and specifically education grants, for approximately four years
or more. There had been a 34% reduction in the Education Improvement Grant in
four years, and over the same period, the foundation phase had received a £1.2m
cut, and 70 assistants had lost their jobs.
·
That these back door cuts
were a disgrace to Welsh Government, who was giving with one hand and taking
away with the other and, along with the Council Leader, he had been lobbying
strongly and continuously against these cuts.
A vote was taken on the amendment and it carried.
An additional amendment to the amendment was proposed and seconded and
this was carried, namely to add the following wording at the end of the
amendment:
"However, we
declare that downgrading teachers' posts and making them assistant posts would
be harmful and therefore detrimental to the units' abilities to teach the Welsh
language effectively, and therefore, we ask the Cabinet to ensure that the
required resources are available to ensure that this does not happen."
It was noted that it was impossible for the Council to plan its work
whilst the grants system existed, and it was emphasised that Councillors,
Headteachers and governors should write to the Assembly Members and the
Parliamentary Member to condemn the severe cuts to education grants.
A vote was taken on the additional amendment and it was carried.
As the additional amendment was accepted, the Monitoring Officer
explained that the original notice had been amended and that a further vote was
needed on the wording of the additional amendment, rather than the wording of
the original. The majority voted in favour of the motion.
RESOLVED,
acknowledging and fully condemning the horrendous financial cuts forced on
local councils by Welsh Government, specifically the cut to the education
improvement grant for Gwynedd, and that any decision on the matter is a matter
for the Cabinet, that this Council strongly objects to any plan or intention to
change the constitution, organisation or staffing of Gwynedd Language Centres
that would have a detrimental impact on their unmistakable ability in teaching
Welsh to incomers within a short period of time and to integrate easily into
the Welsh ethos of our schools. The Council also calls on the Cabinet to
establish a robust monitoring procedure - whether changes are made or not - to
ensure the best possible results for the learners. However, we declare that
downgrading teachers' posts and making them assistant posts would be harmful
and therefore detrimental to the units' abilities to teach the Welsh language
effectively, and therefore, we ask the Cabinet to ensure that the required
resources are available to ensure that this does not happen."