Agenda item

To present information about the Department’s contribution to the Language Policy.

To accept the report and note the observations received.

 

The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for Education, and briefly drew attention to the following main points:

 

-      It was ensured that Cyngor Gwynedd's Language Policy was embedded through all the work done by the Education Department and the county's schools.

-      It was explained that a full consultation had been held on the draft Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP). The WESP had been operational since September 2022. It was explained that it would be monitored regularly by the Welsh Government's Minister for the Welsh Language and Education, and that the department would use the plan as a live document in order to ensure that it reflected Gwynedd's unique situation.

-      Specific attention was drawn to ‘Aberwla’ virtual world, the Immersion Education System's innovative provision. Welsh Government officers recently visited the new immersion centre site in Bangor  to see learners who were newcomers, who were using the virtual-reality equipment to acquire the Welsh language by visiting Aberwla's virtual supermarket. The modern and innovative method of increasing children's confidence in using Welsh in different situations was praised, as this would enable them to use their skills in the community in due course. The immersion centre staff were praised for their work on this new project.

-      In the context of recruitment, it was noted that recruitment challenges remained in some of the Department's services such as catering and cleaning, and that there were problems in recruiting teachers for specific subjects in secondary schools in Gwynedd, although it was emphasised that the challenge of recruiting teachers was a national challenge.

 

Members were given an opportunity to ask questions and offer observations. During the discussion, the following matters were raised:

 

Did parents have the right to insist that their children's education was provided through the medium of English and exclude Welsh-medium teaching. It was noted that this could be detrimental to the ability of those pupils to gain employment in their local area due to their lack of Welsh language skills.

-      In response to the enquiry, the Cabinet Member confirmed that she shared this concern but accepted that there were various reasons why parents requested that their children were educated through the medium of English.

-      In response to the enquiry, the Head of Education noted that pupils could receive some of their education through the medium of English under the new curriculum and in accordance with our language policy here in Gwynedd. This was to ensure that pupils were confident and competent in their use of Welsh and English.

-      It was further noted that this issue was occasionally raised by parents, and that the department's officers and all the County's teachers held discussions with parents regarding the advantages of receiving a Welsh-medium education, in the hope that they would be willing to follow this guidance. It was noted that the Department had witnessed an increase in the number of parents who were eager to learn Welsh as adults, having seen their children's progress in learning Welsh.

-      The Head of Education confirmed that Welsh Government had established a baseline on the amount of education provided through the medium of Welsh. This was currently set at around 60%, although Gwynedd school staff were aware that there was an expectation that the rate in Gwynedd would be far higher, and that schools succeeded in maintaining a very high percentage of children's education through the medium of Welsh.

 

Concern was expressed that only 40.73% of Gwynedd's schools had completed language assessments. It was believed that it was important to ascertain the linguistic skills of all school staff. A question was asked about what measures were used by the department to ensure that school staff had opportunities to develop their language skills.

-      The Head of Education explained that language skills assessments were held continuously within schools. However, it was explained that recruitment difficulties meant that not all staff members had robust Welsh skills. There was ongoing work with those staff members to ensure that they improved their Welsh language skills, supported by training.  

-      It was accepted that the percentage of staff that had completed the self-assessment (40.73%) was low, and the department would endeavour to ensure that more school staff completed the self-assessment in future.

 

It was asked how many children in Gwynedd received their education through the medium of English.

-      In response to the question, the Head of Education noted that the situation regarding the Welsh language varied from area to area. This had led to a plan to increase the use of Welsh in two secondary schools within the county. It was further explained that the department was investing in schools in order to provide Welsh resources in areas where the percentage of Welsh language speakers was lower than the average for the County.

-      The Head of Education noted that this was a difficult question to answer as the new curriculum had been introduced, which led to a bilingual education provision in accordance with the language policy, as previously discussed.

-      In response to the enquiry, the Assistant Head explained that the information about the education provision over recent years was currently being collected although it was not yet available. It was hoped to establish definitions of Welsh education, English education and bilingual education to ensure that the figures presented were accurate. There would be a further discussion on the matter once the data had been collected.

 

A discussion was held on the importance of the Welsh language as the spoken language in the classroom. It was acknowledged that many subjects used English books, resources and websites in order to present the education, but it was felt that the use of Welsh within the classroom was crucial.

 

Officers were asked for their ideas for ensuring that providers that used school grounds for sports etc. held the activities through the medium of Welsh. It was felt that this was a method of ensuring that pupils heard the language being used naturally beyond the classroom, and also during the evenings and at weekends.

-      In response to the question, the Head of Education assured the committee that every effort was made to ensure that coaches used Welsh whenever possible.

-      In response to the enquiry, the Deputy Head of Corporate Services noted that conversations had been held to raise the awareness of Headteachers of the expectations when a third party used school facilities. It was hoped to reinforce these arrangements with headteachers in the context of the Language Charter in the future to ensure that children benefitted from these events through the medium of Welsh.

 

It was noted that the number of pupils completing five subjects through the medium of Welsh had decreased by 5% since the 2016 WESP. It was therefore asked how the department would measure their attainment against the current WESP targets. A question was asked whether the department had developed a Language Forum.

-      In response to the question, the Head of Education confirmed that the Education Language Forum had been established to ensure that the Department successfully reached the WESP targets. It was admitted that the Department had difficulties in ensuring this during the Covid-19 lockdown periods, as the pupils were unable to attend school to receive their education. However, all the county’s schools were working hard to ensure that these levels increased once again. There were representatives from the Language Committee and the Education and Economy Scrutiny Committee on the Education Language Forum, and they would be able to report back informally on the Forum’s work, providing assurance of the Department’s implementation of the WESP.

-      In response to the question, the Deputy Head of Corporate Services noted that the first meeting of the Education Language Forum had been held, and that ensuring that the county succeeded in attaining the WESP targets was one of its work streams.

 

Members gave thanks for the report.

 

RESOLVED

 

To accept the report and note the observations received.