Agenda item

To present Information about the Department’s contribution to the Language Policy and how we attempt to promote the Welsh Language in our work.

To accept the report and note the observations received.

The report was presented by the Head of the Children and Supporting Families Department, and briefly drew attention to the following main points:

·       It was confirmed that the Early Years Service collaborated with members of CWLWM (5 lead childcare organisations in Wales) to promote the Welsh language across care settings in Gwynedd.

·       It was explained that "Cynllun Croesi'r Bont" run by Mudiad Meithrin was ongoing, with its purpose being Welsh language immersion within nursery groups and classes.

·       It was noted that the Early Years Service offered grants of £100 to new private childminders who were non-Welsh speakers to assist with buying Welsh language resources.

·       It was explained that the department provided support for parents to learn Welsh through Mudiad Meithrin's online 'clwb cwtsh' sessions, and the 'Friends' courses through the medium of Welsh with the support of the Family Support Team, the Trobwynt Team and the Youth Service.

·       It was ensured that linguistic needs were a factor in determining matters such as the contents of the care packages and the support for vulnerable children, care settings and fostering/adoption. It was explained that some children under the Department's care were moved to an out-of-county area due to safeguarding needs, but it was confirmed that the Social Worker would continue to address the child's language needs through visits and resources.

·       It was reported that there were 55 Nursery Education providers in Gwynedd that received Early Years Teacher support from the Department. They provided Welsh language nursery education for 10 hours a week for 3-year-old children in order to immerse them in the language and introduce them to the language as the language of education.

·       There was a Network of Youth Service Support Workers providing informal learning opportunities and accreditations for young people through the medium of Welsh.  This was a means of bridging school activities with social activities such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award, with all elements of the award now available in Welsh via a new app.

·       It was confirmed that all the 'Effective Child Protection' programme materials had been developed in Welsh and English for regional and national use.

·       It was noted that a group of foster carers from Gwynedd had created a video as part of the national Foster Wales fostering campaign. It was noted that the video was presented in Welsh with English subtitles and was frequently shared on social media to attract people to consider fostering.

·       The Department has led on the establishing an Activities and Play Framework for children, young people and families across the Council's departments.  24 activity providers had been approved on the framework and were able to provide Welsh-medium play opportunities.

·       It was a source of pride that over 50 local organisations had come together recently to offer well-being activities for young people as part of the Gwynedd Young People Well-being Week.

·       The Department had been collaborating with the Council's Well-being Team to develop the 'Ai Di' App as a convenient way for young carers to keep in touch with their school, and to use it in the community to receive discounts on activities and services. It was explained that this app had recently received national praise as it met the needs of young carers.

·       An update was provided, confirming that 69% of the department's staff had completed the language self-assessment. A number of the staff who had not completed the self-assessment were either casual workers or staff with no access to a computer.

·       It was confirmed that 93.8% of the department's staff met the language designations of their post. It was explained that 21 members of staff did not meet the language designation of their job, and that three of those staff were currently attending language training.

·       It was acknowledged that the difficulties in recruiting qualified social workers was a cause of concern for the Department. It was confirmed that the department had developed a Workforce Plan to reduce the likelihood of having to recruit social workers who were non-Welsh speakers or use non-Welsh speaking agency workers.  It was noted that this Workforce Plan had already received the approval of the Cabinet and the Care Scrutiny Committee.

·       It was noted that collaboration through the medium of Welsh with partners was a challenge that faced the Department. This included national, regional and local meetings as a number of the partners did not offer translation provision at virtual meetings. It was emphasised that the Department held the majority of its meetings bilingually and the Council's Translation Unit was thanked for collaborating so effectively with the Department.

·       It was explained that young people who received a custodial sentence had been added to the Department's risk register. This was due to the fact that the Department had no control over the sentence location and these individuals could lose all ties with their families, language and culture during this period. A relevant example was shared, and it was confirmed that the department continued to provide support through the medium of Welsh throughout the period of the sentence, with the assistance of the Youth Justice Service and Social Workers.

·       It was highlighted that finding suitable care settings for children was challenging and it was noted that the department had received a complaint from one young person as the staff responsible for their care were non-Welsh speakers. It was emphasised that the Department made every effort to place individuals in suitable care settings with regard to all aspects.

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

·       It was explained that Flying Start areas had been restricted to specific locations in the past as they were funded by the Welsh Government. By now, the need for the service had been demonstrated in other areas within Gwynedd and the scheme had been extended.  It was confirmed that there were plans to further extend the scheme in the future as it provided children and parents with important support and childcare provision for 12.5 hours per week for two-year-old children.

·       The news that the Department's recruitment situation had improved recently was welcomed as there were currently no vacant posts in the Department. The Department has worked on a number of projects and has worked on a number of methods of attracting such as collaborating with Bangor University and providing work placements for nine MA pupils. It was explained that seven of those pupils had succeeded in gaining a job at the end of their work experience and all of them were Welsh speakers.

Gratitude was expressed for the report.

RESOLVED

To accept the report and note the observations received.