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 submitted by the Head of the Gwynedd Immersion Education System, in the absence of the Head of Education Department. ⁠Attention was drawn briefly to the following main points: 

A report was given on a number of events held by the department in order to raise the status of the Welsh language when enabling children and pupils to use the Welsh language at their schools and in the community. It was explained that the department had implemented a number of projects as part of the Welsh Government's Language Charter. It was explained that the Charter's new framework was part of new Welsh Government programmes which aim to increase the use of Welsh amongst children and young people.

It was confirmed that the Department shared this ambition of increasing the use of the Welsh language. It was noted that money was being allocated to every catchment area within the County to arrange activities to encourage the use of Welsh. It was noted that one of the conditions when allocating the money was that activities were being arranged for primary and secondary pupils to ensure that the Welsh language continued to be used as the pupils transferred to the secondary schools. It was emphasised that targeting this cohort of children was necessary to ensure that appealing and positive experiences in the secondary schools took place naturally through the medium of Welsh.

An update was shared of catchment area activities to draw attention to the opportunities that children and young people from all areas of Gwynedd were receiving.

It was explained that Language Forums were being established in every secondary school in Gwynedd which led on the Secondary Language Strategy and the importance of being bilingual was emphasised. It was detailed that the Forums were also holding Hybu Balchder mewn Cymreictod (Promoting Pride in Welshness) sessions.

It was reported that there had been an increase in the number of young people who chose to study and obtain qualifications or an acknowledged accreditation through the medium of Welsh. Attention was drawn to the figures below that had been gathered from the results of the Year 11 cohort in Gwynedd secondary schools at the end of the 2023 summer period:

·       ⁠71.7% of Year 11 pupils studied at least 3 KS4 subjects through the medium of Welsh as well as a Welsh First Language GCSE.

·       67.8% of Year 11 pupils studied at least 5 KS4 subjects through the medium of Welsh as well as a Welsh First Language GCSE.

·       ⁠87.1% of Year 11 pupils sat a GCSE Welsh First Language examination.

The Assistant Head of the Education Department: ⁠Secondary elaborated that this figure of 67.8% was relatively stable but it was acknowledged that it was necessary to increase the number of pupils who study at least 5 KS4 subjects through the medium of Welsh as well as a Welsh First Language GCSE. Nevertheless, it was acknowledged that this was a challenging process as the statistic included transitional school pupils.

Information was provided on the pupils' language cohort, including transitional age pupils. Reassurance was given that the department was collaborating regularly with language coordinators in every catchment area in order to collect the linguistic data of Year 2, 6 and 9 pupils to ensure that they made linguistic progress within the curriculum.

Attention was drawn to the language designations of department staff and an analysis was provided of staff assessments based on the Language Designations Framework. It was acknowledged that the department had room for improvement, by ensuring access to the self-assessment for all department staff, to identify those who need support. It was explained that the department's main barrier in this field was reaching those staff members who did not have the technological equipment to complete this questionnaire electronically. It was noted that the department was working to promote the importance of the language designations among staff. It was confirmed that the department was collaborating with the Welsh Language Learning and Development Officer to ensure that staff members were confident in their linguistic ability. It was elaborated that a spreadsheet of staff members who had not completed the self-assessment, or needed assistance to reach the language designation of their job, was being shared with the appropriate officer on a regular basis. The Welsh Language Learning and Development Officer was thanked for advertising courses and training that was available to assist them.

It was noted that the department was working to overcome recruitment difficulties in the catering and cleaning field. It was emphasised that this work was very important and an appreciation was expressed to all staff for working to ensure that the schools were clean and safe throughout the pandemic, as well as preparing food packages. It was considered that the recruitment challenges were more intense in rural areas of the County but it was hoped that the challenge would be resolved soon.

Reference was made to the 'Research and Technology' priority within the Gwynedd Language Strategy, detailing the Aberwla virtual resource. It was explained that it was an innovative virtual world to assist learners who attended immersion centres to practice linguistic patterns and vocabulary. It was noted that this resource had been developed with the assistance of the Welsh Government’s late immersion revenue grant funding.

In response to an enquiry, the Assistant Head of Education: ⁠Secondary confirmed that 42 students had studied and completed A Level Welsh First Language examinations during the summer 2023. It was noted that only the pupils of the 7 secondary schools with an A Level provision had been included in this statistic and it did not include any colleges in the County. It was reported that this number of pupils was higher than the numbers who had studied the subject in 2022 and was equivalent to a quarter of all Welsh First Language A Level course pupils in Wales in 2023. It was noted that officers were collaborating with the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol to promote the course and attract pupils to complete it.

The members expressed their thanks for the report.

RESOLVED

To accept the report and note the observations received.