Agenda item

To submit the recommendations of the Task and Finish Group in relation to the wording of the draft policy.

•              To note the output of the work of the Task and Finish Group but there was no consensus on all the recommended modifications;

•             To ask the Cabinet Member for Education to consider the range of comments submitted by the Scrutiny Members when drawing up the final policy.

Following a discussion on the Draft Education Language Policy at the Committee meeting on 10 April 2025, it was resolved to form a task and finish group to discuss the wording of the draft policy.

 

Councillor Rhys Tudur, Chair of the Task and Finish Group, presented the changes suggested by the Task and Finish Group. It was noted that many of the recommendations were amendments to refine the policy, but some were more significant.

 

The main points were as follows:

1.     The need to note that it is the school's decision to determine which cross-curricular subjects are taught in English was expressed. It was noted that this would make it clearer. 

2.     It should be noted in the policy that extra-curricular activities are held through the medium of Welsh if resources were available. 

3.     It was recommended to use the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill 2025's definition of a Welsh School instead of what was noted in the current statutory guidelines, and in doing so, be proactive to comply with the new legislation.

4.     It was noted that the policy should express the percentage of Welsh provision for all pupils.

5.     The need for schools to provide details on their progress plans was highlighted. 

6.     It was also asked what the expectation of the policy with Ysgol Uwchradd Tywyn and Ysgol Friars would be, as they acted as English schools to an extent - it was asked whether there would be a different policy or different treatment as the objectives would be for the whole county.

 

It was expressed that observations had been received by the Education Department in response to the recommended changes, but they had highlighted challenges and not responses to the recommendations. 

 

Further observations were received from the Task and Finish Group members, expressing their disappointment in the department's responses, specifically with changing the wording in a definition in the Education Bill instead of the guidelines as it would be an Act following receiving Royal Assent, and the need to move forward to comply with the act was expressed.

 

It was also expressed that the Task and Finish Group believed that the policy had to be robust and with an element of aspiration, especially when looking at the language shift within the county. It was noted that the group had attempted to tighten the draft policy.

 

The department had an opportunity to respond, and the Monitoring Officer expressed, in terms of the act, that it was in the process of obtaining Royal Assent but it was not currently in force. He added that there would be a timetable from the Government for elements of it to come into power and it would be approximately 4-5 years before this happened. It was explained that there would be a transitional period whilst the statutory procedure of the act was put in place.

 

The Head of Education added that the department believed that the draft policy showed a commitment to the Welsh language and the need to increase the number of Welsh-speakers. The need to bring people with them when putting policies and procedures in place was expressed. It was highlighted that the department showed a direction for the school but, at the end of the day, it was the Governing Bodies' decision to adopt the Policy. It was noted that there had been consultations when creating the draft policy and that Meirion Prys Jones had been integral in wording the policy. The Task Group was thanked for its work, noting that there were some changes that could be incorporated, whilst others would make the policy difficult to implement across the County. The need to be careful with the bilingual element was noted, as there was a need for balance between a successful policy and children being happy and confident in English also.

 

Meirion Prys Jones, who helped the Department as an external consultant to create the wording in the draft policy, was given an opportunity to contribute to the discussion. He expressed, when drawing up a policy, there was a need to deal with psychology as there was a need to think about how to manage matters relating to linguistic emotion. It was emphasised that the success of changing people depended on carrying people with you, as it was not possible to legislate a language into existence. It was explained, when discussing language shift, careful planning was required over a long period of time. It was added that the wording of the draft policy was encouraging, it provided guidance and was clear that there was also an element of choice, as there was an element of choice in bringing people with you. It was noted that there was room to tighten some elements, but it was important to remember the tone of the policy and therefore there was a need to use words carefully.

 

During the discussion, it was decided to discuss the changes recommended by the Task and Finish Group per heading. Observations from the Committee Members were noted as follows:- 

 

It was highlighted that the reference to the English had been removed from the wording in the objectives under the second heading. It was explained that removing the reference could be problematic as there was a need to ensure that young people were confident and had a good level of Welsh and English. It was emphasised that having confidence to speak English did not mean that young people would not have confidence to speak Welsh. The need to address young people's wish to reach their potential in both languages was emphasised.

 

Discussing the objectives further, it was noted, when discussing latecomers attending

immersion centres, that the recommendation to change the wording suggested an enforcement. It was expressed that there was a need to emphasise encouragement, but there was uncertainty on how to enforce. The Department responded, noting that perhaps there was a need to provide more details when highlighting how the department could encourage families to send their children to immersion centres.

It was noted, although the objectives referred to speaking Welsh, that there was also a need to include writing as this was how the majority of assessments were conducted.

 

Meirion Prys Jones' observations emphasised that tone was essential, as well as psychology. The need for the education language policy to bring parents with them was noted, highlighting the views of schools and appealing to schools to adopt the policy.

 

Group members noted that there was a recommendation to remove bilingualism as the department had noted that education was through the medium of Welsh in Gwynedd. It was highlighted that the department had not responded to how they would deal with more bilingual schools, and therefore there was a need to highlight the department's wishes.

 

 

In the discussion about the Secondary Schools heading, the Group Members noted that technically it was not possible to force children to attend immersion centres but there was a need for more than encouragement. It was expressed that there was a need to go against the officers' observations and submit a policy that was between encouragement and enforcement.

 

It was expressed that, possibly, there was a need for an exempt policy for two secondary schools in the county as they worked more as English schools. It was emphasised that the education language policy was for the whole county, and therefore it was inappropriate to refer to schools specifically and only adapt for them.

Looking at the Additional Learning Needs (ALN) heading in the amended policy, it was noted that not including references to the ALN and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 caused concerns. It was expressed that there was a need to consider the ALN act and that it was integral to the policy.

 

It was added that there may be a need for further research into language with ALN, as experts often encouraged families to speak English with children with learning needs. It was expressed that there was a need to see whether there was evidence to contradict this. The department noted that it was a potential plan to do with the University in the future.

 

The Group members explained that the act had not been included as there was no detail of what the act entailed, and therefore more details were required. The Monitoring Officer noted that the paragraph acknowledged the duty to comply with the act and was therefore necessary to the policy. 

 

There was a discussion about the wording of the Committee's decision.

 

RESOLVED

·       To note the output of the work of the Task and Finish Group but there was no consensus on all the recommended modifications;

·       To ask the Cabinet Member for Education to consider the range of comments submitted by the Scrutiny Members when drawing up the final policy.