Agenda item

Cabinet Member:    Cllr. Gareth Thomas

 

To consider the following:

 

(a)  Progress report on actions taken on the recommendations of the Scrutiny Investigation

(b)  A report by Mr Alun Charles, External Consultant, on implementing the recommendations.

 

(Copies enclosed)

 

12.00 – 1.00 p.m.

Mr Alun Charles, External consultant, was welcomed to the meeting and he gave a slide presentation on his study on the implementation of the Council's Language Policy in Gwynedd primary and secondary schools and he explained in detail what had led to the recommendations within the report.

 

During the ensuing discussion, the following observations were highlighted:

 

(i)            Progress Report of the Education Service on the recommendations of the Welsh-Medium Education Scrutiny Investigation:

 

A Member noted that he had submitted specific questions regarding responses to tracking progress of recommendations deriving from the work of the Welsh-Medium Education Scrutiny Investigation, and that, thus far, he had not received a positive response to: 

 

·         Did the Education Service have powers to intervene to ensure that implementation of the Language Policy was strengthened and standardised and how many of these had been used?

·         Had all governors received training on the language policy despite the Education Service stating that training had been programmed for Summer 2017?

·         It was unclear whether or not steps had been taken in relation to immersion education at Ysgol Ardudwy.

·         It was noted that the Council, along with Welsh Government, had given full consideration to establishing a specific Language Centre for the Bangor catchment area; with the potential arrival of Wylfa Newydd in the context of education, and the Welsh language specifically, it is expected that a number of the new workforce will settle in the Arfon area. It was asked how many immersion centres, extra teachers, language centres etc. would be required to mitigate the impact of Wylfa Newydd on the Welsh language, how much would it cost and who would pay?

 

(ii)           External Study:

 

(a)  Reference was made to the fact that the percentages of Welsh language use was higher in KS2 than KS3.  It was suggested that use of the Welsh language needed to be strengthened when pupils transferred from KS2 to KS3, especially when considering the good work undertaken to use Welsh in KS2 and the Language Centres which was then hindered in KS3 when pupils chose to study subjects / sit examinations through the medium of English. 

(b)  A concern that 6th form colleges lost pupils and that some were willing to travel far in order to follow courses through the medium of English which, therefore, hindered the colleges' number of pupils.  It was felt that this matter needed to be addressed.

(c)  That consistency was difficult especially for schools located along the coast and that parents tended to send their children to the private sector. 

(d)  A need to raise parents' awareness of the advantages of a bilingual society and that children missed out if the Welsh language was not part of the curriculum. 

(e)  It was a shame that a rural school in a specific area was in the bilingual category and that a nearby urban school was Welsh-medium.

(f)   Disappointment was expressed at the study as it justified the situation as it was and that an opportunity had been missed as it responded to demography rather than taking advantage of the opportunity to address the problem. The intention of the Scrutiny Investigation was to eradicate the ambiguity of defining schools linguistically.  The importance of Welsh-medium learning was noted if one wished to see the language surviving.  Reference was made to the percentage of 69% of children studying five subjects through the medium of Welsh when they were 16 years old and should not all children be studying subjects through the medium of Welsh. In terms of learning medium experience, it was felt that children's English would not be better if they studied the subject of History through the medium of English - a good English Department is what would uphold good English standards at schools.  Not teaching the subject of History through the medium of Welsh was fatal for the Welsh language and deprived children of an experience.   One had to be accountable to the 2021 Census and concern was expressed that should steps not be taken to address the situation and to preserve the language, a reduction in percentages would definitely be seen again and that this result would be disastrous. 

(g)  The Scrutiny Investigation asked for a definition of every secondary school in the hope that some could be designated as Welsh specified schools.  Of course, it was accepted that this would not mean that children would not learn English but that designated status would be awarded to them for the benefit of the school's experience and ethos. 

(h)  That it was important to put pressure on the teaching of vocational subjects through the medium of Welsh as there was a tendency for children not to study through the medium of Welsh at school as they were aware that they could study NVQ, BTEC courses etc. through the medium of English.

(i)    That the study confirmed doubts about the situation of Bangor city.

It was felt that Popdy - Bangor Language Centre in itself was not going to respond to Bangor's language problems and consideration had to be given to an immersion centre and look in detail on how to support children to reach the standard.

(j)    It should also be ensured that the linguistic target was relevant for special schools. 

 

Stemming from the above, the Scrutiny Committee, in general, supported proceeding with recommendations outlined in the external study but it was concerned about:

 

·         the slowness of implementing the recommendations of the Welsh-Medium Education Scrutiny Investigation

·         that timetable was key and that early further discussions were required about the implications of recommendation 9.1 regarding categorisation of schools 

 

(iii)          The Head of Education responded to some of the above observations as follows:

 

The importance of the work undertaken by the Scrutiny Investigation was emphasised, as was the study from the External Consultant which was, in his opinion, a very good milestone towards delivery.  It was noted that the policy was sufficiently clear but that some schools defined the policy differently and that national categorisation had been inconsistent and that Gwynedd had not adopted this system.  The main actions to be implemented were totally clear as was the need to hold an open discussion in relation to recommendation 9.1 in the study. The external study from Head Teachers was welcomed, as an open discussion on the real situation of schools had been held. It was further noted that there were many good practices in the County and that the majority of other Counties were envious of this authority's position.  In terms of moving forward and responding, it was important to offer guidance on a national level of what was meant by "bilingualism".   It was recognised that there were challenges in terms of staffing in some individual secondary schools and implementation timetable and discussions had commenced with Bangor University to identify teachers for the future.  It had to be realised that there was a shortage of Welsh-medium teachers in the secondary sector. 

 

The recommendation regarding Bangor's situation was welcomed and there was a need to examine what the implications would be especially in light of the industry that would come to Anglesey.  The Head of Education was of the opinion that the challenge from the Scrutiny Investigation had been incorporated into the external study and that a discussion on local consistency would be held through contact with the private sector, further education college and bilingual curriculum planning but partners would have to be selected very carefully.  The aim was to raise and increase percentages in KS3 which would involve investing in people, curricular provision, and be completely clear on what bilingualism was, and that the experience of attending schools was a Welsh experience that would contribute towards young people living locally naturally and nurturing access to the Welsh language and enabling them to contribute fully to society.

 

In terms of Bangor city's provision, it was recognised that consideration to the provision and linguistic factor was an essential part of reaching a long-term solution for the city.  The importance of opening wider discussions on what type of provision needed to be planned was noted in order to guarantee the future of the language. 

 

With regards to the Language Charter, the aim was for all schools to achieve the Gold Award by next year and that the challenge would be to retain the award and prove that they would build on their successes.  It was added that GwE was supportive of the Language Charter with Gwynedd leading across north Wales and that it had been extended to other regions with the intention of rolling it out across Wales.

 

It was further specified that the report noted an inconsistency, and specific reference was made to recommendation 9.1 which noted that "70% [must] be considered as the minimum contact time with Welsh as a medium for A and B cohorts pupils."  The Head of Education was of the opinion that schools would have to push the threshold and that data would increase if this could be reached.  However, the co-operation of local members on governing bodies was required in order to be accountable on a local level to ensure an achievement of 70%.  It was noted that the Welsh language was a centrally important core part and that many strands needed to be integrated.  Gwynedd was in a relatively good position and was lucky in its demography but schemes to improve outcomes and develop for the future would have to be challenged in order to ensure an improvement in the Census.  To this end, the recommendations before the committee involved a number of difficult discussions with parents, head teachers, teachers and governors across the county.

 

Whilst understanding the opinion of the Committee regarding consistency and no linguistic option for parents in terms of provision, there was a risk for schools to slip with a cohort of parents selecting a different option which would perhaps lead to children leaving the County for education. 

 

The Head of Education suggested that he would welcome holding a session in the form of a workshop with the Scrutiny Committee with an invitation for two or three secondary school teachers and further education partners to discuss how to strengthen and safeguard the Welsh language as well as being fully aware of the implications. 

 

 

Resolved:       (a) To thank the officer for the report and approve all recommendations but to express concern about the implications of implementing recommendation 9.1 on categorising schools, namely

 

“9.1 Define Gwynedd secondary schools in accordance with the language of the teaching and learning medium under one category, namely bilingual schools.  Think in terms of experiences rather than subjects whenestablishing a balance between use of Welsh and English as learning and teaching mediums at KS3 and 4. Consider 70% as the minimum contact time with Welsh as a medium for A and B cohorts pupils."

 

b) therefore, request an early and open discussion

            on recommendation 9.1   

 

 

                                    (c) that early action must be taken to address challenges in the field and, therefore, request that the Education Service act soon on all recommendations of the Welsh-Medium Scrutiny Investigation and report back on progress to the Scrutiny Committee.