Every child to be given the opportunity to confidently speak Welsh
Rhoi'r cyfle i bob plentyn allu siarad Cymraeg yn hyderus
The Senedd has passed landmark legislation to give all children across Wales the opportunity to confidently speak Welsh, regardless of their background or the language of the school they attend.
The Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill, which was passed by the Senedd today, aims to close the gap in Welsh speaking ability among pupils from different schools.
The Bill aims to make progress towards the 2050 target of a million speakers by strengthening the role of the Welsh language in education, with the overarching goal of ensuring that all pupils of maintained schools in Wales are independent Welsh language users when they leave school.
Welsh Language Secretary Mark Drakeford said: "The Welsh language belongs to us all. This Bill gives children and young people a better chance to become Welsh speakers, bringing us closer to our aim of one million Welsh speakers in Wales.
“As a Senedd, we have created an important, far-reaching Bill that will enable every child to become a confident Welsh speaker. I look forward to collaborating further as we implement the Bill.”
The legislation sets out three language categories for maintained schools with a minimum amount of Welsh language education to be provided by schools in each category. It will also ensure that steps are taken to provide intensive Welsh language immersion education throughout Wales, helping learners of all ages develop their skills – even those who might not currently use Welsh in their daily life.
Education Secretary Lynne Neagle added: "Our approach to late language immersion is unique. This Bill builds on the excellent work already happening in across Wales, ensuring all children can learn, use and benefit from Welsh."
The government is supporting schools to realise this ambition by:
- Continuing grant schemes to increase the number of Welsh-speaking teachers and assistants.
- Offering free Welsh lessons to all school staff.
Notes to editors
Schemes to increase Welsh speaking school staff include:
- Cynllun Pontio - supporting Welsh speakers in primary schools or those teaching in schools outside Wales to become secondary school teachers in Welsh-medium schools.
- Iaith Athrawon Yfory Incentive Scheme - a £5,000 incentive to students who are studying to teach through the medium of Welsh or to teach Welsh as a subject.
- The Welsh in education teacher retention bursary – a £5,000 bursary for secondary teachers who have taught Welsh or through the medium of Welsh for three years since 2020 and continue to be employed in their fourth year of teaching
- Continuing to develop alternative pathways to teaching, including expanding the Open University programmes and other alternative models, including a recently accredited Cardiff Met school-based programme.
- A range of free courses for practitioners to develop their Welsh language skills delivered by the National Centre for Learning Welsh, including a Sabbatical scheme.
Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill
In summary, the Bill:
- provides a statutory basis for the 2050 target of a million Welsh speakers;
- ensures targets are set relating to Welsh in education and the use of Welsh, including in the workplace and socially;
- establishes a standard way for people of all ages to describe their Welsh language ability based on international standards (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages);
- sets out three language categories for schools with minimum amount of Welsh language education (which includes teaching Welsh as a subject as well as education and training through the medium of Welsh) to be provided in each:
- “Primarily Welsh Language” category (80%)
- “Dual Language” category (50%)
- “Primarily English Language, partly Welsh” category (10%)
- sets Welsh language learning goals for each language category;
- ensures that local authorities take steps to provide intensive immersion education in Welsh to children from 7 years old who wish to attend a “Primarily Welsh Language” or “Dual Language” category school;
- creates a system of planning Welsh language education at national, local and school levels;
- establishes a National Institute for Learning Welsh to, amongst other things:
- provide support for learning Welsh so that more people (of all ages) are learning the language and using it in their daily lives; and
- arrange for the education workforce to learn Welsh and improve their Welsh language skills.
The Bill is available on the Senedd website.