Fair opportunity for all to speak Welsh
Cyfle teg i bawb siarad Cymraeg
A new Welsh Language and Education Bill to ensure that no child misses out on the opportunity to become a confident Welsh speaker.
The Welsh Government has today published the new Welsh Language and Education Bill, aimed at giving every child in Wales a fair opportunity to speak Welsh independently and confidently, whatever their background or schooling.
Currently, pupils' ability to speak Welsh varies significantly depending on which school they attend- the Bill sets out to close this gap.
Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Energy, and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles, said: "The Welsh language belongs to us all, and these proposals are about giving children and young people a fairer chance to become Welsh speakers. There is widespread support for our vision of one million Welsh speakers, and today, we’re taking a crucial step towards realising that ambition.
"As a government, we’re committed to building a Wales where the Welsh language thrives in every community, and where all can be proud of their bilingual or multilingual heritage and skills."
The Bill also proposes making Welsh language immersion education universally available across Wales.
Cabinet Secretary for Education, Lynne Neagle, added: "Our approach to immersing learners in the Welsh language is unique to us in Wales, and I take pride in what our teachers and educational practitioners do every day. The Bill is a long-term project and we’ll continue to support our schools to introduce more Welsh into their activities.”
Support for schools includes working with the sector to increase the number of staff able to work through the medium of Welsh, developing the language skills of the existing workforce, and providing Welsh language learning materials.
Lisa Jenkins, Senior Assistant Headteacher at Ysgol Stanwell School, said: “We are fully committed to making our learners proficient in the Welsh language and have invested significantly in promoting the benefits of bilingualism. Since 2023 it has been one of our school improvement priorities and is a focus of much of our work regarding standards, values and skills development. We have adapted our timetable to increase the number of Welsh lessons in Years 7 and 8 to ensure they are immersed in the language more frequently and are continually looking to recruit Welsh speakers to support us in our long term vision.
“This new Bill is intended to build on these foundations and we are supportive of any measures that support schools to achieve this.”
American-born Isabella Colby Browne moved to Flintshire at a young age, shared her experience: "For a while as a Welsh learner, I was envious of my friends who had gone to Welsh-medium schools. After going to an English-medium school and then deciding to learn Welsh later, I've had my own unique and exciting experience of learning the language."
The Bill introduces a standard method for describing people of all ages’ ability in Welsh, a move welcomed by business leaders. Siân Goodson, Founder & Managing Director of Goodson Thomas executive search company said, "We recognise the value of enabling young people to be independent and confident Welsh speakers by the time they leave school. We often have conversations with candidates who underestimate their language skills and work with them to bridge the gap between their perceived abilities with the expectations of our clients.”
Notes to editors
Full quotes:
Lisa Jenkins, Senior Assistant Headteacher at Ysgol Stanwell school: “We are fully committed to making our learners proficient in the Welsh language and have invested significantly in promoting the benefits of bilingualism. Since 2023 it has been one of our school improvement priorities and is a focus of much of our work regarding standards, values and skills development. We have adapted our timetable to increase the number of Welsh lessons in Years 7 and 8 to ensure they are immersed in the language more frequently and are continually looking to recruit Welsh speakers to support us in our long term vision.
“In addition, our dedicated Welsh teachers are currently working with our primary feeder schools to deliver Welsh lessons to Year 6 pupils in their schools to develop confidence and vocabulary. We have successfully achieved the Siarter Iath (Welsh Language Charter) Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards and will continue to ensure our learners have the necessary skills and confidence to contribute to the local and global community. This new Bill is intended to build on these foundations and we are supportive of any measures that support schools to achieve this.”
Isabella Colby Browne: “For a while as a learner, I was very envious of my friends who had gone to Welsh-medium schools. Going to an English-medium school and then deciding to learn Welsh later, I've had my own unique and exciting experience of learning the language. My main form of learning is through weekly online lessons with Online Welsh Learning, as well as an exciting trip to Nant Gwrtheyrn for an intermediate residential course. These sessions were all free to me because I was under twenty-five [provided through a Welsh Government initiative], and I feel incredibly blessed for the experiences and opportunities offered to me. Having won the Bobi Jones Medal at the Urdd Eisteddfod, I feel my hard work has paid off and I can't wait to see what's next.”
Siân Goodson, Founder & Managing Director, Goodson Thomas: "As a bilingual executive search company based in Wales, we recognise the value of enabling young people to be independent and confident Welsh speakers by the time they leave school. We often have conversations with candidates who underestimate their language skills and work with them to bridge the gap between their perceived abilities with the expectations of our clients.
“With over half of our team fluent in Welsh, the language is a fundamental aspect of our work and culture and we are dedicated to working with organisations across the public, private and third sectors in Wales to ensure their linguistic needs are met efficiently.”
Contents of the Bill
- Provide a statutory basis for the target of having one million Welsh speakers by 2050, as well as other targets relating to the use of the language, including in the workplace and socially;
- Establish a standard method for describing ability in Welsh based on the common reference levels of the European Common Reference Framework on Languages;
- Make provision about the designation of statutory language categories for schools, together with requirements for the amount of Welsh language education provided (including minimum), and Welsh language learning goals attached to the categories;
- Linking the language planning undertaken at national level (by imposing a duty on Welsh Ministers to produce a National Framework on Welsh Education and Learning Welsh), at local authority level (by imposing a duty on local authorities to produce Welsh in Education Local Strategic Plans), and at school level (by imposing a duty on schools to produce Welsh language education delivery plans);
- The establishment of a statutory body, the National Institute of Learning Welsh, will be responsible for supporting people (of all ages) to learn Welsh.
Consultation
- The Welsh Government published a 12-week consultation on the proposals for the Welsh Education Bill 27 March – 16 June 2023.
- Of the 583 responses to the consultation, most were generally positive of the proposals for a Welsh Education Bill.
- On 21 February 2024, the Welsh Government published a summary of responses.
Next steps
- The Bill will go through the Senedd's scrutiny process until Summer 2025.