Agenda item

(a)       That the Committee commends the progress made by the Council against the targets in the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan;

(b)       That the effective multi-agency partnership working within the Welsh in Education Strategic Forum, which created and monitored the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan, be noted; and

(c)       That the Chairman, on behalf of the Committee, write to Kirsty Williams AM, Cabinet Secretary for Education, outlining the following concerns raised:-

·         The need to ensure sufficient numbers of welsh teachers in all curriculum subjects;

·         The revenue costs involved in establishing new welsh medium provision;

·         Concerns around the limiting subject options for pupils if Welsh Language was made a mandatory GCSE; and

·         A recognition that if WG were to meet their ambitious target of 1M welsh speakers in Wales by 2050 then this would be realised by increasing the number of welsh speakers in areas such as Flintshire.

The Chief Officer presented a report on the Council’s progress on its Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP) to meet the targets and outcomes set by Welsh Government (WG) to promote Welsh-medium education, increase the number of pupils accessing education through the medium of Welsh and improve standards of pupil attainment in both Welsh first and second language.

A multi-agency forum was responsible for monitoring and delivering implementation of the WESP and additional temporary capacity within the Council was being provided by Sian Hilton.  The forum reviewed progress by three sub-groups focussing on Standards, Provision and Workforce.  As part of the report, attention was drawn to the Council’s success in attracting capital investment from WG at 100% intervention rate to increase capacity at Ysgol Glanrafon and provide wraparound early years provision.  A number of key successes in meeting WG targets for 2018-19 were also highlighted.

The Chairman thanked officers for the report and welcomed the progress made to date.

As Chairman of the forum, Councillor Roberts spoke about the Council’s commitment to promote the education of children in Welsh medium schools and develop bilingualism in English-medium schools.  He referred to the positive impact of Urdd in encouraging young people to compete through the medium of Welsh and stressed the importance of developing the language outside the school/workplace.  He said that the WG’s ambitious target of achieving 1m Welsh speakers by 2050 would only be met by increasing the number of Welsh speakers in areas such as Flintshire.  He went on to commend Ysgol Gwenffrwd in Holywell on the results of its recent Estyn inspection.

Following concerns by Rebecca Stark about the road infrastructure around Ysgol Glanrafon, the Chief Officer advised that officers were aware of the issues and that a traffic impact assessment would take into consideration the management of traffic flow and pupil safety.

In response to comments from Councillor Smith, Councillor Roberts and the Chief Officer said that representations had been made on the need for WG to provide additional funding for the growth and development of smaller emerging Welsh-medium schools as they were being established.

Whilst welcoming positive outcomes by Welsh second-language learners in English-medium primary schools, David Hÿtch raised concerns about the effect of future curriculum changes on English-medium secondary schools.

Rebecca Stark also felt that the reduction of Welsh language options at secondary level could lead to pupils opting not to pursue another language.

Councillor Gladys Healey called for industries to do more to incorporate use of the Welsh language into the workplace.

Councillor Mackie read an extract from a report which highlighted the difficulties experienced by secondary schools in recruiting Welsh speaking teachers.

Progress on the WESP was well received by Councillor Jones who spoke about the growth of the Welsh language in urban areas.  He thanked Members for participating in the recent survey across the Council which showed progression in the Welsh language.

The Chief Officer acknowledged concerns such as the impact of reduced options for pupils and the investment required in teacher training.  Key factors such as these were being identified by the sub-groups reporting to the forum to inform the action plan, eg  working with Coleg Cambria to create more opportunities for young people to develop Welsh language skills.

Following discussion, Councillor Roberts suggested that the Committee write to the Minister to express the concerns raised.  An amended set of recommendations were agreed to reflect the debate.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Committee commends the progress made by the Council against the targets in the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan;

(b)       That the effective multi-agency partnership working within the Welsh in Education Strategic Forum, which created and monitored the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan, be noted; and

(c)       That the Chairman, on behalf of the Committee, write to Kirsty Williams AM, Cabinet Secretary for Education, outlining the following concerns raised:-

·         The need to ensure sufficient numbers of welsh teachers in all curriculum subjects;

·         The revenue costs involved in establishing new welsh medium provision;

·         Concerns around the limiting subject options for pupils if Welsh Language was made a mandatory GCSE; and

·         A recognition that if WG were to meet their ambitious target of 1M welsh speakers in Wales by 2050 then this would be realised by increasing the number of welsh speakers in areas such as Flintshire.