Universal Welsh medium education: It’s possible

Toni Schiavone Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith’s Education Group

“Put simply, we want every pupil to become a confident Welsh speaker through the statutory education system.“

That is the aspiration at the forefront of the Welsh Government’s proposals for a Welsh Language Education Bill, which is expected be introduced to the Senedd in the coming months.

Why then isn’t giving Welsh-medium education to all children – the only way to create confident speakers – included in these proposals?

We know that learning Welsh as a second language does not offer a path towards fluency, something confirmed by the findings of Professor Sioned Davies’ 2013 ‘One Language for All’ report.

Pupils leave school unable to speak Welsh fluently, and too often it leads to guilt or doubts surrounding the child’s own ability, or even antagonism towards the language in the worst cases

If we really want to reach a situation in 2050 where every child can speak the language confidently, there is no place for learning it as a second language.

Step forward

Increasing the percentage of children attending Welsh-medium education from the current 20% to the 50% proposed by the Government would be a significant step forward, but it would still be inadequate to reach the Government’s own aspiration.

Why then isn’t giving Welsh-medium education to all children part of the Government’s plans? Would it be too expensive? Too difficult?

Not at all, according to our research.

In the Senedd on 18 April, we launched ‘Welsh Education for All: Reaching the Objective’, based on the statistical research work of Huw Prys Jones.

It details the progress that would need to be seen in each county every five years to ensure that every child in Wales receives Welsh-medium education by 2050.

It shows that – although it is an ambitious challenge – the aim is completely attainable.

We have previously published our own Welsh Language Education Act, which would give the Welsh language to all of Wales’ children, drawn up on behalf of Cymdeithas by Law Fellow at the Wales Governance Centre, Keith Bush.

That Bill could be introduced to the Senedd tomorrow if the Welsh Government chose to. We have also published a strategy to completely transform the Welsh-speaking ability of the teaching workforce, which would cost £20 million, in a 5-to-10-year plan.

Challenge

Obviously, the scale of the challenge varies from one part of Wales to another.

The western counties would be able to provide Welsh-medium education to 100% of children comfortably within a decade.

In some of the southern and eastern counties, more long-term planning is needed.

At our launch, Nia Jenkins, Neath Port Talbot Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Early Years, noted that no Welsh language school had opened in the county for three decades.

That stagnation must be reversed, and we must ensure that every school starts on the journey to being a Welsh-medium school.

The answer is a new model, of strong will and funding from the centre and smart planning at a local level. That is what is possible through the Welsh Language Education for All Act.

As Heledd Fychan MS said before our launch, “We don’t need empty words but action and investment in the workforce, as this report indicates.

“This is the only way to ensure equal opportunities for our children and young people become confident Welsh speakers, wherever they live in Wales.”

The model of crossing fingers and hoping that Welsh-medium education will grow by chance, is not working.

The opportunity to introduce legislation as historic and transformative as the Welsh Language Education Act is rare, and we may not see anything like it for decades.

This Bill therefore offers a once in a generation opportunity to genuinely transform our education system, and we must take advantage of it.

What is needed now is the ambition, the political will, and the funding from the Government to ensure that it happens.