The intention would be to remove a Welsh
second language qualification and ensure that Welsh-medium education is
eventually extended to include all schools and all children.
Cymdeithas yr Iaith said that this would mean that every child can
leave our schools fully bilingual – but that the continuum is a way of
recognizing that this cannot happen overnight and therefore offers a
‘road map’ for schools to achieve this aim over time.
Each school would start at different places on the continuum –
Welsh-medium schools are already Welsh-medium schools while
English-medium schools would begin right at the start of the continuum.
This amendment, according to Cymdeithas yr Iaith, would “give clear
guidance to headteachers and teachers” and would represent “an important
step forward towards the goal of Welsh-medium education for all”.
Toni Schiavone, chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith’s Education Group, said:
“Members of the Senedd need to pass this amendment to the Curriculum
Bill as it would provide clear guidance to headteachers and teachers for
the purpose of developing a single programme of Welsh language
teaching.”
‘Re-brand’
The Senedd’s Children, Young People and Education Committee is set to
debate amendments to the Curriculum Bill on Friday, including one
amendment by the Member of the Senedd Siân Gwenllian on the code for
implementing a single continuum of Welsh language teaching.
The code also supported by the Welsh Language Commissioner and the teachers’ union, UCAC.
According to Cymdeithas yr Iaith the amendment would require Welsh
Ministers to issue a code “which sets out how a curriculum is to make
provision for teaching Welsh on a single continuum”, and would mean that
the “curriculum…[or]…teaching and learning does not encompass the
mandatory element of Welsh unless it accords with the provision in the
code.”
“The curriculum published by the Government does not ensure one path
of teaching Welsh, and instead seems to be an attempt to re-brand second
language Welsh. Adopting Sian Gwenllian’s amendment would rectify this
and ensure that all children in Wales are able to leave school confident
in their ability to communicate in Welsh,” Toni Schiavone said.
“The current situation, which deprives 80% of Wales’ children of the
Welsh language, is not satisfactory. This is a golden opportunity for
Kirsty Williams to cement her legacy as Education Minister and provide a
generation of children with the gift of the Welsh language.
“Ensuring that every child is able to communicate bilingually would
go a good way towards raising teaching standards in general in our
country, as this would contribute towards strengthening various skills
such as communication skills, problem-solving skills, creative skills as
well as linguistic skills – however, this can only be done if we
introduce Welsh-medium education for all.
“It is therefore essential that this amendment, which would represent
an important step forward towards achieving the goal of Welsh-medium
education for all and a million Welsh speakers by 2050, is adopted.”
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