“You have stated that as an Authority you are endeavouring to increase the number of bilingual pupils within Carmarthenshire and have developed a policy in order to delivery this strategy.
We contacted Mr. Sully on the 29th June requesting information as to which schools had already gone through this process prior to Llangennech and which were the ones programmed to follow the initiative after Llangennech. In his response Mr. Sully stated that, I quote, ‘The situation at other schools has no bearing on the proposal for Llangennech’
Can you please outline that the imposition of Welsh Medium education at Llangennech is part of a wider policy strategy being pursued by the Authority?”
Minutes:
“You have stated that as an Authority you are endeavouring to increase the number of bilingual pupils within Carmarthenshire and have developed a policy in order to delivery this strategy. We contacted Mr. Sully on the 29th June requesting information as to which schools had already gone through this process prior to Llangennech and which were the ones programmed to follow the initiative after Llangennech. In his response Mr. Sully stated that, I quote, ‘The situation at other schools has no bearing on the proposal for Llangennech’. Can you please outline that the imposition of Welsh Medium education at Llangennech is part of a wider policy strategy being pursued by the Authority?”
Response by Councillor G.O. Jones, Executive Board Member for Education & Children:-
The proposal for the schools in Llangennech is consistent with the County Council’s strategic programme to expand Welsh medium education and the development of bilingual young people across the county of Carmarthenshire, as set out in the Council’s Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP).
Carmarthenshire County Council has a statutory responsibility under Part 4 of the School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013 to prepare a Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP) for its area with the explicit aim of improving planning of the provision of education through the medium of Welsh, for improving the standards of that education and of the teaching of Welsh.
In April 2014 the County Council formally adopted a comprehensive strategy for the development of the Welsh language in Carmarthenshire, endorsing the recommendations of a politically balanced group of elected members that had examined in depth the status of the Welsh language in the county in the wake of the 2011 census of the population. The strategy requires action on 73 points, 21 of which apply to the education service. All relevant recommendations and actions from the strategy have been incorporated within Carmarthenshire’s WESP.
The Plan seeks to achieve the following specific outcomes relevant to the Llangennech schools proposal:
· To increase the number of 7 year old learners who are educated through the medium of Welsh.
· More learners continue to improve their language skills as they move from primary to secondary school.
· More students have higher language skills in Welsh.
It also sets out to achieve the specified outcomes and aims by means of the following actions:
· The County Council works closely with the staff and governing bodies of Carmarthenshire’s dual stream schools in order for them to become Welsh schools.
· Target three dual stream schools to transfer to being Welsh medium by 2017.
It is important to note that the WESP requires all primary schools in Carmarthenshire, including English medium schools, to move along the language continuum, progressively expanding the proportion of education that is delivered through the medium of Welsh, with a view to ensuring that in time all children leaving primary school are fully bilingual.
The pace at which schools will be able to expand bilingualism and Welsh medium education will depend upon local circumstances but the expectation for progress applies to all schools. The schools in Llangennech have been identified as having the potential to move quickly to become Welsh medium due to the progressive increase in numbers in the Welsh stream over recent years, as evidenced by the data. Furthermore, standards across both schools have been consistently good, demonstrating that the children are succeeding well in all subjects and are able to thrive through a Welsh medium education.
Mr Seward asked the following supplementary question:-
“Can you please advise us of which schools have already undergone the immersion programme and which ones are due to follow the same process and for these when are they planned exactly to be done?”
Response by Councillor G.O. Jones, Executive Board Member for Education & Children:-
“Unfortunately, I cannot discuss what other individual schools are doing, it is down to their Governing Bodies and I am not in contact with those Governing Bodies at present.”