Agenda item

QUESTION BY MR DEAN BOLGIANI TO COUNCILLOR GARETH JONES, EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER FOR EDUCATION & CHILDREN

“Following on from the potential benefits of bilingualism which have been highlighted such as health and educational achievements but Llangennech is a green flagged, bilingual school. Surely the local authorities’ efforts should be focused upon increasing Welsh within English Medium schools and possibly making them Dual Stream.  This would increase and promote bilingualism in its truer sense whilst also giving parents increased choices. This type of strategy would capture a larger percentage of the Carmarthenshire school population and is a unifying approach as opposed to divisive.  Can you explain why Llangennech is being targeted under new policy?”

Minutes:

“Following on from the potential benefits of bilingualism which have been highlighted such as health and educational achievements but Llangennech is a green flagged, bilingual school. Surely the local authorities’ efforts should be focused upon increasing Welsh within English Medium schools and possibly making them Dual Stream.  This would increase and promote bilingualism in its truer sense whilst also giving parents increased choices. This type of strategy would capture a larger percentage of the Carmarthenshire school population and is a unifying approach as opposed to divisive.  Can you explain why Llangennech is being targeted under new policy?”

 

Response by Councillor G.O. Jones, Executive Board Member for Education & Children:-

 

“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. The Council is required to set targets for the aims.

 

Carmarthenshire’s Welsh in Education Strategic Plan 2014-2017 has been approved by the Welsh Government in accordance with the requirements of the Act.   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.

 

The Plan also includes the following aim:

 

·     Increase the provision of Welsh medium education in Carmarthenshire and ensure linguistic continuity from the nursery sector along the key stages to the secondary sector so that every pupil becomes fluent and confident in Welsh and English.

 

The Plan sets out to achieve the specified outcomes and aims by means of a number of actions, including the following:

 

·     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 schools at Llangennech have been identified as having the potential to move quickly along the language continuum. Over recent years the number of children in the Welsh language stream has increased progressively whilst the number in the English language stream has been decreasing, so the move to Welsh language provision across the school is a natural progression. 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 Bolgiani asked the following supplementary question:-

 

“Are these potential learners and Welsh as a second language learners not of value in promoting and supporting the Welsh language and have they been taken into account as part of a Welsh Language Impact Assessment?”

 

Response by Councillor G.O. Jones, Executive Board Member for Education & Children

 

“English is not being taken away from the Llangennech School, it will be taught as a subject to a very, very high standard and that is what happens in these schools.  Certainly English will be a major factor in the school as well and it will also be used to teach and support in other subjects.”

 

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