What improvements does the Welsh Government aim to make through the introduction of a Welsh Language Education Bill?
On 27 March, I published a White Paper setting out proposals for a Welsh Language Education Bill. The Bill will take steps to enable all pupils in Wales to become confident Welsh speakers through the statutory education system.
The main proposals of the White Paper included:
- Reflecting the target of a million Welsh speakers in law;
- Creating a single Welsh language skills continuum to describe skill levels so that learners, teachers, parents and employers have a common understanding of the journey towards learning Welsh;
- Establishing a statutory system of categorising maintained schools according to language-medium;
- Over time, enhance Welsh language provision in maintained schools that are not already designated Welsh-medium schools;
- A requirement for the Welsh Ministers to create a statutory National Plan for the acquisition and learning of Welsh, and review it in each Senedd term;
- Reforming how local authorities plan Welsh language provision in schools in order to meet targets set by the Welsh Ministers;
- Requirements on local authorities to proactively promote Welsh-medium education, including late immersion provision; and
- Providing specialist support for schools with Welsh language learning.
The consultation ran for 12 weeks until 16 June. We will publish a summary of the consultation responses in the forthcoming weeks and will also consider these responses as we continue to develop the Bill to introduce into the Senedd during this legislative year, that is before the 2024 summer recess.
This work is being carried out in collaboration with Cefin Campbell, the Plaid Cymru designated member, as part of the Co-operation Agreement between the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru.