Welsh in Education Plan given the green light

The Cabinet has approved plans to develop Welsh Medium education in the county over the three years.

The Welsh Government has also approved Denbighshire’s Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (2017-2020), which sets out how the Council will aim to meet targets set nationally.

 The Plan sets out how the authority will:

• Ensure and develop sufficient Welsh Medium school places throughout the County
• Support the increase of Welsh oral communication and understanding skills in all early years’ settings
• Increase the amount and quality of Welsh taught in English medium schools.
• Increase the proportion of learners studying Welsh as a 1^st language
• Raise attainment in Welsh and in subjects followed through the medium of Welsh at every key stage in every school
• Develop a sustainable workforce to support future provision.

Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts, Cabinet Lead Member for Children, Young People, Education and the Welsh Language, said: “Improving the quality of education and the quality of our school building remains a key priority for the Council and we have made significant investments in Welsh medium education over recent years, the benefits of which can be seen county-wide.

“We want all children and young people in the county to leave full-time education competent and confident in using both Welsh and English languages. 

“We have also made a firm commitment through the Council’ Welsh Language Strategy to continue to focus on Welsh medium education and to work tirelessly to play our part in contributing to the Welsh Government’s target of achieving a million Welsh speakers by 2050”.

This Plan comes hot on the heels of the Estyn inspection report of the county’s Education Services which praised the Council’s approach to developing services through the medium of Welsh.  It found that: “The authority’s plans for increasing the percentage of learners in Welsh Medium provision are suitably ambitious, as are the targets to increase the percentage of subjects taught through the medium of Welsh in schools that currently teach less than 50%. There are sufficient places in all phases for learners who choose Welsh medium education.”