The Welsh Government's target of one million Welsh speakers by 2050 depends on having the education workforce to deliver it, but it does not have that at the moment, a Senedd committee has warned. As well as too few staff to teach in Welsh the whole workforce is under pressure and the Welsh Government must bring them with it for the plan to succeed, a report from the Education Young People and Education Committee adds.
The committee was scathing of the cabinet secretary for educations view that a falling birth rate would help alleviate the recruitment problems. The report said a clearer plan was needed.
During its wide ranging consultation on the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill: the committee took evidence from education staff, unions and others. It said there are also concerns around how reliable people’s claims about speaking Welsh are on the census, although the committee feels this is the only reference point available. One headteacher told the committee that Welsh speaking science teachers are rare as "hen's teeth" and you can read more about that here.
A major concern though is having enough education staff with Welsh language skills to help reach the target in Welsh medium, bilingual and English medium schools. Headteachers have long warned that there is a recruitment crisis, particularly in some subjects and for Welsh medium teachers across the board.
In her forward to the 252-page report committee chair Buffy Williams is clear: “We support the general approach taken in the Bill, and think it will be an important tool to deliver the one million target. But it is ambitious, and it will take considerable effort by everyone in the education system, from the Welsh Government, through to local authorities, and down to each school in Wales.
“Most importantly, the Welsh Government needs to ensure there is the workforce across Wales to deliver on these ambitions. We know that is currently not the case, and while the Welsh Government is seeking to address this issue, more needs to be done.”
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The full report goes on to say: “It could not be clearer that the success of the Bill is dependent on having the education workforce to deliver it. This is not just about teachers in schools, but support staff, as well as education professionals in early years and post-16 provision.”
The Welsh language and Education Bill will put into law the target of one million Welsh speakers by 2050. It also aims for all pupils to leave school able to speak Welsh.
Under the Bill schools would be put into different categories for Welsh medium, bilingual, or English. Each school will the have Welsh language targets depending on category.
On the Bill's impact on workload the committee's report added that the impact of the Welsh language reform on the workforce “is a significant and genuine area of concern for many”.
Teaching unions had made clear that when other reform has been passed, promises were made on support and resources, which has not always been followed through and “this mistake cannot be repeated”.
The document warns that it is vital the Welsh Government brings the education workforce with it on its “challenging” target of one million Welsh speakers at a time when the system is already under so much pressure: “It is critical that the Welsh Government works with the education workforce and its representatives to ensure that the Bill is delivered in a way that brings everybody along with it, and does not create unnecessary undue pressure on a system that is already creaking,” it adds.
The Welsh Government needs to show “its thinking in detail” in terms of the workforce impact, and set out clearly how it will take to mitigate or remove pressure on the workforce. A clearer plan is needed from the Welsh Government on how all these issues can be addressed.
“2050 is not as far away as it might seem, and we were not convinced by the cabinet secretary’s view that the falling birth rate would help address any workforce shortfalls,” the report adds, “We are not convinced that the Welsh Government should be depending on falling birthrates to address school workforce gaps, and we would want to see more information and data on this included.”
Other issues include needing a clearer distinction between teaching Welsh as a subject, and teaching through the medium of Welsh in the definition of Welsh language education in the Bill. And everyone must feel the language belongs to them, regardless of their fluency.
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