Education and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee

The Minutes of the meetings of the School Budget Forum held on 10 March 2022 and 26 May 2022 were submitted. RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meetings of the School Budget Forum held on 10 March 2022 and 26 May 2022 be noted.

None.

Members were presented with the individual Forward Work Programme (FWP) for the Education and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee, together with the combined FWP. An update in respect of the work of the Additional Learning Needs (ALN) Finance Working Group would be provided to the Committee during the Autumn, 2022. RESOLVED: That the Forward Work Programme for the Education and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee, together with the combined Forward Work Programme be approved. Note: Councillor Kay Redhead declared an interest in the above item as she is a parent governor at Ysgol Maes Owen and Ysgol Emrys ap Iwan and her husband is an employee of Grwp Llandrillo. As the interest was not prejudicial, Councillor Redhead was able to speak and vote on the matters.

The Welsh Advisory Team Coordinator presented a report on Conwy's Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP) 2022-2032 and outlined the key recommendations following Welsh Government (WG) feedback on the the WESP. The following points were highlighted: • The WESP had changed from a three-year to a ten-year plan and was divided into 7 outcomes. • In accordance with the WESP Regulations (Wales) 2019, the draft Conwy WESP was submitted to WG by January 31 2022. • During May 2022 a written response, included within Appendix 1 of the Committee report, was received from Jeremy Miles, Minister for Welsh Language and Education. • In order to further strengthen the plan, recommendations were identified against the 7 outcomes of the Conwy WESP. Amendments were available to view within Appendix 2 of the report. • By the end of the Autumn Term 2022, discussions would take place with stakeholders resulting in a high level action plan for the first 5 year period of the plan, which would also be shared with WG. • WESP targets would be monitored by Conwy Education Officers, Outcome Groups, the Conwy WESP Steering Group and the WESP Forum. • A Conwy WESP annual review report would be presented to the Education and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee and submitted to the WG annually. • WG had simplified the linguistic categorisation of schools in order to: - Provide clearer information for parents/carers. - Ensure consistency in all Local Authorities across Wales. - Have accurate information on the extent to which education was provided through the medium of Welsh. • Schools would transfer to the new category that corresponded to their current provision. Further discussions would take place during 2022/2023. In scrutinising the report, Members discussed the following: • Concern in relation to pupils attending English medium secondary schools after having received a Welsh primary education. - In response, the Welsh Advisory Team Coordinator advised that WESP guidelines sought to address issues in relation to staff language skills. - The new language categories allowed for English medium schools to progress to bilingual schools – Head teachers were supportive. - The Welsh in Education Policy was being amended. - Marketing, on a national level was required in respect of the importance of a Welsh medium education. • Pupil and parent choice in respect of receiving a Welsh education was queried. - In response, the Welsh Advisory Team Coordinator advised that Welsh was a statutory part of education in Wales. - Receiving a bilingual education would provide pupils with more opportunities in the future in respect of employment opportunities. - There were English medium schools available in the County. - It was suggested that parents and School Governors should be educated in respect of the advantages of speaking Welsh. - Members were encouraged to visit schools in which pupils from English speaking backgrounds were taught through the medium of Welsh. - Conwy pupils had the right to leave school as bilingual. • The Cabinet Member for Education highlighted the issue of funding in respect of staff training. - Recruitment of Welsh speaking teachers was challenging. - WG were considering providing an incentive for those completing their teachers training through the medium of Welsh. - Welsh language resources were not readily available. - The ability to speak Welsh may result in more young people remaining in the Country as opposed to seeking employment elsewhere. • The positive outcome of immersing children in the language from a young age and the opportunity to immerse pupils in other languages. - The Welsh Advisory Team Coordinator advised that other languages were an integral part of the new curriculum for Wales. - Welsh and English were the main languages spoken in Wales and being bilingual from a young age provided a good basis for learning additional languages. • It was queried whether an experienced teacher, who did not speak Welsh could gain employment within the County. - In response, the Welsh Advisory Team Coordinator advised that there was a national programme in respect of recruiting Welsh speaking staff. - A dedicated website had been set up in order to assess training needs. - Support for staff needed to be expanded to include secondary school teachers. - Welsh language skills were a requirement for teaching in Wales, particularly at primary level. Plans were being developed in order to provide additional support to staff. • Concern was raised in respect of pupils with additional learning needs (ALN) who were from English households, being taught through the medium of Welsh. - Some ALN pupils may not have the ability to learn two languages. - It was suggested that statistics be provided in respect of the benefits of the Welsh language for ALN pupils. • How Welsh language training for teachers was funded was queried. - In response, the Welsh Advisory Team Coordinator advised that some aspects of training was grant funded. - Welsh cluster model funding was utilised for training for schools of similar language abilities. - A mapping exercise would be carried out in order to support teachers to better their language skills. • It was important that Welsh history and culture was taught in schools alongside the language. • It was a challenge to encourage pupils to speak Welsh outside of a school setting. - The work of ‘Siarter Iaith’ and ‘Cymraeg Campus’ sought to address the response of parents, the community and the school. - The County’s Language Forum included Menter Iaith, the Urdd and Mudiad Meithrin. - Menter Iaith Conwy had created a leaflet in respect of the advantages of bilingualism, which would be launched later in the year. - Marketing would be carried out in respect of Welsh language events for young people and their families. - Welsh music, apps and games were an important resource for children. • Concern was raised in respect of the standard of teaching in respect of Welsh as a second language due to the availability of Welsh speaking teachers. - It was hoped that areas where Welsh was not spoken would be prioritised. • Councillors were encouraged to visit the Conwy Language Centre where pupils learnt Welsh in a term prior to completing their education at a Welsh language school. RECOMMENDATION TO CABINET: That the amended Conwy Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP) be adopted. Note: Councillor Kay Redhead declared an interest in the above item as she is a parent governor at Ysgol Maes Owen and Ysgol Emrys ap Iwan and her husband is an employee of Grwp Llandrillo. As the interest was not prejudicial, Councillor Redhead was able to speak and vote on the matters.