Motion NDM6095 Simon Thomas

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

1. Notes that it is three years since the publication of Professor Sioned Davies’s report, that recommended the removal of ‘Welsh second language’ and establishing one Welsh language learning continuum in its place.

2. Notes that the First Minister’s letter of December 2015 states his opinion that the concept of ‘Welsh as a second language’ creates an artificial difference, and we are not of the view that it offers a useful basis for making policies for the future.

3. Notes the importance of the education system in order to reach the Welsh Government’s target of one million Welsh speakers.

4. Regrets the decision of Qualifications Wales to keep the Welsh second language qualification for an unspecified time and therefore in order to ensure that no pupil is deprived of the skills to use the Welsh language, calls on the Welsh Government to:

(a) outline a clear timetable for replacing the Welsh second language qualification with one new Welsh qualification for every pupil by 2018, which would mean examining the new qualification for the first time in 2020;

(b) adopt a strategy for targeting extra resources for teaching Welsh to trainee teachers, serving teachers, classroom assistants and other teaching practitioners; and

(c) invest substantially, and seriously plan, through a series of innovative initiatives, in order to quickly increase the number of education practitioners who teach through the medium of Welsh.