We acknowledge that education is the main vehicle for creating Welsh speakers. We already know that there are just under 9,000 five-year-olds attending a Welsh-medium or bilingual school. We cannot afford to be content with this. Wales needs an inclusive education system that both sustains and creates Welsh speakers. By creating demand for Welsh-medium education and ensuring access in those all-important early years before statutory education, and through reviewing the sufficiency of Welsh-medium places, we must seize these opportunities to strengthen and grow the infrastructure of Welsh-medium education. I believe strongly that collaboration in a positive way between the Welsh Government and local authorities is the only way forward. That’s why I want this partnership to be stronger and to develop further, so that these plans will work better, thereby reflecting the need to secure and grow the offer. The legal framework has served us well by securing statutory status for the planning of Welsh-medium education. We are now in a new period. So, to prepare for the next phase of plans, I will be asking my officials to look again at the legislation in more detail.

It’s time now for decisive action. That’s why Aled Roberts has been appointed to conduct a rapid review of the current system for Welsh language education planning. This will include the 2017 to 2020 plans—the current plans. Aled will, of course, bring his considerable experience and keen eye for scrutiny to this role. He is a former local authority leader, a school governor and, of course, a former Member here for the Welsh Liberal Democrats in north Wales. Aled has the background and experience needed to get to the root cause of why Welsh language planning is not as effective as we need it to be. Aled will provide a set of recommendations to take the Welsh in education strategic plans forward. These recommendations must give me a clear direction of travel for change. A collaborative approach between Welsh Government and local authorities during this phase will be essential for a successful outcome. I will ask all local authorities across Wales to contribute to this review.

This rapid review will be the first phase of implementing change. I can’t foresee what the outcome of the review will be, but any development work in future must include those who deliver education on the ground: teachers, governors, headteachers and support staff—those who have such a significant part to play in achieving a million Welsh speakers. My officials will be in touch with all local authorities regarding the timescales of this review and when we will be providing feedback on their plans. The actions we take now will influence the Welsh speakers of the future. We want the Welsh language to be the language of choice within our communities. Whoever is standing here in my shoes in 2050, I want to ensure that he or she looks back at this time as a period of change, and the catalyst that really made a difference to the language and its speakers.

In my first statement to you as Minister, I said that I wanted to ensure that the plans would result in concrete and timely action in a way that leads to growth in Welsh-medium education. We have moved forward, but it’s not enough. We still need to do more. In that same statement, I referred to the importance of the new curriculum for Wales, which will include one continuum of learning for the Welsh language. This will provide many opportunities for those pupils in the education system, as well as the pupils of the future. I therefore want plans to better reflect the uniqueness and diversity of Wales, so that we celebrate these differences and allow the plans to demonstrate the individual and unique nature of our localities and regions. In partnership with local authorities and other key stakeholders, Presiding Officer, we will make these plans work for Wales.