Motion NDM6274 David Rowlands, Neil Hamilton

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

1. Commends the Welsh Government’s aim of achieving one million Welsh-speakers by 2050 and recognises the key role of schools in achieving it.

2. Believes that flying in the face of local public opinion will limit the chance of success and that changes to educational institutions covering Key Stages 1 to 5 should be made in a manner supported by the majority of parents, guardians or local residents, who are best placed to make educational decisions on behalf of their children.

3. Believes that proposals to convert English-medium, dual-stream or transitional schools into Welsh-medium schools or to close them must involve genuine local consultation whereby:

a) all respondents supply their names, addresses and postcodes;

b) each individual named in any submitted petition is recorded as a discrete observation unit; and

c) the opinions of unrelated third parties should not be given priority over the wishes of parents or local residents.

4. Believes that the consultation exercise carried out by Carmarthenshire County Council prior to deciding to close the Llangennech dual stream federated infants and junior schools and convert them to a single Welsh-medium school was flawed.

5. Believes that the council should rescind its decision pending a further consultation based on the principles set out in paragraph 3 above.