Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Education – in the Senedd at 1:43 pm on 27 June 2018.

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Photo of Llyr Gruffydd Llyr Gruffydd Plaid Cymru 1:43, 27 June 2018

(Translated)

Well, yes, and it’s important therefore, in terms of the WESPs, that, if you are talking about creating greater expectation, the regulation surrounding those WESPs reflects that aspiration and I would be very eager to see that happening. We know that Aled Roberts has been looking at this area and continues to work for Government in this area, and your predecessor—. And I’m sure you would wish to commend one of the recommendations that has been made, namely that we need to simplify the process of categorising schools in terms of language, which is something you referred to in the context of your visit to Carmarthenshire last week.

Now, I also read an article by Laura McAllister in the Western Mail over the weekend that discussed not only simplifying, but taking it further so that every primary school in Wales is bilingual and that every child starting secondary school at 11 is able to understand and communicate through the medium of both Welsh and English. That would accord with Plaid Cymru’s policy, but it would also reflect the recommendations made by Professor Sioned Davies’s report back in 2013—and I have raised this with you previously—namely that every child should learn the Welsh language as part of an educational continuum. So, can you give us an update on any progress that’s been made on that front by the Government? You’ve talked in the past about introducing some of this as part of the reforms happening around the curriculum, but I truly feel that we shouldn’t have to wait until the middle of the next decade until we see some of this being delivered, and that we should be doing more, as Carmarthenshire is currently doing, in beginning that journey now. So, can you tell us what progress the Government has made in that area?