Item 5 is next, a statement by the Minister for Education and the Welsh Language on the Welsh in education workforce. I call on the Minister, Jeremy Miles. 

Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. Our ambition for a million Welsh speakers by 2050 demands changes and actions that are far-reaching. Our new curriculum puts the Welsh language at the heart of learning in Wales, but if we are to create a nation where people speak and use the language as part of their everyday lives, increasing the number of learners in Welsh-medium schools is vital. For us to do that, of course, we need a strong and skilled workforce.

I am very pleased, therefore, to be able to publish the Welsh in education workforce plan today, which outlines the steps we will take over the next 10 years, in partnership with a range of organisations and stakeholders. The plan outlines our actions against four key aims: to increase the number of teachers able to teach Welsh as a subject or through the medium of Welsh; to increase the number of practitioners able to work through the medium of Welsh who are supporting learners; to develop the Welsh language skills of our education workforce; and to ensure that our leaders are equipped with the knowledge and skills to strategically plan and develop the Welsh language within our schools.

We have already laid solid foundations with developments in recent years, which include: introducing the Iaith Athrawon Yfory incentive, which provides up to £5,000 to students training to teach secondary subjects through the medium of Welsh or Welsh as a subject; supporting Welsh-medium primary teachers to convert to teach in the secondary sector—to date, 24 teachers have been part of the pilot programme across Wales; and, finally, expanding the range of Welsh language sabbatical scheme courses. The next step of the journey is to refine and embed some of our key policies and ensure that all stakeholders work together to achieve our aims.

We have excellent teachers, leaders and support staff in our schools. However, it can be a challenge for Welsh-medium schools, in particular, to be able to recruit the staff they need. I am currently reviewing local authorities' Welsh in education strategic plans. These will allow us to better understand and plan workforce requirements to meet the projected growth in Welsh-medium education over the next 10years.

In the meantime, there is no time to waste. We've already started to progress some of the short and long-term actions to increase the number of teachers. I've invited schools to apply for grants to support the capacity building of some parts of the Welsh-medium and bilingual education workforce during the 2022-23 academic year. I hope that schools will be able to develop innovative ways of resolving some of the challenges in terms of workforce recruitment.

A campaign to encourage more of our young people to choose Welsh at A-level is also under way. This campaign is a key part of the pathway to ensure we have sufficient teachers of Welsh as a subject further down the line. I have also asked my officials to consider how incentives and bursaries could potentially attract more people to choose teaching in Welsh-medium settings as a career.

We also need to continue our efforts to develop the Welsh language skills of our education workforce, in order to improve the teaching of Welsh in our English-medium schools. I was pleased to be able to announce in February that the National Centre for Learning Welsh will provide courses free of charge for practitioners from September onwards. These courses, along with the sabbatical scheme courses and professional learning delivered by our regional consortia and local authorities, will provide a range of provision for our practitioners.

Ensuring that we have a sufficient number of leaders for our growing number of Welsh-medium schools is also a priority, as is ensuring that all of our leaders can support the realisation of our vision for all learners to be able to use the language when they leave the school.

Additional funding will be invested over the next three years to implement this plan. As outlined in the draft budget, a further £1 million is being allocated in 2022-23, with further indicative increases of £0.5 million in 2023-24 and £2 million in 2024-25. This new funding is in addition to existing funding, which includes £0.785 million for Iaith Athrawon Yfory, £6.35 million for the sabbatical scheme and regional or local support for professional learning in Welsh, £0.7 million for the conversion programme, and £0.145 million to support activities to increase the number of learners studying Welsh as a subject. And this brings the total funding to nearly £9 million in 2022-23, which is a significant investment.

We have discussed extensively with key partners and stakeholders to fully understand the issues, and to develop the solutions that we need. I would like to thank, Dirprwy Lywydd, everyone who has contributed to the development of this plan, and especially to the task and finish group that has worked with us to suggest, develop and refine the actions.

There is a lot of work to do. We want to continue to attract and support the best teachers, assistants and leaders for our schools. I have been struck by the enormous amount of dedication, enthusiasm and commitment amongst our partners, and I'm confident that together we will be able to deliver on the actions set out in the plan for our future generations.

Thank you to the Minister for having previous sight of the statement. As the Minister's recognised this afternoon, the Cymraeg 2050 strategy is ambitious and aspirational, but to safeguard the future of our language, we must ensure that our policies are innovative and that our leadership is accountable.

In the year that I've been a Member, I've come to realise how important it is to remove barriers and ensure that our language is one that everyone can share and learn, which is partly why I welcome this afternoon's statement. But if we're serious about the development of our language, we must ensure that the efforts made are adequate in increasing Welsh speakers in Wales, not to maintain current levels alone. And that's my greatest concern with this policy—that it won't deliver its intended aims.

The purpose of today's statement, as the Minister said, is to develop Welsh-medium learning through all levels of supported education, in line with pledges made five years ago. Indeed, in the plan made five years ago by the then Minister, the Member for Blaenau Gwent, the Welsh Government pledged to increase the number of primary school teachers able to teach through the medium of Welsh by 7 per cent. This would have seen the number of teachers increasing from 2,903 to 3,100. But, five years after the introduction of Cymraeg 2050, we've gone backwards.

In line with the last academic year, 2,871 primary teachers were able to teach through the medium of Welsh—a deficit of 7.4 per cent in staffing levels. But this isn't the only trend that we're seeing; the level of secondary school teachers has gone through the floor. In the academic year of 2020-21, 2,395 teachers taught through the medium of Welsh. The target for this period was 2,800—14 per cent lower than the original target. Of course, an ambitious target such as this one will bring its own challenges—challenges first set out five years ago. When this strategy was first launched, your Government was warned that our Welsh-medium education sector was facing a difficult recruitment crisis, a situation that was exacerbated by your plans in Cymraeg 2050. And here we are, five years later, with a plan to address this situation. Has the Government taken its eye off the ball here?

Five years ago, the culture committee of the Senedd warned that we would need 70 per cent more Welsh-medium teachers to reach the target of a million Welsh speakers. The former Minister, Alun Davies, dismissed this. Does the Minister agree with that, or does he regret that his Government has failed to step in sooner in order to tackle these shortcomings? If we are serious about safeguarding our wonderful language, then the Welsh Government must be proactive in safeguarding it. We cannot continue to tackle five-year-old problems five years after they are first identified. This approach to governance is not sustainable, and although I agree with much of what's contained within today's statement, I am concerned that the statement could be too late.

It's clear that the past five years has seen delay, and if we don't take action now, then there is a risk that a million Welsh speakers will slip from our grasp, and with that there is a risk that we will put the future of our language at risk in the future.

In looking to the future, we must ensure that we listen to our education sector. I have always said that nobody has a monopoly on good ideas, and here we are again, welcoming resolving the problems of 2017. But you have listened to our education staff, Minister—thank you—so here we are, only five years late.

I commend the Welsh Government for bringing this statement forward, but don't delay before taking action on these changes. Let us ensure that the next generation of Welsh speakers receive that fundamental support that they need to prosper. Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer.

I thank Samuel Kurtz for that question. As he said in his contribution, nobody has a monopoly on good ideas. This document is the fruit of the Government's work, working with our stakeholders and our partners across a range of sectors, but if you have further suggestions that are constructive, then we would be very content to consider them. As you say, everybody has a contribution to make to ensure that the Welsh language flourishes and prospers and to ensure the numbers that we want to see speaking the language. So, we have a range of steps here that extend from the ways of inspiring people and attracting people to teach the Welsh language as a career choice, steps to make the qualification process smoother to teach in Welsh, and also a range of measures to try to encourage people to remain in the profession, to sustain and retain people in the profession, which is also so important.

In terms of accountability and progress against the strategic aims in the plan, the Member will see that there is a series of tables in the document that describes, for each local authority, the demands on them to ensure an increase in their workforce that is able to teach through the medium of Welsh. That aligns with what has happened this year for the first time, namely the WESPs that extend over a period of 10 years rather than three years, so this plan aligns with the 10-year strategic plans, but the intention certainly is not that these steps should be taken over that 10 years in a leisurely manner; the Member will see that there are specific dates outlined according to the steps that we've set out, and the intention is to look at the tables and data published every two years and to publish an update, so that progress against the plan is clear and that we are accountable to the Senedd for that.

Thank you to the Minister for the statement and this investment, and we very much welcome that there is recognition that a 10-year plan is needed to develop the Welsh in education workforce. But I'd like to echo a number of the concerns expressed by Samuel Kurtz as well, because, as he said, the data that goes along with the plan shows that the situation as it currently stands is extremely worrying, with the targets set for 2021 missed in terms of primary and secondary schools. So, if we are truly to reach the 'Cymraeg 2050' target, more must be done as a matter of urgency. Otherwise what hope do we have of reaching the 2031 targets?

I would therefore like to ask, first of all: why did the Government fail to reach the 2021 targets, and what lessons were learned from this failure that have influenced this 10-year plan? I think that we need to learn those lessons if we are to understand how that progress can be realised.

The concern that I and various other people, such as Cymdeithas yr Iaith, have is that the plan isn’t sufficiently ambitious or far-reaching to deliver the change needed, with the language used being rather weak in terms of the expectations placed on providers and, while the plan recognises that there is a challenge in the secondary sector, it worries me that this gives the impression that there isn’t really a problem in the primary sector, and all this despite the fact that Government data show that 273 primary teachers need to be trained every year, and around 300 secondary teachers. With only 250 training to be primary and secondary teachers at the moment, how are we to ensure that we more than double the number that we need?

And you mentioned in your response to Samuel Kurtz that you will monitor how effective this scheme is every two years. But, if the necessary progress isn't made, do you commit to adapt the plan to be more radical and far-reaching if the numbers don't increase? It will be too late to remedy the situation if we continue to miss these targets.

And what are the implications in terms of local authorities that don't reach their targets? We often see, with the plans over the past few years, target after target being missed. How will you ensure that that doesn't happen, so that every local authority in Wales hits its targets as it should, and that we understand why they don't do that if they don't hit the targets, and then we can intervene as necessary?

The final point that I would like to make relates to the issue raised by UCAC today in response to the plan’s publication, namely the question of whether the profession continues to be attractive. As I mentioned to you last week, we know that there are problems with the retention of teachers and that they are under huge pressures in terms of mental health pressures, bureaucracy, financial pressures and the major changes to the education system that are in the pipeline, for example with additional learning needs reform and the new curriculum, and this is having an impact on the number of teachers being recruited and the number of teachers retained in the workforce. We also know that not all local authorities are equal in terms of how they invest in Welsh-medium education, and that some don’t understand—or don’t want to understand—their role in generating demand, rather than just providing according to demand. We know of teachers who are able to speak Welsh who have left their roles in Welsh-medium schools to teach in new English-medium schools because the facilities for students and staff are better, rather than trying to teach in an unsuitable building that is collapsing around them.

So, what research has been commissioned by the Government to understand why educators who are able to speak Welsh are leaving the profession or are opting not to teach through the medium of Welsh? Isn’t understanding this vitally important if we are to ensure equal access for every pupil in Wales to Welsh-medium education?

As you said in your statement, there is no time to waste and there is a great deal to do. I'm very pleased that you feel confident that we will be able to take these steps, but the challenge is whether these steps will also lead us to the successful achievement of the targets. That will be the measure of success.

Well, you're exactly right in that. And as I did with Samuel Kurtz, I would invite the Member, if she has any particular steps to suggest that aren't contained within the plan, I'd be more than happy to listen to them.

There are two main points in the Member's questions. First of all is the role of local authorities in ensuring that progress in made in terms of their responsibilities to provide for Welsh-medium education, and the second is an analysis of what's happened in the past that has meant that we've not reached our targets. And I think both of those are complex issues.

In terms of the first, the intention underpinning the publication of the data and this plan, as well as the strategic plans, is that we have joint ownership with the broader sector and local authorities for not just meeting the current demand, but also generating demand for Welsh-medium education, and being proactive in ensuring that the staff are available to meet that demand that will, hopefully, have been generated. So, that element is a new element; it's an important one, I think.

The WESPs are, generally speaking, ambitious. I'm currently looking at some elements of those at the moment. But every local authority has taken up the challenge that we've set for them in terms of increasing the numbers receiving education through the medium of Welsh in their area, so that is a step forward. And that of course means a pattern of investment in school buildings and estates that allows that to happen—that is, that there is balance across the portfolio so that Welsh-medium education gets the same attention as English-medium education in order to ensure that the challenge set out by the Member is met. She's right: we shouldn't see a situation where there is a lack of balance in investment in the way that she suggests can exist from time to time.

In terms of challenges to date, I think there is more to be learnt in terms of encouraging people to look at a career in teaching through the medium of Welsh at an earlier stage. There is more work that can be done and that is in the plan in order to ensure that access to A-level Welsh is easier. Some aspects around the funding of that are possible; there are aspects around providing that when the numbers aren't particularly large in a particular school in terms of the work we can do with e-sgol and so on. There a few other things that are more creative, perhaps, because the challenge is more apparent. So, one of the things you will have seen in the plan is the intention to work with the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol to create links with students who have perhaps left Wales who are Welsh speaking and are considering a career in education and encouraging them to return here to teach through the medium of Welsh—so, things that I would suggest are bold and creative.

There have been challenges in terms of the route to qualification. There are proposals in the plan in terms of expanding part-time provision in terms of teacher training and training whilst in employment, and looking again at the GCSE qualifications required in order to qualify here in Wales and bringing them into line with every other part of the UK. So, if you go to any school, you will often hear headteachers saying, 'Well, why does someone need a B in maths to teach Welsh or French?' So, that discussion is ongoing and a review of that would be timely too.

And the final point is—and it's the point made by UCAC that I think you referred to, and I do thank them and others for their contributions to this plan—that the pressures on the sector are broader than just the Welsh-medium education sector, but there might be an additional challenge in that sector. We're looking at a number of things here. One is the role of bursaries in supporting people in teaching through the medium of Welsh. What are the opportunities to attract people back to teaching who have left the profession? We are looking at creative ways of doing that. I've also asked the body advising us on teachers' pay and conditions to look at the specific challenge to Welsh-medium education in some parts of Wales to see if there is a case to reflect that in the kind of advice that they provide us in terms of terms and conditions more generally. So, we would ask them to provide that advice to us.

Thank you for your statement, Minister. It's really encouraging to see you focusing on recruiting Welsh-speaking teachers and progressing the Welsh language skills of the current teaching workforce.

If we're to achieve our ambitious goal of 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050, then investing in our teaching workforce is absolutely vital. Minister, you recently announced a scheme to boost the recruitment of Welsh-speaking childcare professionals for our growing network of meithrins. Can I ask whether you've considered a similar scheme in order to attract Welsh speakers into the key role of teaching assistants for our Welsh-medium schools? 

Secondly, turning to the issue of ALN provision, Rhondda Cynon Taf council recently announced the opening of its first Welsh-medium discrete additional learning needs class. This is a really important step to ensure equality of access to Welsh-medium education, but I understand that recruiting Welsh-speaking ALN specialist teachers can be a challenge. What work is Welsh Government doing to ensure that more Welsh-speaking teachers are trained in ALN delivery, or that more ALN teachers are encouraged to undertake Welsh language training to become proficient in teaching through the medium of Welsh?

And finally, turning to the issue of transition from Welsh language childcare to an education setting, in my constituency of Cynon Valley, I've seen first-hand how the work of a thriving meithrin sharing key information with the local Welsh language primary school and holding really well organised transition events has led to a steady increase in parents deciding to take that next step and enrol their children into Welsh-medium primary provision. What work is the Welsh Government doing to ensure that this best practice is upscaled and that staff from meithrins and Welsh language primary schools are encouraged to work closely together so that more parents decide upon Welsh-medium education for their children?

I thank Vikki Howells for those questions. I think that the relationship between Mudiad settings and early years in particular around the deployment and recruitment of teaching assistants who are able to provide their services and the important work that they do through the medium of Welsh is a really exciting possibility, actually. So, it's quite a complex area and it's one where there's private sector provision, there's obviously local authority provision and there's Mudiad Meithrin provision, all employing staff. And what I'm hoping that we can achieve through the plan is for us to look at whether there are opportunities for there to be recruitment together, on a kind of joint contract basis, between different settings and schools so that it can be more attractive, perhaps, for people to come into the support professions by looking at that as a kind of joint enterprise, if you like. It's quite complex, but we have been talking to our partners about how we could explore the possibility of doing that. And I think that that will support the point that she was making in her question about transition from nursery settings into early years and then through to primary in that seamless way.

It's an important part of this plan, as she was indicating in her question, to also be looking at the recruitment of teaching assistants. I think it's important to look at the landscape of recruitment as a whole, because one part impacts on the other. And I was with Huw Irranca-Davies in a school in his constituency this morning talking to the head about exactly this, about how important it is to focus on Welsh language recruitment across the entire school workforce, if you like.

And there are some, I think—I hope—creative suggestions in the plan that we will take forward. One is around providing work experience for learners to undertake work experience in schools as teaching assistants, the other is an idea that we're piloting at the moment around funding a gap year for those leaving sixth form before they go on to whatever stage they might consider next to provide them with the opportunity of a funded gap year, if you like, between other stages in their careers to encourage them, perhaps, to consider teaching, being a teaching assistant through the medium of Welsh, and I think a significant increase in the professional learning available to teaching assistants through the medium of Welsh so that they can make sure that their language skills are what they wish them to be. So, I think that there is a range of ways in which we are trying to think imaginatively about recruiting this important part of the school workforce.

And finally, Huw Irranca-Davies.

Thank you very much, Dirprwy Lywydd. Minister, I hope that you enjoyed the visit to Llanhari school today and I very much hope that you enjoyed the singing as much as the children and the teachers enjoyed your dancing in the playground. [Laughter.] Indeed, during today's visit, you met two young teachers who were starting their careers in the field of education. So, what message do you have for them, and for other young people across Wales, who perhaps haven't considered pursuing a career in the world of Welsh-medium education yet, following your excellent announcements today? And also, what is your opinion of the way that Ysgol Llanhari has welcomed and has embraced the new curriculum? Thank you.

Well, I thank Huw Irranca-Davies for the question and for providing a spoiler for the S4C news coverage this evening. [Laughter.] I'm sure the viewing figures will go through the roof as a result of that spoiler.

Well, it was a special experience to be at Ysgol Llanhari this morning. I'd like to thank them for their welcome and for the invitation to be there with you, Huw. I had an opportunity, as you said, to have a conversation with some recently qualified teachers and who were enjoying their early careers at Ysgol Llanhari. I asked them what had encouraged them to choose a career in education, and just to hear their enthusiasm and what impact they can have on the lives of young people in ensuring that they get the best possible education. And doing that through the medium of Welsh, which is so exciting in terms of adding to the understanding of our young peoples, who are often from backgrounds where Welsh isn't spoken at home—that's the case more often than not, in fact—but also actually opening their eyes to Welsh-medium culture too, and hearing them talk about that was inspirational for me. So, if I were having a conversation with anyone else in Wales, I would echo what I heard from them this morning. It is an important choice, one of the most important choices that one can make to choose a career in education and in a school.

It was an excellent opportunity to see how much work they had done as an innovative school, leading the way on many of the important approaches to the new curriculum. And I know that he enjoyed as much as I did, the opportunity to sing, and he was dancing too. So, if anyone does watch the news on S4C this evening, they'll have an opportunity to see Huw Irranca-Davies dancing too. [Laughter.]

I thank the Minister.