Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:19 pm on 12 July 2022.
I thank Vikki Howells for that question, and it is something that I know she feels passionately about, and we've discussed this issue one-to-one outside this Chamber as well. She is right to say that it is very important to ensure that the provision that we have for the early years allows and encourages parents to choose education in all periods for their children through the medium of Welsh. Significant investment is happening in order to expand the number of Welsh-medium provisions over the term of this Senedd—some 150 extra provisions. But I do accept the challenge that she lays down, that we need to ensure a smooth journey to qualify to teach in whichever period of education, statutory and early years. And one of the questions we're looking at at present is the language continuum in terms of qualifications, and understanding where on that common pathway linguistic qualifications fall, so that we have a clearer understanding of what's available in order to train teachers, to train adults generally, to teach Welsh, and also the qualifications that are available in the school. So, that work is complex, it is innovative in this Welsh context, but it has just started. I'll have more to say about that, hopefully, in due course.