Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Education and Welsh Language – in the Senedd at 3:11 pm on 23 November 2022.
Thank you, Minister. Can you explain what work is being done to identify those subjects where there is a lack of Welsh-medium teachers in the secondary sector? We understand that there is a serious lack in terms of those training in physics and mathematics, for example, so I’d like to know what the Government is doing to analyse the data to feed in to the work of attracting more students with degrees in those subjects to train as secondary teachers through the medium of Welsh. Who is responsible for doing that analysis, planning and monitoring? In terms of physics specifically, for the whole of Wales, only 43 per cent of those who teach the subject in secondary schools received training in that subject. So, can the Minister confirm the number of physics teachers trained in physics who are working in Welsh-medium schools? The incentive to teach physics through the medium of Welsh is £20,000—£7,000 less than the minimum one would receive in England. And the gap for those teaching in the further education sector is even greater: £26,000 in England as compared to only £4,000 in Wales. So, bearing in mind the need and demand, will the Minister tackle this deficit?