Category Archives: Cynllunio Ieithyddol

NEW CURRICULUM AIMS AN ARROW AT THE HEART OF WELSH LANGUAGE EDUCATION

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Dyfodol i’r Iaith has reacted angrily to a clause within the Government’s new curriculum White Paper. This clause states that all funded education, including playgroups, must teach English as a compulsory element of the curriculum. This runs contrary to the current provision, which allows English to be introduced gradually from the age of 7.

 

“This clause aims an arrow at the very heart of Welsh-medium education,” said Heini Gruffudd, Dyfodol’s Chair. “This foundation phase is critical to learning. We must insist that the Welsh language be given a special space during this phase if we are to see our children learn and become fluent in the language. I cannot think of any precedence for such a proposal; indeed, the White Paper itself states that English is not a subject that requires such statutory status.”

 

“Yet another folly of course is that that the Government is undoing the attempts to support the Welsh language and undermining its own aim to create a million Welsh speakers. We cannot accept such a ridiculous proposal. This is an incomparable retrograde move, and one which undermines some of the most fundamental principles of Welsh-medium education.”

 

DYFODOL INSISTS THAT CHILCARE SCHEME SUPPORTS THE WELSH LANGUAGE

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Dyfodol i’r Iaith has written to the Education Minister Kirsty Williams to insist that the new scheme to provide 30 hours of childcare supports the Government’s own aim of creating a million Welsh speakers by 2050.

Heini Gruffudd, Dyfodol’s Chair said:

“Although this is a positive move in theory, the scheme must place sufficient emphasis on Welsh-language provision, particularly in the context of the Government’s own target to increase the number of Welsh speakers.

Offering English medium care to most pre-school children will undermine Welsh education and runs contrary to the aim of creating a million Welsh-speakers. We insist on certainty from the Minister that this does not become yet another example of one Government department overlooking the aims of other departments.”

 

DYFODOL’S CALL TO DEFEND THE SERVICE AND PRINCIPLE OF GWYNEDD’S LANGUAGE CENTRES

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Dyfodol i’r Iaith has expressed dismay over possible cutbacks to Gwynedd Council’s Language Centres. These Centres provide immersion in the Welsh language to primary pupils who are new to the area, thus preparing them for Welsh education and facilitating their introduction to life within Welsh communities

Heini Gruffudd, Dyfodol’s Chair said:

“Any cutbacks to such a priceless service would be sheer nonsense. These Centres have already proved their worth and success. They also encapsulate the principle that is essential to the success of the Government’s Strategy to create a million Welsh speakers – that the Welsh language must to be accessible to all if it is to flourish.

We therefore call on the Government and Gwynedd Council to acknowledge and sustain the impressive work of these Centres; to hold them up, indeed, as a shining example of what can and should be achieved for the good of the Welsh language.”