LANGUAGE CHARTER REVIEW HAILS SUCCESS BUT SAYS MORE WORK NEEDED

MORE may need to be done to ensure that pupils continue to use Welsh as a social language when moving from primary to secondary school.

That’s the view of councillors debating Gwynedd Council’s efforts to ensure that Welsh is heard not only in the classroom but also on the school yard and during other extra curricular activities.

Gwynedd has the highest percentage of Welsh speakers in Wales, with the authority becoming the first in the country to adapt it as the main language of administration.

A review into the authority’s Welsh Language Charter, which was established almost 10 years ago following concerns that English was becoming more prevalent among youngsters within the county, found that the language was not being spoken as much socially as desired.

The authority’s head of education, Garem Jackson, told Thursday’s meeting in Caernarfon that efforts undertaken thus far had been a success, but also acknowledged that more work was needed.

“At the time (2010) it was found that while there was success in terms of language standards academically, there was a feeling that Welsh was not being spoken as much as it could socially by primary aged children,” he said.

“The research confirmed this, noting that while the percentage of children speaking Welsh perfectly naturally within the classroom was high, it fell to something like 30% on the playground when outside the control of the classroom.

“As a result, it was decided to set up the charter which has proved to be a huge success.”

The report presented to members noted that funding is allocated to both primary and secondary schools to hold activities supporting the aim of the charter.

In the secondary sector, this included older pupils organising school-wide gigs involving Welsh bands, as well as poetry and clog dancing workshops.

But despite subsequent surveys finding that more children are using Welsh on a social basis as well as listening to Welsh music and watching Welsh TV programmes, concerns were also raised that the crossover between primary and secondary education may be having a negative effect.

Cllr Cai Larsen, a former primary school headteacher, said: “Where there is a falling back in terms of using Welsh socially is when year six children start year seven (secondary school) and start meeting new friends and their environment changes.

“The impression I get is that there is a fall in the use of Welsh during this period, do we have anything specific to greet this vital period? What happens in year seven can provide the backdrop for the remaining years of a child’s education.”

Officer Sian Eurig conceded that he made a valid point, adding: “Its our intention, over the next year, to pilot a new project where we will track pupils leaving primary school to see how and when their attitude changes in terms of certain activities.

“We are planning to start on this in the coming fortnight.

“We need to target what prompts this change and while we have been asking year seven and eight pupils to answer the Gwe Iaith survey, we may need to extend this to asking years 10 and 11 the same questions before they start sixth form classes or colleges.”

Mr Jackson was adamant that the scheme has been a success.

“I don’t want any members to leave this meeting under any impression other that the charter is working,” he said. “There’s clear evidence this is the case and the data shows its effect.

“What we don’t have is specific research on the point of using Welsh on the playground, but there is enough data to support claims that the charter has been successful.”