Cash boost for Gaelic education

COMHAIRLE nan Eilean Siar is to receive additional £330,000 from Scottish Government to support development of Gaelicmedium education.

Members of the education, sport and children’s services committee recently noted a report on the Gaelic Specific Grant Application for 201819, with Councillor Angus McCormack, chairman of the committee, saying: ‘The comhairle submits an annual application for the scheme of Gaelic specific grant for Gaelic education and has been in receipt of Gaelic funding since 1986. The comhairle recently received an additional sum of £330,000 from the Scottish Government to support the development of Gaelic-medium education and this will continue to support the establishment of Gaelic schools, the extension of provision for Gaelic pre-school education and the provision of an additional Gaelic teaching class in Tong School.’

The local authority receives £18,000 per annum to support the delivery of Gaelic language in the primary school.

The Gaelic advisory group meets on a termly basis to monitor progress with the departmental and comhairle Gaelic action plans and to discuss new initiatives that might support the development of Gaelic education.

The education and children’s services Gaelic plan links closely to the national Gaelic plan and to the comhairle’s wider Gaelic plan. Specific Gaelic grant money is used to pay Gaelic-medium teachers’ salaries.

In addition, a specific focus for the current plan will be on the development of secondary education, e-sgoil and the multimedia unit. Some funding is also awarded to schools and groups, working within the authority, to support the growth of GME (Gaelic-medium education) and the development of cultural and heritage initiatives.