Council to investigate impact of proposed language centre cuts

AN investigation into the impact cuts to Welsh language education would mean for children moving into Gwynedd has been backed by councillors.

In April Gwynedd’s cabinet agreed to defer £100,000 of cuts to the centres in Dolgellau, Llangybi, Caernarfon, Penrhyndeudraeth and Porthmadog, which offer intensive tuition to children who come from non-Welsh speaking backgrounds and have moved to the county.

A pilot scheme is being run in one of the language centres, in Caernarfon, to see what the cuts would mean to the service.

The council’s education and economy committee heard details of the pilot programme, with a report on the outcome to be presented to councillors at its end. It will take place over the current term and spring term of 2020.

Cabinet member for education Cllr Cemlyn Williams said: “Our mainstream schools do great work to develop the Welsh language for those who do not come from Welsh speaking backgrounds: the centres then involve a niche of children who have pretty much no experience of the language and do great work in changing that.”

But Cllr Alwyn Gruffydd argued the council would need to keep a close eye on how children who have been through the centres perform after they leave.

He said: “What happens with post-care, that is key as far as I can see. We’re speaking here of mainstream schools and we are all aware of the wonderful work of foundation stage teachers. We’re talking about children who have moved into the area, late in their school career, and I feel that we’re going to lose something here. We must consider this post-care for pupils who are currently maintained by the staff of the language centres and whether the standards are going to be maintained. We must consider the impact of this on the long term language policy in the schools of Gwynedd.

“There have been steps into having more Welsh language education and to have that you have to have the provision to ensue pupils engage with that.”