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Caerphilly County Borough Council has said it’s committed to increasing the number of Welsh-speaking teachers over the next ten years.

This is part of the council’s Welsh in Education Strategic Plan, which was approved by the cabinet on Wednesday, December 8.

The council’s Chief Education officer Keri Cole, said: “Our concerns are that we need to capture [pupils] before they have even thought about going in to teaching.”

Ms Cole said this means talking to pupils in years 10 and 11 about careers in teaching and childcare through Welsh.

Ms Cole added: “We need to inspire them to become our future generation teachers.

“Our schools are very good at capturing the learners and taking them through in to sixth form, and we need to build on that and work with them.”

Leader of the council, Philippa Marsden, described the cabinet’s decision to approve the plan as “brilliant news”.

The plan also includes an investment of £6.4m, which will go towards improving and expanding Welsh medium schools in the area.

In June 2021, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that 25.4% of people in Caerphilly County Borough could speak Welsh. The average for Wales as a whole was reported as 29.2%.

The Welsh Government is aiming to reach one million Welsh speakers by the year 2050, through its Cymraeg 2050 strategy, which launched in 2017.

The council’s strategic plan, which is being submitted to the Welsh Government in January 2022, hopes to contribute to achieving this goal.

The council is currently consulting with the public to gain their views on the plan.