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A shake-up of Welsh language education cleared the first hurdle in the Senedd despite concerns about staff shortages, teachers’ workloads and the cost to schools.

Senedd Members unanimously agreed the general principles of the Welsh language bill, which was part of the now-collapsed cooperation deal between ministers and Plaid Cymru.

Mark Drakeford told the Senedd the reforms aim to improve how Welsh is taught, ensuring all pupils become confident Welsh speakers by the end of compulsory school age.

The finance and Welsh language secretary said: “The majority of children in Wales receive their education through the medium of English.

“It has been mandatory for them to learn Welsh for decades now. But we know that we haven’t succeeded in providing the same quality of experiences to them.”

‘£100m’

The bill, which would cost an estimated £103.2m in the years to 2034/35, would set a 10% minimum level for the amount of Welsh provision in primarily English-language schools.

It would also:

• put targets including a million Welsh speakers by 2050 on a legal footing;
• embed a standard way to describe language ability based on the CEFR;
• establish new categories of school;
• create a chain of accountability with duties on schools, councils and ministers; and
• set up a National Welsh Language Learning Institute.

Leading a debate on January 14, Prof Drakeford said: “If the bill is to succeed then we must ensure there is capacity within the education system to implement it.”

He pointed to the education secretary’s announcement of a strategic workforce plan, which will include the teaching of Welsh and teaching through the medium of Welsh.

Prof Drakeford committed to bringing forward amendments to address workforce concerns as the bill moves through the Senedd’s four-stage scrutiny process.

‘Biggest barrier’

Buffy Williams, chair of the education committee, said: “It is rare for a government target … to capture a wider imagination but a million Welsh speakers by 2050 has.

“Yet, the last census result shows a decrease in the number of people saying they’re Welsh speakers. It is clear action is needed to put this decline into reverse.

“The bill, we believe, is an important mechanism to support delivery of this target.”

Ms Williams warned the biggest barrier is having a workforce with the right skills, saying: “This is not going to be easy. We know there are currently shortages across Wales.”

She called for clarity on proposed new categories of school: primarily Welsh; dual language; and primarily English, partly Welsh: and the targets for each.

‘Already stretched’

Sam Kurtz, the Tories’ shadow Welsh language secretary, welcomed the ambition to increase the number of Welsh speakers.

But he said: “Key challenges remain, particularly in terms of workforce capacity,” warning of the financial implications for “already stretched” schools and councils.

Mr Kurtz argued the workforce plan should have been developed alongside the bill, pointing out that there was no mention of Welsh in the education secretary’s statement.

Plaid Cymru’s Cefin Campbell said the Welsh Government has lowered the bill’s ambitions since his party ended the cooperation deal, with ministers “rowing back” some elements.

Mr Campbell, a former lecturer who is Plaid Cymru’s shadow education secretary, said targets to expand Welsh-medium education have been missed for more than 20 years.

‘Hugely fragile’

Alun Davies, who initially introduced the target of a million Welsh speakers by 2050, backed the bill but cautioned against overly complicated school categories.

He said: “To be entirely honest with you, and I didn’t want to say this at the time, but when I was minister with responsibility for the Welsh language, and now, I’m still not sure I understand all of the school categories that we have.”

Warning minority languages are “hugely fragile” around the world, Lee Waters, another Labour backbencher, described the bill as a uniquely ambitious and important step.

He said pupils in primarily English-medium schools are currently “shortchanged”, with a low chance of them leaving school being able to hold a meaningful conversation in Welsh.

Mr Waters suggested this breeds resentment and bitterness among pupils subjected to such a poor experience, “so, it’s essential we focus on the quality of English-medium provision”.