New bill aims to ensure every child in Wales becomes a confident Welsh speaker

The Welsh Government has today published the new Welsh Language and Education Bill, aimed at giving every child in Wales a fair opportunity to speak Welsh independently and confidently, whatever their background or schooling.

Currently, pupils’ ability to speak Welsh varies significantly depending on which school they attend- the Bill sets out to close this gap.

Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Energy, and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles, said: “The Welsh language belongs to us all, and these proposals are about giving children and young people a fairer chance to become Welsh speakers. There is widespread support for our vision of one million Welsh speakers, and today, we’re taking a crucial step towards realising that ambition.

“As a government, we’re committed to building a Wales where the Welsh language thrives in every community, and where all can be proud of their bilingual or multilingual heritage and skills.”

The Bill also proposes making Welsh language immersion education universally available across Wales.

Cabinet Secretary for Education, Lynne Neagle, added: “Our approach to immersing learners in the Welsh language is unique to us in Wales, and I take pride in what our teachers and educational practitioners do every day. The Bill is a long-term project and we’ll continue to support our schools to introduce more Welsh into their activities.”

Support for schools includes working with the sector to increase the number of staff able to work through the medium of Welsh, developing the language skills of the existing workforce, and providing Welsh language learning materials.

Lisa Jenkins, Senior Assistant Headteacher at Ysgol Stanwell School, said: “We are fully committed to making our learners proficient in the Welsh language and have invested significantly in promoting the benefits of bilingualism. Since 2023 it has been one of our school improvement priorities and is a focus of much of our work regarding standards, values and skills development. We have adapted our timetable to increase the number of Welsh lessons in Years 7 and 8 to ensure they are immersed in the language more frequently and are continually looking to recruit Welsh speakers to support us in our long term vision.

“This new Bill is intended to build on these foundations and we are supportive of any measures that support schools to achieve this.”

American-born Isabella Colby Browne moved to Flintshire at a young age, shared her experience: “For a while as a Welsh learner, I was envious of my friends who had gone to Welsh-medium schools. After going to an English-medium school and then deciding to learn Welsh later, I’ve had my own unique and exciting experience of learning the language.”

The Bill introduces a standard method for describing people of all ages’ ability in Welsh, a move welcomed by business leaders. Siân Goodson, Founder & Managing Director of Goodson Thomas executive search company said, “We recognise the value of enabling young people to be independent and confident Welsh speakers by the time they leave school. We often have conversations with candidates who underestimate their language skills and work with them to bridge the gap between their perceived abilities with the expectations of our clients.”