The Cymraeg 2050 strategy recognises education and training as the primary means of achieving the target of one million speakers. It sets a target for increasing the proportion of learners leaving statutory education who are able to speak Welsh to 70% (25,000) by 2050. It also sets ambitious targets for increasing the numbers of teachers who teach Welsh as a subject and who teach through the medium of Welsh in the primary and secondary sectors.
A crucial part of this is to ensure that as many children as possible receive early years care and education through the medium of Welsh so that they are more likely to transfer to receive their statutory education in Welsh. We are keen to ensure that the Welsh Government's early years policies support this objective.
Another target in Cymraeg 2050 is to increase how many people use the Welsh language, and the workplace is vital for this. The post-16 and higher education sector has a crucial role in bridging the use of the language from education into employment. We seek to influence policy in these sectors to ensure that there are opportunities to study through the medium of Welsh in colleges, universities and in work-based learning.
Watch the below video of our event at the National Eisteddfod in Tregaron to remember the late Aled Roberts, Welsh Language Commissioner between 2019 and 2022. The event paid tribute to Aled and his work for the Welsh language and specifically within education.
Our recent work in this area includes:
- Recommendations for increasing the Welsh language skills of the education workforce.
- Responding to consultations on developing a new curriculum for Wales to ensure that it would lead to creating confident Welsh speakers.
- Facilitating access to Welsh-medium education through accessible travel.
Recent publications include: