|
Question
1 – What are
your views on whether Welsh in Education Strategic Plans are
contributing to the outcomes and targets set out in the Welsh
Government’s overarching Welsh Medium Education Strategic
Plan?
|
|
The Care Council
for Wales (Care Council) strongly supports the Welsh
Government’s Welsh Education Strategic Plan and the role of
the Welsh in Education Strategic Plans (WESPs) in delivering it.
There is a growing demand for social care services to be
delivered in Welsh. This cannot be realised without strong
Welsh-medium vocational and academic education and training in
place.
The establishment
of the WESPs is a very positive step forward. Local
authorities in all parts of Wales have produced thorough plans to
meet the demand for Welsh-medium education and training.
These plans are in their second full year of delivery.
We wish them well and welcome the time and effort that has
been taken in developing them.
With the plans in
their second full year of delivery we are pleased to offer our view
as the organisation responsible for promoting training in the care
and early years workforce. In our view, there are
opportunities to strengthen provision, which we detail below.
|
|
If you believe that WESPs are not contributing
sufficiently, how do you think this could be resolved?
|
|
See below.
|
|
Question 2
– What are your
views on whether WESPs are (or have the potential) to deliver the
required change at a local authority level (for example delivering
provision to meet any increased demand for Welsh medium
education)?
|
|
See
below.
|
|
If you believe that WESPs are not, or
don’t have the potential, to deliver change, how do you think
this could be resolved?
|
|
See below.
|
|
Question 3
– What are your
views on the arrangements for target setting; monitoring;
reviewing; reporting; approving; and ensuring compliance with
delivering the requirements for WESPs (and the role of the local
authority and the Welsh Government in this regard)?
|
|
This is an
important function and we support the steps that local authorities
and the Welsh Government are taking. The key is coherence so
that there is a clear line of sight from pre-school to post 16
learning and through to work-based learning and training so that
the value of the Welsh Language as a living language is consistent.
This needs to be supported with clear expectations on
providers of education and training.
|
|
If you believe there are problems in this area,
how do you think they could be resolved?
|
|
Leadership with a strong clear message is vital.
There is still the potential for the Welsh Language to be
viewed and described as additional/problematic. That has been
the experience of the group which are supporting the implementation
of More than Just Words, the strategy to improve the use of Welsh
in health and social care.
|
|
Question 4
– What are your
views on whether WESPs evidence the effective interaction between
the Welsh Government’s Welsh-medium education strategy and
other relevant policies and legislation*?
(*for example school transport policy; 21st Century Schools
programme; A living language: a language for living – Moving
forward policy statement; Flying Start; planning policy)
|
|
It is good to see
the WESPs evidence effective interaction with other relevant Welsh
Government policies. For example, a number of the WESPs have
made clear links with Flying Start and the wider early years policy
and take concrete steps to meet the demand for Welsh-medium
places.
The Chief
executive of the Care Council chairs the More than Just
Words implementation group for the provision of Welsh language
services in health and care. The experience has been that at
a national policy level, there continues to be the risk of silo
working with no real link between those in government who lead on
Welsh Language and on Welsh Language Education with the other
streams of work relating to Welsh language provision, such as
workforce strategies.
|
|
If you believe there are problems in this area,
how do you think they could be resolved?
|
|
It is vital that there is co-operation between
officials responsible for the Welsh language across different
departments in the Welsh Government with a clear line of sight from
early years right through to post 16 and work-based learning so
that the coherence of the vision and the joint strategic planning
at national and regional levels so that the value of Welsh language
education and training is reinforced.
‘Raising Our Sights’ the review of
Welsh for adults published in December 2013 cited the importance of
leadership from the Welsh Government to encourage co-operation and
joint working. There is a real opportunity for the Welsh
Government to make the connections between the role of adult
learning, work-based learning, community learning and formal
education and training. This is particularly important in
areas such as health, care and support, where there is a clear need
for improvement in the Welsh Language offer to the citizens of
Wales. Around 80,000 employed in social work, social care and
early years and a similar number employed by the health services.
There is a growing demand for Welsh language services in
these areas, so there is every reason for it to be considered a
priority sector for Welsh medium education and training in the
future and ripe for collaboration at national regional and local
levels.
|
|
Question 5
– What are your
views on whether the outcomes of WESPs deliver equal outcomes for
all pupils, including for example, primary/secondary pupils or
children from low income households.
|
|
For many years,
the lack of opportunities for Welsh Language learning post 16 has
not been helpful in demonstrating the value of Welsh medium
learning and reinforcing the link to Welsh Language in the
workplace. It is good to see that the 2014-17 WESPs take
steps to tackle this deficit. It will be important for the
2017-2020 plans to build on these.
Drawing on the
Care Council’s extensive experience of working with education
and training providers for social care, particularly workbased
learning, and provision in FE, there is a need for leadership in
the development of learning resources and
assessors.
|
|
If you believe that the outcome of WESPs do not
deliver equal outcomes, how do you think this could be
resolved?
|
|
The Care
Council has regulatory powers in relation to social work qualifying
training and we have used those powers to stipulate the Welsh
Language opportunities on all social work training and a
requirement to offer language awareness module. Whilst we
currently do not have the same powers in relation to social care
training, there is a proposal in the Regulation and Inspection of
Social Care (Wales) Bill for us to have similar powers to the ones
we have for social work. If that is realised then we will be
able to stipulate similar requirements for social care
courses.
Local
authorities are taking positive steps to realise the aims of the
Welsh Education Strategy. It is important that it does not
end with the remit of Schools but extends to the learning offer for
people beyond 16. It is important that the Welsh government
ensures that other partners, including bodies like the Care Council
which regulate training and education programmes play their part
too.
Whilst More
than Just Words sets out some targets for organisations such as the
Care Council and equivalent bodies for health, it is important that
the requirement is not seen as additional but rather as part of the
national education and training for all from school through to FE,
HE, professional training, adult learning and work-based learning.
Without that joined up approach the value of Welsh in work and in
life may not be realised.
|
|
Question
6 - If you had to
make one recommendation to the Welsh Government from all the points
you have made, what would that recommendation be?
|
|
See above.
|
|
Question
7 - Do you have any
other comments or issues you wish to raise that have not been
covered by the specific questions?
|
|
Whilst we recognise that some of these points
extend beyond the focus of the consultation document, we believe
that they are important in order for the investment in Welsh
Language Education to be realised and lead to an increase in the
use of Welsh in business, services and communities.
|