Primary Education in Llangennech
It was with a sense of trepidation that I entered the chamber in county hall last Wednesday. There were several items on the agenda. However, the important decision that day would be whether we county councillors would agree to discontinue the dual-stream Llangennech Infant and Junior Schools and replace with them with a Welsh medium community primary school. This would in effect end dual-stream education in Llangennech (where parents can choose whether their children receive either English-medium or Welsh-medium education) in favour of Welsh-medium only.
The first important thing to remember is that the names English-medium and Welsh-medium are extremely misleading. Both streams teach the English and Welsh language, although the degree and quality vary considerably from school to school. Those in Welsh-medium education receive excellent tuition in both English and Welsh languages. There are concerns that English-medium education is not achieving the outcomes expected in the standard of Welsh. It is believed that children learn Welsh better when they are immersed in a Welsh language environment at an early age. I believe this to be true. Welsh-medium education is the only truly bilingual system of education we have in Wales.
The second thing to remember is that the Welsh language is in decline across Wales. I truly believe that 'Cenedl heb iaith, cenedl heb galon', that a nation without a language is a nation without a heart. We must take action to improve and extend the Welsh language skills of Wales' population and the most obvious way to do this is through the education system. I commend the Welsh Government's resolve though the WESPs (Welsh in Education Strategic Plans) and the 1 Million Welsh Speakers policy. As a county councillor, I feel that Carmarthenshire County Council should do everything within its power to support the policy.
The third consideration is whether pupils from English speaking homes suffer because of Welsh-medium education. This was at the heart of the concerns raised by some parents and residents in Llangennech. It was also among some of the reasonable concerns raised by some of my collegues on the Labour benches in county hall. I know that some of my colleagues have had bad experiences with Welsh-medium education. They did not receive the support they needed as either pupils, parents or in some cases both. I understand and sympathise with them. However, schools and education authorities should do their utmost to make sure that all students and parents have all the tailored support they need to navigate the education system. To make Welsh-language education a scapegoat for a pupil's difficulties in school does nothing to solve the core issues for that pupil. Particularly when bilingual and multilingual education is standard practice across most of the world.
Fourthly, campaigners were saying that 95% of the population of Llangennech objected to the proposals. Lies, damed lies and statistics. This simply was not true. However, it is clear that the council has failed to sell these proposals to many within the community. The consultation very badly managed overall. Officials should learn lessons from this experience as they move other schools along the language continuum in the future.
Finally, whenever I approach a decision I try and imagine myself in the situation of those who will be affected. I was actually educated through the Welsh-medium system of education (attending Ysgol Gymraeg Brynsierfel and Ysgol Gyfun y Strade in Llanelli). I benefitted hugely from bilingual education. My basic ability to learn new languages is very weak and I believe that if I had not attended a Welsh-medium primary school I would not have the fluency that I have today in Welsh. Not only that, but I feel a huge sense of pride in being fluent in the native language of the country that I love. I know that the future pupils at Llangennech will benefit from these changes and will feel the same pride that I do today.
These are the reasons why I supported the county council's proposal to change primary education in Llangennech to Welsh-medium only. I only hope that the council will continue to pursue this policy throughout the county.
The first important thing to remember is that the names English-medium and Welsh-medium are extremely misleading. Both streams teach the English and Welsh language, although the degree and quality vary considerably from school to school. Those in Welsh-medium education receive excellent tuition in both English and Welsh languages. There are concerns that English-medium education is not achieving the outcomes expected in the standard of Welsh. It is believed that children learn Welsh better when they are immersed in a Welsh language environment at an early age. I believe this to be true. Welsh-medium education is the only truly bilingual system of education we have in Wales.
The second thing to remember is that the Welsh language is in decline across Wales. I truly believe that 'Cenedl heb iaith, cenedl heb galon', that a nation without a language is a nation without a heart. We must take action to improve and extend the Welsh language skills of Wales' population and the most obvious way to do this is through the education system. I commend the Welsh Government's resolve though the WESPs (Welsh in Education Strategic Plans) and the 1 Million Welsh Speakers policy. As a county councillor, I feel that Carmarthenshire County Council should do everything within its power to support the policy.
The third consideration is whether pupils from English speaking homes suffer because of Welsh-medium education. This was at the heart of the concerns raised by some parents and residents in Llangennech. It was also among some of the reasonable concerns raised by some of my collegues on the Labour benches in county hall. I know that some of my colleagues have had bad experiences with Welsh-medium education. They did not receive the support they needed as either pupils, parents or in some cases both. I understand and sympathise with them. However, schools and education authorities should do their utmost to make sure that all students and parents have all the tailored support they need to navigate the education system. To make Welsh-language education a scapegoat for a pupil's difficulties in school does nothing to solve the core issues for that pupil. Particularly when bilingual and multilingual education is standard practice across most of the world.
Fourthly, campaigners were saying that 95% of the population of Llangennech objected to the proposals. Lies, damed lies and statistics. This simply was not true. However, it is clear that the council has failed to sell these proposals to many within the community. The consultation very badly managed overall. Officials should learn lessons from this experience as they move other schools along the language continuum in the future.
Finally, whenever I approach a decision I try and imagine myself in the situation of those who will be affected. I was actually educated through the Welsh-medium system of education (attending Ysgol Gymraeg Brynsierfel and Ysgol Gyfun y Strade in Llanelli). I benefitted hugely from bilingual education. My basic ability to learn new languages is very weak and I believe that if I had not attended a Welsh-medium primary school I would not have the fluency that I have today in Welsh. Not only that, but I feel a huge sense of pride in being fluent in the native language of the country that I love. I know that the future pupils at Llangennech will benefit from these changes and will feel the same pride that I do today.
These are the reasons why I supported the county council's proposal to change primary education in Llangennech to Welsh-medium only. I only hope that the council will continue to pursue this policy throughout the county.
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