The Scottish government is set to miss the target to set up 10 standalone Gaelic schools by next year, according to the public body responsible for promoting Gaelic.
The target to “increase the number of Gaelic schools from six to 10” by 2023 was set out in the National Gaelic Language Plan 2018-2023.
But Bòrd na Gàidhlig says just one new school has opened over the period covered by the plan.
And while there is another new Gaelic primary school in the pipeline in Glasgow, it is not expected to open until 2024.
This means that, in five years, just one new Gaelic school has opened, bringing the total number of standalone Gaelic schools in Scotland to seven - three short of the target signed off by Scottish ministers.
Bòrd na Gàidhlig says: “Progress has been made with this activity but there will not be 10 standalone Gaelic schools by 2023.
“One new school has opened, there is to be another in Glasgow, new GM [Gaelic medium] units have opened and the Scottish government is in discussions with local authorities about alternative opportunities.”
Bòrd na Gàidhlig revealed that the target would be missed in papers submitted to the Scottish Parliament’s education, children and young people committee, which tomorrow is due to take evidence on the Draft National Gaelic Plan 2023-28.
Speaking to Tes Scotland, Jim Whannel, director of education at Bòrd na Gàidhlig, said that the Bòrd was working with councils to develop more Gaelic Medium Education (GME) standalone schools. He said, in particular, that the body had been working with North Lanarkshire Council, Edinburgh City Council, and Argyll and Bute Council.
He added: “Developing a new school is a complex process, with involvement from both the local authority and the Scottish government. Covid-19 has also had an impact on the work of authorities.”
GME is seen as a key driver when it comes to ensuring that Gaelic thrives and grows - something the Scottish government has said it is committed to.
However, the papers for tomorrow’s committee meeting also reveal slow progress in increasing the proportion of pupils in GME.
Furthermore, while the goal in the National Gaelic Language Plan 2018-2023 was to make GME available in the “50 civil parishes with 5 per cent or more Gaelic speakers”, this target will also not be realised.
The Bòrd na Gàidhlig submission to the education committee says GME is available for pupils in “the majority of parishes where at least 5 per cent of the population are Gaelic speakers” but it adds: “There are still parishes where GME is not available, for example Glenelg, the Small Isles or Glenshiel.”
Meanwhile, a briefing prepared by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre reveals that, between 2017 and 2021, the proportion of Scottish pupils in GME increased by around 0.2 per cent in primary and 0.1 per cent in secondary.
The percentage of pupils learning Gaelic as a second language stayed the same.
More positive were the Bòrd na Gàidhlig figures on teacher recruitment - there were 295 GME teachers working in Scottish primary and secondary schools in 2018 but, by last year, that figure had grown to 348.
The meeting of the education, children and young people committee gets under way at 9.45am tomorrow.
The Draft National Gaelic Plan 2023-28 can be accessed here.
