Councils in Wales are planning to establish 23 new Welsh-medium primary schools over the next 10 years, new plans reveal.
But a Tes analysis of Welsh government data shows that the government has not hit its Welsh-medium teacher number targets for either primary or secondary - although recruitment on to initial teacher education courses is improving.
Yesterday some of the detail in the new Welsh in Education Strategic Plans (WESPs), currently being finalised by councils, was revealed.
The plans set out how councils are going to grow Welsh-medium education in their areas over the next 10 years and they show that councils are hoping to create an additional 23 schools.
Welsh-medium education ‘should be an option for everyone’
The Welsh government’s minister for education and Welsh language, Jeremy Miles, welcomed the “ambition” of some of the council plans and said they gave him confidence that targets for the growth of the language for 2026 and 2031 would be met - as well as “the ultimate goal of a million Welsh speakers by 2050”.
He added: “My message is clear - I want Welsh-medium education to be an option for everyone and I want everyone to have the opportunity to be bilingual citizens of Wales.”
However, a report published by the Welsh government in May shows that none of its 2021 Welsh-medium - or Welsh language - teacher number targets were hit, with the biggest shortfall of 35 per cent for secondary Welsh language teachers.
The government projected it would need 600 secondary Welsh language teachers by 2021 in order to be on track to deliver its ambitions for the growth of the language, but there were just 391 in post.
Another report - also published in May but this time looking at entrants on to initial teacher education courses - gives more cause for optimism. Teacher numbers might not be rising as quickly as hoped, but the number of teaching students training to teach in Welsh is growing.
Responding to the teacher numbers data, a Welsh government spokesman highlighted the latest initial teacher education statistics, saying they showed “an increase for the second consecutive year in the number of student teachers able to teach in Welsh”.
The spokesman said earlier this year the government had published a 10-year plan to increase the number of school staff who can teach through the medium of Welsh.
The spokesman added: “We are providing an additional £1 million this year to support the delivery of the plan, bringing the total to £9 million, with plans to increase funding over the following two years. £500,000 of the new funding will be provided to individual schools to help grow their Welsh-speaking workforce.”
The key figures on Welsh-medium teacher numbers:
- 2,871 - the number of primary teachers teaching through the medium of Welsh in 2021: the target was 3,100.
- 7% - the shortfall in Welsh-medium primary teachers in 2021, based on Welsh government targets.
- 391 - the number of secondary teachers teaching Welsh as a subject in 2021: the target was 600.
- 35% - the shortfall in secondary teachers teaching Welsh as a subject in 2021, based on Welsh government targets.
- 2,004 - the number of secondary teachers teaching subjects through the medium of Welsh in 2021: the target was 2,200.
- 9% - the shortfall in Welsh-medium secondary teachers in 2021, based on Welsh government targets.
- 27% - the proportion of entrants to initial teacher education training to teach in Welsh in 2020-21, up on 22 per cent the previous year, and 16 per cent in 2018-19 (the goal for 2022-23 is 30 per cent).
- 10,142 - the number of pupils educated in Welsh-medium schools in 2021.
- 23% - the proportion of pupils educated in Welsh-medium schools in 2021 (the government target is 40 per cent by 2050, with the interim target of 30 per cent by 2031)
