Welsh in Education Strategic Plan

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Outcome 6 - An increase in the provision of Welsh-medium education for pupils with additional needs (ALN) in accordance with the duties imposed by the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018

Where are we now?

Our vision is as follows- ‘We will work with our partners to ensure that every child and young person has the opportunity to fulfil their potential in a bilingual environment which respects and values all cultures and traditions.’

The Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 (ALNET) was introduced in January 2018 which requires Local Authorities to keep the arrangements for supporting learners aged 0-25 with Additional Learning Needs under review and to consider whether these arrangements are adequate. It includes a statutory requirement to take reasonable steps to create a system of Welsh-medium and bilingual support for learners with ALN.

We are committed to inclusion and take pride in the fact that we are able to provide bilingual services to our learners with additional learning needs.

It is the Inclusion Department’s intention to continue to provide high quality services and provisions bilingually to meet the needs of families and young people i.e., if the preference is for services and provisions to be delivered through the medium of Welsh the department has the capacity to achieve this to a high standard.

Strategic Aims:

  • To ensure that there is equity of provision for all learners with ALN in all settings and services.
  • To ensure, via effective partnership arrangements, that the learner need for Welsh medium provision at both a regional and a local level is met.
  • To ensure that all learners with ALN can access provision in the language of their choice, whilst supporting their journey towards bilingualism
  • Continue to develop a bilingual system to respond to the ALN reform agenda
  • Work with our Special Schools/Units and Behavioural Support Team to further develop bilingual provision.
  • Further develop the skills of our Additional Learning Needs Coordinators to support learners.

In Carmarthenshire we are able to meet the needs of our learners in a variety of ways-

  • The majority of our learners with additional learning needs will be supported in our mainstream schools.
  • Schools will appoint suitable staff to support individual learners within their classes and the Additional Needs Co-ordinators will ensure appropriate intervention.
  • For learners with more profound/complex needs we have a range of Units located in our mainstream schools.
  • We have a Pupil Referral Unit and a Special School, Heol Goffa.
  • The Inclusion Team will support special schools and units to meet the needs of our learners.

In the previous scheme period, Carmarthenshire County Council:

  • Increased the number of advisory staff able to support through the medium of Welsh.
  • Ensured we have an increasing number of the workforce who are able to provide advice, support and wider services through the medium of Welsh. This is promoted by a corporate plan to upskill the department's staff, together with another scheme to develop the use of Welsh within the department.
  • Ensured that parents can have as much or as little input through the medium of Welsh. The provision, service and support are available in both Welsh and English
  • Provide bilingual training to all relevant staff in relation to the ALN reforms in place.

 

Where we are

Percentage of learners with additional learning needs (County as a whole)

Data September  2021 Statements School Action School Action +  Total 
Primary 1.8% 16.8%  9.7% 23.3% 
Secondary 3% 17.2%  8.8% 29% 

 

Number of learners with additional learning needs

Data September  2021 Statements School Action School Action + Total 
Carmarthenshire 719 4079  2360  7158 

 

Number of learners with additional learning needs in Welsh and English medium schools

Data September  2021 Statements School Action School Action + Total 
Welsh-medium schools 315 2120  1120  3555 
English-medium schools 300 1955  1195  3450 

 

The allocation of needs across schools are quite balanced in terms of the number in the Welsh and English sectors.

For the proficiency of the staff of the Department of Inclusion and the Department of Educational Psychologists- see outcome 7.

Targets

  • In order to meet the needs of our additional needs learners, maintain and further develop central additional learning needs workforce who can support and work in Welsh and English - an increase from current 7 (34%) higher/proficient level to 13 (63%).
  • Similarly, we will work with our Schools/Units to increase the number of staff able to support through the medium of Welsh. (See outcome 7).
  • Our Units / Ysgol Heol Goffa do not have a linguistic designation and we will aim to ensure that learners attending these services receive appropriate linguistic support.

  • 2026-2027

    We will implement aspects of the WESP in line with Carmarthenshire's ALN Transformation Strategic Plan. Bilingualism is now a general theme across the strategic plan. The following statements are relevant to this outcome-

    • As a high proportion of our schools are bilingual, we can meet requests for mainstream education provision in a timely fashion.
    • All support services and statutory processes are available bilingually and we provide training and support to ALNCos so that they can meet each learner’s needs.
    • All interventions are available bilingually and we commit to ensuring that all resources developed within Carmarthenshire are available in both Welsh and English.
    • We will continue to monitor requests for specialist support and work with school leaders, ALNCos and inclusion officers to identify areas to develop and incorporate these developments in our school modernisation plan.
    • We will reflect the new way of working and supporting learners with ALN, ensuring that the approach is available bilingually.
    • We provide both Welsh and English medium specialist provision via specialist units attached to mainstream schools to ensure the language requirements of complex ALN learners are met.
    • All ALN settings are working towards the Language Charter Language Targets with the support of Tîm Athrawon Datblygu'r Gymraeg.

     

    A map and gap activity recently completed on the level of bilingualism across the service was a beneficial exercise. Arising from this-

    • We would see the requirement of a range of Welsh language standardised assessments as a priority to effectively establish a baseline.
    • We could add that we have developed our own assessments based on Chat teacher-assessments which are being used by the school to support and scaffold Welsh language development for all children.
    • Where specific language needs are identified, support is needed in the mother tongue to address the need and support the future development of the additional language.

  • 2031-2032

    • In advance of our 10-year plan end date we will be in a position to be able to provide parity of Welsh provision and a truly bilingual service to all pupils in Carmarthenshire.
    • We will provide training to ALENCO’s and Alternative Needs officers to ensure a greater understanding of the language.
    • We will continue research into the effects on bilingual education for pupils from non-Welsh speaking homes with learning needs.
    • We will continue to ensure that bilingual staffing levels enable the county to support the expected growth in Welsh medium education.