The Welsh Government has today announced an additional £30 million
to develop new Welsh-medium education.
The capital investment is part of the Welsh Government’s
commitment to reach 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050, by
supporting all learners to become Welsh speakers by the time they
leave school.
The Welsh Government aims to increase capacity in Welsh-medium
schools, support the early immersion of Welsh language skills by
improving transition from childcare to primary, as well as
helping learners in English-medium and bilingual schools improve
their skills and confidence in Welsh.
The new curriculum for Wales will introduce a continuum of
progression and expectations of Welsh Language acquisition for
the first time. Bilingual schools will also teach a greater
proportion of the curriculum through Welsh.
The funding is a second tranche of investment from the Welsh
Medium Capital Grant, established in 2018. The Welsh Government
has already provided £46 million to local authorities through the
scheme, supporting 46 projects across Wales so far and creating
nearly 3,000 school and childcare places.
, the Education Minister, said:
“Providing first-class schools for children in Welsh-medium
education is a key driver for Cymraeg 2050. Attending a
Welsh-medium school ensures children become at least bilingual.
“We also need to increase the number of learners in
English-medium and bilingual schools who are learning Welsh
successfully. I want to ensure more bilingual schools introduce a
greater proportion of the new curriculum in Welsh, to give
learners a strong linguistic foundation.
“The funding complements our fantastic 21st century Schools and
Colleges programme, which has completed 170 new schools or
college projects in its first phase, with 43 new projects in the
pipeline.
“We are driving forward the delivery of capital projects to
increase the percentage of learners in Welsh-medium education,
helping achieve our long-term goal of a million Welsh-speakers by
2050.”
