NEU Cymru Response

Legacy inquiry by the Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee

· What lessons can be learned from the experience of the Committee and its scrutiny of the portfolio in advance of the Sixth Senedd?

N/A

· What have been the strengths and weaknesses of the Committee’s remit including whether it enabled the Committee to work effectively?

NEU Cymru believes that the plans to meet the Welsh Government’s target of 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050 can only be met if we support the learning of Welsh for everyone in the education workforce. We would encourage any opportunities for the Committee to work with the CYPE Committee on the use of Welsh in education, as we see the opportunities for training of the workforce as critical.

We have not been asked to give evidence to this Committee since it was established at the beginning of the current fifth Senedd, but the committee should be mindful of our members' role in developing the Welsh Language skills of children and young people, which will contribute towards the Welsh Government’s Cymraeg 2050 target.

In November 2016, the ATL (who are now part of the NEU) responded to the Welsh Language Strategy Inquiry and highlighted the need for the education sector to have the opportunities to develop their use of the Welsh language in schools and colleges and enable future generations of children and young people the opportunities to use and develop their Welsh.

NEU Cymru (and previously the NUT) has been providing Welsh Language courses for its members since 2013, as part of the Wales Union Learning Fund (WULF) funding. Over the past 7 years, with sustained WULF funding, 878 members have benefited from Welsh Language training, including access to Say Something in Welsh’s online courses since the Covid-19 pandemic started in March 2020.

NEU Cymru is committed to increasing the number of members it can assist, with funding to support this, currently until the end of the current WULF project, due to end in March 2022. NEU Cymru will be applying for more WULF funding, if more funds will be made available, from March 2022 and the bid for funds will include the continuance of the Welsh language training that we currently provide.

· Do you and your organisation have a view on the Committee’s ways of working? Are there any new ways of working that could be adopted in future? You may wish to consider its approach to evidence-gathering, scrutiny of the Welsh Government, and new virtual ways of working.

N/A