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Welsh councils are required to prepare a WESP with proposals and targets to improve the planning, standards and teaching of Welsh and to report on progress regularly.

Neath Port Talbot Council’s WESP 2022-32 is the cornerstone of the council’s vision for increasing and improving the planning of its Welsh medium education, to enable all learners to develop their skills and to use the language confidently in everyday life.

It complements the national vision for the Welsh language, to have a million Welsh speakers by 2050. The progress report, given to Cabinet members at their meeting on October 2nd, 2024, highlighted some of the key achievements over the last year including:

· The creation of Welsh medium educational promotional material - Six professional videos, ‘Taith at Ddwy Iaith’, have been commissioned and are ready to be launched with a focus on Welsh-medium pathways from pre-birth to further education. The material promotes the benefits of bilingualism and Welsh-medium education throughout the council.

· Work being done with the National Centre for Learning Welsh to increase the Welsh speaking school workforce - Currently a number of Cefn Saeson Comprehensive School staff are involved in a new pilot project for language acquisition having attended a residential course at the Welsh Language and Heritage Centre in Nant Gwrtheyrn. The aim is to continue working closely with the National Centre to develop a Welsh speaking community in the Cefn Saeson feeder cluster primaries.

· A Welsh Language Promotion Officer has been appointed full time until August 2025 (with the aim of continuing beyond 2025 in line with funding) - One of his main objectives is to work closely with the Welsh medium cluster to tackle surplus places in our Welsh-medium schools.

· The Development of bilingual pre vocational 14-16 and vocational pathways for pupils - A bilingual skills hub will be completed on the Ysgol Gymraeg Ystalyfera Bro Dur site by Summer 2025. In line with the new National 14-16 Qualifications, the hub will provide bespoke bilingual courses aimed at improving attendance and pupil engagement. This hub will fit into the council’s strategic approach to developing a wider bilingual curriculum, skills based and vocational offer for young people across NPT.

· Development of Childcare Provision at Ysgol Gymraeg Ystalyfera Bro Dur and YGG Trebannws – Aimed at increasing pupil numbers at the primary phases of the schools, work has been done to develop, design and source funding for new childcare facilities offering wrap-around provision. YGG Trebannws childcare has opened with 13 names already on roll. The new provision in Ysgol Gymraeg Ystalyfera North is expected to open before the end of the 2024-2025 academic year. Positive parental feedback and names already registered suggest there will be a significant increase in pupil intake in both schools in the coming years.

Neath Port Talbot Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Early Years, Cllr Nia Jenkins, said: “We are pleased to hear good progress is being made. Welsh-medium education is an integral part of the learning offer in Neath Port Talbot where all children should have the chance to benefit from the opportunity to learn, appreciate and understand their lives through the medium of Welsh.”

Link to the report: WELSH IN EDUCATION STRATEGIC PLAN 2022-2032.pdf (npt.gov.uk)