§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales how much money has been provided for Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin for each year since 1980–81 by his Department.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsThe information is as follows:
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Year £ 1980–81 117,000 1981–82 259,000 1982–83 278,000
Year £ 1983–84 292,000 1984–85 310,350 1985–86 329,400 1986–87 360,800
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales how much was spent on the teaching of Welsh as a subject in primary and secondary schools in Wales in the last year for which figures are available.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsInformation is not collected centrally on the expenditure incurred in the teaching of individual subjects.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales how many O-level and A-level examination subjects can now be taken through the Welsh language in Wales; and how this compares with the number 10 and 20 years previously.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsI am informed that examination papers in all subjects offered by the WJEC at GCE O and A-level have been available in the Welsh language on demand since 1958.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales what consideration is given to Welsh language education in provision of capital expenditure allocations to county councils for 1986–87.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsThe education services component of capital allocations is, with the agreement of the local authority associations, distributed on the basis of a simple formula which takes account of pupil numbers and sparsity.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has as to how many of all secondary school children in Wales at September 1985 were being taught Welsh as a first language and as a second language and how many were not taught Welsh at all; and what are the corresponding figures for the years 1980 to 1984.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsProvisional figures for September 1985 are given in the following table.
Number of pupils taught Welsh at maintained secondary schools Forms I–V Form VI Total Pupils taught Welsh as a first language 20,938 928 21,866 Pupils taught Welsh as a second language 81,751 610 82,361 Pupils not taught Welsh at all 93,883 21,404 115,287 Corresponding figures for the years 1980–84 are given in tables 5.11 and 5.12 of "Statistics of Education in Wales" (Volumes 6–10), copies of which are in the Library.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales if he is satisfied with the provision and results of Welsh, English and foreign language teaching in Welsh secondary schools; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsIt is the Government's policy to raise the standard of all children's achievements across the398W whole ability range and in all areas of the curriculum. To this end HMI has published discussion papers on the teaching of both Welsh and English, "Welsh from 5–16" and "English from 5–16" in the "Curriculum Matters" series. My right hon. Friends the Secretary of State and the Secretary of State for Education and Science have recently published a draft statement of policy concerning foreign languages in schools. Much good work in all of these subjects is being done in Welsh schools and it is our aim that evidence of good practice should be brought to the attention of all schools.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales if any steps have been taken in the current year to encourage the parents of young children in Wales to consider giving their children a bilingual education; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsIt is the Government's policy that education through the medium of Welsh should be available to all children whose parents wish it, within the constraints of available resources. It is for parents to express a preference for bilingual education for their children. A number of LEAs and others have publicised the availability and scope of bilingual education.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales what are the latest estimates of numbers and percentages of children of school age attending Welsh medium schools or Welsh units.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsInformation in the form requested is not available. However, the number of primary school pupils in classes where Welsh was the sole or main medium of instruction in September 1985 is provisionally estimates as 29,400, representing nearly 12 per cent. of all full-time and part-time pupils. The number of pupils in secondary schools which use Welsh as a medium for teaching in five or more subjects in September 1985 totalled 28,400, representing almost 13 per cent. of the total secondary school population.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list circulars which have been issued by his Department over the past 20 years to local education authorities in Wales dealing with the teaching of the Welsh language or the provision of education through the medium of the Welsh language.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsSince 1966 the following circulars dealing with the teaching of Welsh or teaching through the medium of Welsh have been issued to local education authorities in Wales:
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Number Subject 1/69 St. David's Day: The National Language Unit. 2/69 Report of the Central Advisory Council for Education (Wales) 'Primary Education in Wales'. Welsh in the Curriculum. 44/81 The School Curriculum and Welsh in Schools. 59/83 The Curriculum and Welsh in Schools.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has as to those secondary schools in Wales where it is now possible for pupils to undertake most or all of their education through the medium of the Welsh language and as to how many pupils at these schools currently receive all or a large part of their secondary education through the medium of the Welsh language.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsThe latest available information for maintained secondary schools relates to September 1985 and is as follows:
Number of subjects taught through the medium of Welsh Number of schools Number of pupils on roll 5 or more subjects 41 28,400 3 or 4 subjects 6 5,700 1 or 2 subjects 6 5,600 Information on the number of pupils taught through the medium of Welsh is available in respect of individual subjects and the latest figures, which relate to 1984, are published in table 5.09 of "Statistics of Education in Wales, No. 10, 1983," a copy of which is in the Library.
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1980–81 £ 1981–82 £ 1982–83 £ 1983–84 £ 1984–85 £ 1985–86 £ 1986–87 £ Clwyd CC 46,375 109,651 123,483 151,691 133,570 133,420 171,450 Dyfed CC 42,545 102,237 82,690 104,300 90,750 131,300 152,000 Gwynedd CC 56,623 123,000 99,442 126,956 120,870 153,945 163,800 Gwent CC 7,500 8,250 21,350 32,995 23,100 79,000 72,500 Mid Glamorgan CC 49,416 69,410 71,000 83,700 58,350 116,200 126,750 Powys CC 21,579 46,602 45,976 62,558 60,000 76,650 82,000 South Glamorgan CC 40,005 37,535 39,170 56,860 52,800 81,550 77,500 West Glamorgan CC 54,150 76,960 79,820 96,429 67,874 122,928 121,000 North East Wales Institute of HE 1,150 900 8,350 2,950 Included with Clwyd CC Polytechnic of Wales 925 5,458 12,706 22,636 3,350 22,086 13,500 College of Librarianship — — —. — 8,500 10,000 10,000 Normal College. Bangor 3,057 3,916 3,000 4,000 7,000 8,200 8,500 West Glamorgan Institute of Higher Education — 5,069 3,500 3,500 Included with West Glamorgan CC WJEC 115,000 50,273 133,551 149,000 260,000 215,100 277,000 UC Cardiff (Extra Mural Dept) — 3,000 — 3,000 — — — UC Cardiff (Science & Technology Centre) — 452 491 519 — — 750 UC Swansea (Extra Mural Dept) 3,650 5,263 6,300 6,600 5,000 6,000 7,000 UC Aberystwyth (Extra Mural Dept) 3,400 5,913 7,000 8,000 8,500 9,000 9,000 UC Aberystwyth (Education & Welsh Depts) 8,340 16,357 31,330 38,480 33,592 57,150 46,000 UCNW (Extra Mural Dept) 3,075 10,750 9,000 11,000 12,000 16,000 26,000 UCNW (Dept of Social Theory & Institutions) — — — — 5,000 12,000 12,000 University of Wales Registry 14,635 615 — 2,540 4,500 3,500 3,500 UCNW (Education Dept) — — — — — 2,400 — Trinity College Carmarthen — 8,800 8,000 5,739 — 16,200 17,500 Schools Council Committee for Wales (SCDC as of 1984) — — 5,000 30,023 29,758 — 12,000 WEA — — — 3,450 3,500 3,500 3,000 Gwynedd Health Authority — — 10,000 10,000 9,350 10,000 7,000 National Scientific Association (Y Gymdeithas Wyddonol) — 2,000 — 2,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 Schools Broadcasting Council for Wales — — — — 5,000 7,000 5,000 Parents for Welsh Medium Education — — — — 500 650 800 Welsh Books Council — 24,000 5,000 — 12,500 — — Welsh National Centre for Childrens Literature — 11,575 12,244 Subsequent support under S26 of the Development of Rural Wales Act Yr Academi Gymraeg — 5,000 7,000 " " " " National Language Unit 22,000 8,000 7,391 Subsequently embraced in the grant to WJEC Welsh National Centre for Religious Education — — — 6,500 — — — Christian Education Movement in Wales — — 5,000 — — — —
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales how many teachers in Wales are qualified to teach French, German and Welsh, respectively.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsThe secondary school staffing survey indicated that in 1984 over 1,200 full-time and part-time teachers recorded a qualification in French, 400 in German. Nearly 1,000 have recorded a qualification in Welsh as a first language and some 500 as a second language.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin concerning the proposal to establish a Welsh language education development body.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsPrior to the decision to invite the Welsh Joint Education Committee to undertake a coordinating role in Welsh language education, representatives of Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin attended a meeting with the then Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Monmouth (Sir J. Stradling Thomas), in company with other Welsh language organisations.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a detailed breakdown of the grants for Welsh language education allotted in each year since 1979.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsThe information is given in the following tables.
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1980–81 £ 1981–82 £ 1982–83 £ 1983–84 £ 1984–85 £ 1985–86 £ 1986–87 £ Council for Sunday Schools and Christian Education in Wales — — — — 12,000 — — Mudiad Cymraeg Casnewydd — — — — 150 — — Welsh Learners Council — — — — — — 750 Canolfan Iaith Nantgwrtheyrn — — — — — 6,000 — Llandovery Welsh Learners Club 200 — — — — — — Y Colegium Cymraeg — — — — — 6,500 6,000 The Welsh School—London 2,000 — — — 5,000 — — Keep Wales Tidy 7,250 — — — — — — Council for Education in World Citizenship 700 1,000 — — — — — Cynoeddiadau Mei — 1,000 — — — — — Cardiganshire Technical College — 6,500 — — — — — Carmarthen Technical College — 6,500 — — — — — Gwynedd FE Colleges — 6,000 — — — — — Ystrad Mynach College — 5,444 — — — — — Radnor College of FE — 15,249 — — — — — South Glamorgan Institute — 2,365 — — — — — North Staffordshire Polytechnic — 576 — — — — — David Watson (Computer Software) — — — — — — 5,000
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales what steps have been taken to give in-service training to Welsh speaking teachers to enable them to teach through the medium of Welsh; and what is his policy as to the encouragement of Welsh-speaking teachers to receive in-service training.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsUnder the Department's in-service training specific grant scheme, introduced in 1983, grant of 90 per cent. is available to local education authorities to meet the cost of releasing teachers to attend courses to improve their ability to teach through the medium of the Welsh language. Support has also been provided under section 21 of the Education Act 1980. The Department is at present engaged in discussions with the local education authorities to establish what further steps are needed to provide in-service training for Welsh-speaking teachers to equip them to teach through the medium of Welsh.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what are his latest estimates of the number of primary, junior and secondary school children classified as fluent Welsh speakers in each of the Welsh counties; and what are the corresponding figures for the previous five years;
(2) what information he has about the number of primary school children in Wales coming from homes whose language is not Welsh, who speak Welsh with fluency in September 1985, and the respective figures for the years 1980 to 1984, for each county in Wales.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsAvailable information relates only to children at maintained primary schools and the provisional figures for September 1985 are given in the following table:
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Number of pupils assessed as being fluent in Welsh First* language Second† language Total Clywd 1,401 2,367 3,768 Dyfed 4,783 4,032 8,815 Gwent 17 393 410 Gwynedd 6,638 5,114 11,752 Mid Glamorgan 264 3,307 3,571 Powys 454 520 974 South Glamorgan 278 700 978 West Glamorgan 685 837 1,522
*Pupils whose home language is Welsh. † Pupils whose home language is not Welsh. Corresponding figures for the previous five years are given in table 5.02 of "Statistics of Education in Wales" (Volumes 6–10), copies of which are in the Library.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment has been made of the linguistic effects of the establishment of bilingual classes in English medium schools and Welsh medium primary schools.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsNo such assessment has been undertaken.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish for each local education authority in Wales the number of candidates and the passes at O and A-level in French, German and Welsh over the past three years.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsInformation for individual local authorities is not available centrally.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales if any assessment has been made of the likely growth in demand for Welsh-medium education over the next years in Wales.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsProvision of Welsh-medium education is the responsibility of the individual local education authorities. This provision is subject to a process of constant reassessment.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales if he is satisfied that there is sufficient co-ordination between the various sectors of education in Wales with regard to the provision of Welsh-medium instruction.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsIt is because my right hon. Friend believes there to be room for improvement that he has invited the Welsh Joint Education Committee to undertake a co-ordinating role in Welsh language education. One of the tasks it will perform will be to coordinate and inform the activities of other bodies.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received concerning the establishment of a Welsh language education development body in Wales; and how many of those were in favour of its establishment and how many opposed.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsIn addition to the 27 representative bodies formally consulted by our Department, of which 403W five were in favour of the proposal to establish such a body, some 1,500 unsolicited representations were also received, in the form of pre-printed postcards circulated by Cymdeithas Yr Iaith Gymraeg, in favour of the proposal. Some unsolicited representations from individuals opposed to such a development have also been received.
§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will discuss with the Welsh local education authorities the provision of Welsh-medium teaching in secondary schools not designated as bilingual in areas with a substantial proportion of Welsh speakers.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsMy right hon. Friend has no plans to hold such discussions. It is for individual authorities to determine appropriate levels of provision in their own area.