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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
AGREED: · to accept Ceredigion County Council's Annual Monitoring Report of the Welsh Language Standards (2024-2025). · to approve that the full report is presented to the Council's Cabinet for approval and publication on the Council's corporate website, as required by the Welsh Language Standards procedure, in accordance with the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011.
AGREED to accept the report and information about the content and progress of the last report.
AGREED to review the appropriate language skills framework following the implementation of the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) legislation.
AGREED to accept the report.
AGREED to Continue to hold sessions in the residential homes and collaborate with Porth Cynnal to discuss potential developments.
Elen James, Corporate Lead Officer: Schools, Lifelong Learning and Culture and Steffan Jones, Street Naming & Numbering Officer / Master Data Coordinator apologised for their inability to attend the meeting.
i. Congratulations were extended to Elen James on officially being appointed Corporate Lead Officer: Schools, Lifelong Learning and Culture. ii. Condolences were extended to the family of Professor Geraint Jenkins who recently passed away.
There were no disclosures of personal/ prejudicial interests.
It was RESOLVED to confirm as a true record of the minutes of the meeting held on 14 November 2024. Matters arising: none.
Decision as recorded
AGREED: · to accept Ceredigion County Council's Annual Monitoring Report of the Welsh Language Standards (2024-2025). · to approve that the full report is presented to the Council's Cabinet for approval and publication on the Council's corporate website, as required by the Welsh Language Standards procedure, in accordance with the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011.
The Language Policy Officer explained that the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 established a legal framework that imposed a duty on Ceredigion County Council, to comply with Standards relating to the Welsh language. In providing its services, the Council was required to promote and facilitate opportunities to use the Welsh language, and to ensure that the Welsh language was not treated less favourably than the English language in the provision of services across the Council. The report set out the actions taken to comply with the requirements of the Standards, which were organised under the 5 principal standards. An overview of the main achievements during the reporting as outlined in the report was provided. This included a restructuring of the Language Forum, which enabled the Forum to collaborate with its partnerships more effectively by expanding the membership. In addition, the first Language Conference arranged for 30 June 2025 would be an opportunity to bring members of the Forum and others together to celebrate the ongoing effort to promote the Welsh language in the county. Reference was provided to the following as outlined in the report: · Measuring our successes: Looking back at 2024-2025 - Publication of the Welsh Language Promotion Strategy 2024-2029 - Increased conscientious action by services to look at the impact of the Welsh language when making consultations - Estyn 2024 report – feedback on the Welsh language · Actions: Welsh Services · Factsheet - Ceredigion County Council's Language Committee - Self-assessment - Reflection on Corporate Lead Officer Questionnaires - Complaints - Welsh Language Working Group · Looking Forward: 2025/26 - Launch the Welsh Language Page on the Council's website - Review appraisal processes to gain a better understanding of ALTE levels - Continue to work with the People and Organisation service - Creating Welsh Language Standards Training - To offer support to students attending formal Welsh lessons · Employment, training and recruitment data The following main points were raised during discussions: · Formal Welsh lessons offered by the local authority followed the programme set by the National Centre for Learning Welsh, and all levels were available to staff. Each employee’s journey to learn Welsh was different, and the focus initially was on speaking Welsh. · A proficiency course (Cwrs Gloywi Iaith) had been developed and would be available next year for staff. · It was noted that the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 allowed the Welsh Language Commissioner to impose and enforce duties on the local authority. · The ARFOR Programme Support Fund in its current form had come to an end in March 2025. An announcement on its future would hopefully be made in the next few weeks. · It was noted that the overview of staff language levels included in the report was based on corporate staff, and did not include school staff. · Discussions were ongoing with Officers on ways to improve the number of staff attending training through the medium of Welsh. Training was usually offered on specific days, and staff would attend the course that was most convenient to them. It was AGREED: · to accept Ceredigion County Council's Annual Monitoring Report of the Welsh Language Standards (2024-2025). · to approve that the full report is presented to the Council's Cabinet for approval and publication on the Council's corporate website, as required by the Welsh Language Standards procedure, in accordance with the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011.
Decision as recorded
AGREED to accept the report and information about the content and progress of the last report.
The Team Leader – Supporting the Welsh Language in Education presented the Annual Monitoring Report of the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan 2023-24 submitted to the Welsh Government on 31 July 2024. There was a Statutory duty on all local authorities to prepare a 10-year plan outlining their vision for growing Welsh-medium education. Local authorities were also required to prepare a 5-year overview and a precise action plan to ensure the targets were met. The service was currently in the process of writing the 2024-25 report for year 3 of the plan, due to be submitted to Welsh Government by 31 July 2025. An overview of the 7 outcomes and achievements as outlined in the report was provided. It was noted that the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill was in the process of being taken through the democratic process. On 13 May 2025, the Bill was unanimously passed by Senedd Cymru and was in the process of receiving the assent of His Majesty. An overview of the Bill was provided to the Committee, including potential impacts: · Part 1- Promotion and Facilitation of use of the Welsh Language · Part 2- Describing Welsh Language Ability · Part 3- Welsh Language Education · Part 4- Planning Welsh Language Education and Learning Welsh · Part 5- National Institute for Learning Welsh The following main points were raised during discussions: · Members felt the WESP was revolutionary and could be very positive for the county and the Welsh language. Hopefully, the WESP would follow through to secondary education, although this could be a challenge. It was noted that Welsh Government could set a target for specific secondary schools, however, schools would require specialist support and funding to achieve this. · There were currently 3 primary-aged Welsh immersion units across the county for late-comers. Following the Chair’s suggestion, Councillor Chris James as Chair of the Learning Resources Scrutiny and Committee agreed to suggest adding an item on secondary-age Welsh immersion to the Committee's forward work programme at a future meeting. · It was noted that Welsh Government had worked closely and learnt lessons from the Basque Country to form the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill. · The Chair commended the new podcast series, “Pod Yr Ysgol”, developed by the Welsh Language Support Team to support the education workforce specifically. This project had been made possible with the support of Arfor and Llwyddo’n Lleol. · The relationship between Mudiad Meithrin and the local authority was positive. Mudiad Meithrin provided data that was incorporated into the local authority’s reports. It was AGREED to accept the report and information about the content and progress of the last report.
Decision as recorded
AGREED to review the appropriate language skills framework following the implementation of the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) legislation.
The Corporate Lead Officer: People and Organisation thanked the Team Leader – Supporting the Welsh Language in Education for providing an overview of the impact of the implementation of the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill on the language proficiency framework in the previous item. He explained that there were plans for a full review of the advantages and disadvantages of both the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) and Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) frameworks, but this had been superseded by proposed legislative developments being put forward by Welsh Government. As previously reported, many public bodies in Wales have adopted the CEFR Framework, including Estyn, National Centre for Learning Welsh and Welsh Government. The Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill was currently making its way through the Senedd and one key element of the Bill was that it sought to establish a standard method for describing Welsh language ability based on CEFR. The Welsh Language Commissioner’s good practice advice document for recruitment also suggested that, in future, organisations may choose to conduct their language skills needs assessment based on CEFR. It was therefore proposed, as a result of these developments, that the ALTE/CEFR review did not take place but that the Council awaited further guidance to be issued as the Bill progresses through to legislation. This would allow the Council to consider any statutory implications before any changes were made to the current procedure. It was noted that the changes would require significant work and there would be discussions at the Welsh Language Working Group established last year to ensure the Council were in the best position to move the work forward when appropriate. The Chair stated everyone had varying language proficiency and that encouraging staff to have the confidence to use the Welsh language was important. The Training Officer - Welsh in the Workplace provided an overview of his role, which included supporting 70 staff members in their journey to learn Welsh and developing a course specifically for Social Care staff, which would run twice again before the end of the Summer. He also attended Hafan y Waun Residential Care Home weekly to support staff with learning Welsh and promoted Welsh lessons on ‘Gwena’, a monthly e-newsletter available to all staff members. It was noted that the National Centre for Learning Welsh funded the majority of the Training Officer - Welsh in the Workplace's role, and as part of this, they set targets and had a good overview of the role. It was AGREED to review the appropriate language skills framework following the implementation of the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) legislation.
Decision as recorded
AGREED to accept the report.
Consideration was given to the report updating Members on Ceredigion County Council’s Street Naming and Numbering Policy. The report outlined how the Street Naming and Numbering function had progressed over the last year (April 2024 - March 2025). The following main points were raised during discussions: · It was noted there was an online form on the Council's website to change/ register a property name. In cases where there was an application to change an individual property name from Welsh to English, there were no powers in place to refuse this, but information on Welsh culture would be shared by the department with the applicant. · If Members had any queries related to their wards, they were encouraged to contact the Street Naming & Numbering Officer / Master Data Coordinator. · In response to a query related to whether the Council offered 3 Welsh property names to residents, it was noted that this would be followed up with the Officer and reported at the next meeting. It was AGREED to accept the report.
Decision as recorded
AGREED to Continue to hold sessions in the residential homes and collaborate with Porth Cynnal to discuss potential developments.
The Language Policy Officer explained that promoting awareness of culture and Welshness in residential homes had been brought up in previous meetings, and since Elin Williams had started in her role as Development Officer for CERED in December 2024, it had been possible to accommodate this piece of work. The Development Officer for CERED provided a presentation to the Committee outlining the following: - The process - Who visited the residential homes - Activities e.g. Christmas trees, Boccia, Memory Box, Bingo, Board Games - Quotes from residential home Managers/ Residents - Highlights, results & the experience The following main points were raised during discussions: · In response to a question related to whether Welsh lessons were provided to residential home staff, Officers clarified that this provision was already in place at Hafan y Waun Residential Care Home, and opportunities to expand this across the county could be explored further if needed. · Officers noted it had been encouraging to see how many staff spoke Welsh in residential homes, and that others less confident had observed whilst activities were held with the residents. Staff working in the residential homes had seen the positive impact of holding activities through the medium of Welsh on residents, and on how close the language was to their hearts. It was AGREED to Continue to hold sessions in the residential homes and collaborate with Porth Cynnal to discuss potential developments.
The following items were suggested by Committee Members: · Update on language proficiency framework following the implementation of the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Bill · An overview of the local authority’s Social Media accounts · Develop a Welsh language guide for Town and Community Councils
None.
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