Serious concern about compulsory English

25 January 2019

Serious concern about compulsory English

UCAC education union has expressed serious concerns about one of the proposals in the Welsh Government’s White Paper on the new curriculum ‘Our National Mission: A Transformational Curriculum’.

Rebecca Williams, UCAC’s Deputy General Secretary said, “We note with considerable concern the proposal in the White Paper to make English a compulsory subject for all learners aged 3-16, particularly in the context of the Foundation Phase.”

In Welsh-medium schools and pre-school settings, ‘immersion’ in the Welsh language has proved extremely effective at giving children from all linguistic backgrounds the skills to become fluent. English is introduced incrementally from age 7 onwards, and children become almost effortlessly bilingual.

She added “In a situation such as in Wales, where we have a minority language living alongside one of the world’s most powerful languages, this has proven to be the most effective model. It gives learners a strong foothold in Welsh that they would probably not acquire otherwise, whilst also fully developing their English language skills.

“This proposal threatens current effective practice and directly conflicts with existing Welsh Government policy to boost the number of Welsh speakers. It is also important to point out that it is not included in Professor Graham Donaldson’s ‘Successful Futures’ report – the blueprint for the current reforms.

“We call on Welsh Government to clarify the situation as soon as possible.”

ENDS

Notes

For further information please contact:

Rebecca Williams: 07787 572180 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.