The Welsh Language - Our Commitment

Introduction

Coleg Sir Gâr & Coleg Ceredigion is proud to be a bilingual provider of further and higher education, and work-based learning. This means that you are welcome to use your Welsh in whichever way you come into contact with the college.

We are committed to the Welsh Language Standards which came into operation on 1 April 2018 and that outline which services the college will provide through the medium of Welsh. The standards also identify how the college will ensure that full consideration is given to the provision of Welsh medium and bilingual education and any Welsh language policy or strategy related matters.

The Welsh language and the standards that we are duty bound by, sit as part of our wider equality, diversity and inclusion responsibilities. These duties and responsibilities are led at a strategic level by the Principal and Senior Management Team at Coleg Sir Gâr & Coleg Ceredigion.

The College’s Vice Principal, Learners and Partnership, and Director of Bilingualism, are responsible for ensuring that the college complies with the Welsh Language Standards. They are also responsible for creating and promoting opportunities for students, staff and members of the community to learn Welsh and to use their Welsh while at work, studying or when visiting the college. This work is carried out through monitoring of the actions identified in the College’s 2021 Welsh Language Strategy and via monitoring at Executive, Senior Leadership Team and quality assurance meetings.

Third party compliance with the standards is overseen by the Senior Management Team and through the faculty and functional area management systems of the college.

The Director of Bilingualism and the college’s two Welsh Language Officers are responsible for the development of the Welsh medium and bilingual course delivery, and the promotion of a bilingual ethos at all college sites. This work is undertaken via close liaison with faculty management teams on curriculum planning, programmes to support learners who are able to speak Welsh or who wish to learn and programmes of staff development to enable lecturers and functional area staff to teach and work through the medium of Welsh and bilingually.

In its document Cymraeg 2050 - A Million Welsh Speakers, the Welsh Assembly Government outlines its three strategic themes as:

  1. Increasing the number of Welsh speakers
  2. Increasing the use of Welsh
  3. Creating favourable conditions – infrastructure and content

Coleg Sir Gâr and Coleg Ceredigion are committed to supporting the Welsh Government’s strategy, ensuring that we are providing opportunities to communicate and receive services through the medium of Welsh.

This document gives information on how we will comply with the Welsh Language Standards in order to achieve this.

  • We welcome all written correspondence in Welsh and if you write to us in Welsh we will respond in Welsh without delay. Any communication to groups of people which are sent at the same time will be bilingual and both languages will be treated equally.

    Our main telephone lines are answered bilingually, Welsh always being the first language with the option of continuing the call through the medium of Welsh. When dialing individual extension numbers you can expect to be greeted bilingually. If the person is unable to continue in Welsh, they will offer to transfer you to someone who is able to provide a service in Welsh until a point is reached where the topic is specialized. On occasion, this may only be provided by a non-Welsh speaking team member. When contacting Coleg Ceredigion, you can expect to receive a Welsh language service throughout.

  • Persons invited to attend meetings will be asked if they would like to use Welsh and if they do, unless the meeting can be conducted entirely through the medium of Welsh, a simultaneous translation service will be made available.

    Persons attending public meetings are welcome to use Welsh and a translation service will be made available. Any written material that is displayed will be available in Welsh, with both Welsh and English being treated equally.

    Simultaneous translation is provided for Governing Board meetings as part of the College’s commitment to a bilingual ethos.

    Public lectures organized will have a simultaneous translation service available for any question and answer sessions.

    Invitations to meetings and events organized by the College will be produced bilingually.

  • Documents, forms, invitations, and publications, if covered by the Welsh Language Standards, will be produced bilingually and Welsh will not be treated less favorably than English. Documents that are produced as separate Welsh and English versions will state that they are available in the other language. The Welsh and English versions will be available simultaneously. Should a form have any information pre-entered, it shall be pre-entered on both Welsh and English versions.

  • Both websites and social media channels are bilingual, and Welsh and English content is published simultaneously. Any correspondence in Welsh on social media will be responded to, in Welsh, without delay.

  • Any signage, to include temporary signage, will be bilingual with Welsh positioned so it is likely to be read first.

  • Signs are displayed at reception areas stating that persons are welcome to speak Welsh. Our reception services are available in Welsh, and lanyards with the orange speech icon are worn by our Welsh speaking staff so they are easily identified.

  • Any grants awarded are assessed on what effects, if any, the award of the grant would have on opportunities for persons to use and increase the use of the Welsh language and treating the Welsh language no less favorably than the English language.

  • All invitations to tender are published bilingually, and tender submissions in Welsh are welcomed.

  • The College’s corporate identity does not treat Welsh less favorably than English.

  • New, reviewed, or revised policies consider what impact they have on opportunities to use the Welsh language and for treating the Welsh language no less favorably than the English language.

  • It is College policy that all posts are advertised as ‘Welsh desirable’ as a minimum. Copies are kept of all assessments carried out by the relevant manager in respect of the Welsh skills required for new and vacant posts.

    Application and recruitment processes are available in Welsh or English. Any documentation or meetings with staff relating to employment are also available in either language.

  • All staff are required to complete an online module indicating their need for them to comply with the Welsh language culture and ethos of the College.

    Staff are given access to computer software to check Welsh spelling and grammar.

    Staff have access to the Cymraeg Google Site where copies of the Welsh Language Standards compliance notices are available along with resources to promote and support compliance.

  • Application and enrollment processes are available in Welsh and English along with various learner support services. Welsh Language Officers work with learners, supporting them to develop their skills and confidence in using the language, promoting the advantages of bilingualism in their career planning.

  • The College will submit an annual report to the Welsh Language Commissioner and will include information on Welsh language skills of employees, training courses, recruitment, and complaints received in relation to the Welsh Language Standards.

  • The College will provide services through the medium of Welsh in order to comply with all Welsh Language Standards listed in our compliance notices, available to view on our websites. Should you feel that we have not succeeded, please contact us so that we can continuously improve our Welsh language service.