Welsh Language Standards Compliance Report 2023-24

The Welsh Language Standards came into force on 1st April 2018 for Further Education colleges in Wales.

The Standards aim to:

• Make it clear to organisations what their duties are in relation to the Welsh language
• Make it clearer to Welsh speakers about the services they can expect to receive in Welsh
• Make Welsh language services more consistent and improve their quality

The College, made up of Coleg Sir Gâr (CSG) and Coleg Ceredigion (CC), has a responsibility to ensure that the Welsh language is not treated less favourably than the English language. There is also a requirement to promote and facilitate the use of the Welsh language, making it easier for people to use and improve their Welsh language skills in the world of work and everyday life.

The College is required to produce and publish an annual report by January 31st as set out in the Welsh Language Standards, this report covers the period from 1st August 2023 to 31st July 2024.

This report includes:

• how the College has complied with the standards with which we were under a duty to comply during the year (per class of standards – service delivery, policy making, operational);
• the number of complaints received (per class of standards – service delivery, policy making, operational);
  • the number of employees who have Welsh language skills at the end of the year in question (on the basis of records under standard 158);
  • the number of members of staff who attended training courses we offered in Welsh during the year (on the basis of records under standard 159);
  • the percentage of the total number of staff attending the course who attended the Welsh version (on the basis of records under standard 159);
  • the number of new and vacant posts that were advertised during the year which were categorised according to various requirements in respect of Welsh language skills (on the basis of records under standard 162).

The role of the Welsh Language Team at the College is to:

• Promote the Welsh language and inform learners and all staff of its importance in the bilingual Wales of the future
• To create a Welsh culture and ethos across the whole College
• Encourage and support learners and staff to develop and improve their Welsh Language skills
• Create opportunities for learners and all staff to practise and use their Welsh Language skills
• Monitor the College’s compliance with the Welsh Language Standards

In order to ensure a greater focus on meeting the requirements of the Welsh Language Act and further developing the college as a fully bilingual institution the staff team overseeing this work comprises of:

• Vice Principal Learner Experience and Partnerships (VP) – Vanessa Cashmore, strategic lead for Welsh Language
• Director of Bilingualism (DB) – Helen Griffith, lead for Welsh Language
• Head of Library Services and Welsh Language Standards (LS/WLS) – Jan Morgan, responsible for monitoring compliance with the Welsh Language Standards
• Two Welsh Language Officers (WLO)
  • Menna Jones – responsibility for Graig, Ammanford and Gelli Aur campuses
  • Lowri Evans – responsibility for Pibwrlwyd, Job’s Well, Cardigan and Aberystwyth campuses

The VP, DB and LS/WLS have responsibility for the seven campuses of the college.

All Further Education Colleges in Wales were to comply with some of the Welsh Language Standards from April 2018 with full compliance required by September 2018.

An internal Google site has been created specifically for the promotion of the Welsh language, a portal for resources and information on Welsh language training opportunities. There is a dedicated section on the site for the Welsh Language Standards which all staff can access. This includes the compliance notices served on the Colleges and self-help guides and information to support staff to meet the standards within their specific job roles.

All curriculum and functional area heads are annually expected to complete a matrix where they assess their compliance with the individual standards relevant to their areas. This aids as a reminder to staff of the need to comply with the standards and provides the College with an overview of its compliance with all of the Standards.

The College has developed Helpsheets that are available on the Cymraeg Google Site to inform users of the requirements of the WLS for Service Delivery. These included guidance on:

• Answering the telephone
• Correspondence
• Displays of public materials at events/exhibitions Documents Learning opportunities
• Public lectures
• Meetings
• Graduations and award ceremonies
• Service promotion
• Checking spelling and grammar in Welsh
• Email footers and automatic replies
• Translation services

These are currently being updated and will be promoted to staff once completed.

Checklist posters are displayed in staff workrooms explaining the minimum requirements of the service delivery Welsh Language Standards that staff must adhere to.

Staff with Welsh language skills wear lanyards identifying themselves as Welsh speakers or learners. There are also notices at all reception desks encouraging the use of the Welsh language.

Front-line staff are aware of the need to answer the phone with a bilingual greeting, using Welsh first, and to ensure that they actively promote a Welsh language service to visitors and students.

Wording is available on the Cymraeg Google site for staff to include on their email footer indicating that they can communicate in and welcome communication in Welsh. All emails sent from the College include a footer that contains the necessary information regarding welcoming correspondence in Welsh and English and stipulating that there will be no delay in responding to correspondence in Welsh.

The College website is available in both Welsh and English and is fully functional in either language.

Computer software is available for checking spelling and grammar on all College computers.

The LS/WLS also manages the translation team who provide a full English to Welsh or Welsh to English translation service for all members of staff. This service is accessible via the College Gateway and Cymraeg Google site.

In order to identify learners with Welsh language skills and collate evidence, since September 2017 the College application form requires learners to specify:

• a. their first language
• b. whether they are fluent, non-fluent Welsh speakers or not Welsh speakers.
• c. whether they would like to receive correspondence through the medium of Welsh
• d. whether they would like to study bilingually
• e. what is their highest Welsh language qualification

This information is uploaded onto EBS and Gar I databases that hold all student information and are used for generating correspondence and planning for Welsh medium support and provision. Learners who are first language Welsh speakers are identified on the system with the orange Welsh speech bubble against their name.

All learners who attended Welsh medium schools or have a GCSE first language Welsh qualification are identified on the internal monitoring, tracking and communication system.

All learners who have identified themselves as having any Welsh language skills are automatically issued with a lanyard identifying them as having skills in the Welsh language.

All generic forms and documents related to the College are provided for all learners bilingually.

Learners attend induction sessions about Welsh medium support, activities, and opportunities available to them during their time in College. Learners’ rights in relation to the Welsh language are promoted during these induction sessions and Welsh Awareness sessions are run during the first term across all campuses.

Welsh Language Student Ambassadors are recruited across the college during October of each academic year and they work closely with the Welsh Language Officers and within their curriculum areas to promote the advantages of using and improving Welsh language skills.

The college employs two Welsh Language Officers who work across the campuses and offer a menu of Welsh Language support for teaching staff and learners. These WLOs provide support to learners to improve their Welsh language skills within the curriculum and create opportunities for learners and staff to use Welsh socially and in extracurricular activities. A calendar of Welsh celebratory events is planned for each academic year and both staff and learners are supported and encouraged by the WLOs to take part and embrace Welsh culture, language, and history.

Staff are encouraged to learn and improve their Welsh language skills and are given the opportunity to take up the Cymraeg Gwaith Welsh language courses either face-to-face or online.

Equality impact assessments are undertaken on all new, reviewed and revised policies to ensure the following:

• consideration is given to opportunities for persons to use the Welsh language
• that the Welsh language is treated no less favourably than English
• all opportunities to promote the Welsh language are considered
• all policies consider and comply with the Welsh Language Standards

All employees are asked whether they wish to receive communication through the medium of Welsh or English. The information is collated by the Human Resource (HR) department and correspondence provided accordingly.

All policies issued by HR regarding recruitment and employment in the College are available in writing in Welsh and English.

Policies relating to staff complaints and disciplinary procedures have been subject to a Welsh language impact assessment and allow staff to use the Welsh language throughout the processes.

The College has a dedicated Cymraeg Google site for the Welsh language that includes:

• The Welsh Language Standards
• Resources and links to online courses to learn Welsh
• Subject specific terminology and resources

All staff are encouraged to attend courses to improve their Welsh language skills and to develop skills to enable them to teach bilingually.

Staff can improve their language skills through the Cymraeg Gwaith programme which is offered as face-to-face or online delivery. The new Cymraeg Gwaith plus scheme is also promoted and has received positive reviews.

The College offers teaching staff the opportunity to partake in staff development specifically to improve their bilingual teaching skills. There are the external Sgiliaith sessions as well as the internal sessions of the Bilingual Pathway. Staff who choose to take on the Bilingual Pathway can enjoy tailored workshops and lectures on how to deliver bilingually to learner groups and how to create a classroom atmosphere that encourages learners to positively use and develop their Welsh language skills.

A College-wide teaching guide, namely “Basic, Better, Best”, has been developed and delivered to all teaching staff. This supports them to progressively improve their bilingual teaching skills. The skills learned through this programme have now been introduced into classrooms and the teaching staff are evaluated on their implementation of the criteria during their formal teaching observations.

As part of the College induction process, new staff are required to self-assess and complete a brief questionnaire indicating their level of Welsh skills along with completing the Welsh Language Awareness compulsory online course.

Welsh language skills courses delivered during the 2022–2023 Academic Year:

The Complaints procedure is available on the website and reflects the requirements of the Welsh Language Standards related to Complaints.

Complaints Summary:

Staff are asked to complete or update an ongoing online self-assessment on the level of their Welsh language skills. The total number of staff as at 31.07.2024 was 798, which includes teaching, managerial, and support staff. 55 members of staff did not complete the assessment, many of these being fractional staff or guest lecturers who may only be contracted for one day. The data on these has not been included in the information below.

Welsh Language Skills Assessment Results:

The human resource department has reported that no training was offered in the following areas during the period August 2023 to July 2024:

• recruitment and interviewing;
• performance management;
• complaints and disciplinary procedures;
• dealing with the public;
• induction

The following Health and Safety courses were delivered during the year:

Health and Safety Courses Delivered:

The number of new and vacant posts that were advertised during the year which were categorised according to various requirements in respect of Welsh Language skills (on the basis of records under standard 162).

New and Vacant Posts Categorised by Welsh Language Requirements:

If you require any further information regarding this report please contact:
 

Helen Griffith
Director of Bilingualism - Strategic Lead for Welsh Language
griffithh@ceredigion.ac.uk
 

Jan Morgan
Library Services Manager
Responsible for Monitoring Compliance with the Welsh Language Standards
janet.morgan@colegsirgar.ac.uk