The trouble with bilingual education: The ever increasing gap between research, policy and practice.

The ever-present argument that children from non-Welsh speaking backgrounds can’t reach their full potential in Welsh medium education has yet again come to the fore. Recent statistics obtained by the BBC under a Freedom of Information Act indicate that children who are taught through the medium of Welsh but don’t speak Welsh at home are less likely to overachieve by the time they reach the end of their primary schooling (i.e. obtaining a ‘Level 5’ or higher at key stage 2 (KS2) in the core subjects of English, Welsh First Language, Mathematics and Science)

Y Gymraeg yn y Cyfnod Sylfaen (Welsh in the Foundation Phase)

Cymraeg Ers 2008, mae pob plentyn 3-7 mlwydd oed yng Nghymru yn dilyn cwricwlwm statudol y Cyfnod Sylfaen. Mae’r cwricwlwm yn dilyn pedagogeg datblygiadol, ac yn ennyn i’r plant ddatblygu diddordeb drwy ddysgu drwy brofiadau. Gobeithion Llywodraeth Cymru yw i bob plentyn ddod yn ddysgwr gydol-oes, ac i dynnu’r ffurfioldeb allan o addysg y blynyddoedd cynnar. Mae i’r Cyfnod Sylfaen saith ‘maes dysgu’, ac un o’r rheiny yw ‘datblygu’r Gymraeg’ (mewn ysgolion a lleoliadau cyfrwng Saesneg yn unig). Mae’r papur sy’n dilyn yn cymryd data meintiol ac ansoddol o werthusiad ehangach o’r Cyfnod Sylfaen a’i comisiynwyd gan Lywodraeth Cymru yn 2012. Fe geir asesiad o sut mae’r Gymraeg yn cael ei defnyddio wrth weithredu’r Cyfnod Sylfaen, yn ogystal â thrafodaeth o unrhyw rwystrau a gododd. Fe geir golwg manylach ar sut mae ysgolion a lleoliadau cyfrwng Saesneg a Chymraeg yn mynd ati i ddatblygu unigolion dwyieithog, yn ôl gobeithion Llywodraeth Cymru am ‘Gymru Ddwyieithog’. Saesneg Sine 2008, every 3-7 year old child in Wales follows the statutory Foundation Phase curriculum. The curriculum follows a developmentally appropriate pedagogy, and encourages children to engage by learning through experiences. Welsh Government hopes that each child becomes a life-long learner by taking the formality out of early years education. The Foundation Phase has seven ‘areas of learning’, and one of those is ‘Welsh language development’ (in English medium schools and settings only). The paper that follows takes qualitative and quantitative data from a broader evaluation of the Foundation Phase which was commissioned by Welsh Government in 2012. An assessment on how the Welsh language is used whilst implementing the Foundation Phase is presented, along with a discussion of any issues that arose. The paper will take a closer look at how Welsh and English medium schools and settings develop bilingual individuals, according to Welsh Government’s hopes for a ‘Bilingual Wales’

The trouble with bilingual education: The ever increasing gap between research, policy and practice.

The ever-present argument that children from non-Welsh speaking backgrounds can’t reach their full potential in Welsh medium education has yet again come to the fore. Recent statistics obtained by the BBC under a Freedom of Information Act indicate that children who are taught through the medium of Welsh but don’t speak Welsh at home are less likely to overachieve by the time they reach the end of their primary schooling (i.e. obtaining a ‘Level 5’ or higher at key stage 2 (KS2) in the core subjects of English, Welsh First Language, Mathematics and Science)

Y Gymraeg yn y Cyfnod Sylfaen (Welsh in the Foundation Phase)

Cymraeg Ers 2008, mae pob plentyn 3-7 mlwydd oed yng Nghymru yn dilyn cwricwlwm statudol y Cyfnod Sylfaen. Mae’r cwricwlwm yn dilyn pedagogeg datblygiadol, ac yn ennyn i’r plant ddatblygu diddordeb drwy ddysgu drwy brofiadau. Gobeithion Llywodraeth Cymru yw i bob plentyn ddod yn ddysgwr gydol-oes, ac i dynnu’r ffurfioldeb allan o addysg y blynyddoedd cynnar. Mae i’r Cyfnod Sylfaen saith ‘maes dysgu’, ac un o’r rheiny yw ‘datblygu’r Gymraeg’ (mewn ysgolion a lleoliadau cyfrwng Saesneg yn unig). Mae’r papur sy’n dilyn yn cymryd data meintiol ac ansoddol o werthusiad ehangach o’r Cyfnod Sylfaen a’i comisiynwyd gan Lywodraeth Cymru yn 2012. Fe geir asesiad o sut mae’r Gymraeg yn cael ei defnyddio wrth weithredu’r Cyfnod Sylfaen, yn ogystal â thrafodaeth o unrhyw rwystrau a gododd. Fe geir golwg manylach ar sut mae ysgolion a lleoliadau cyfrwng Saesneg a Chymraeg yn mynd ati i ddatblygu unigolion dwyieithog, yn ôl gobeithion Llywodraeth Cymru am ‘Gymru Ddwyieithog’. Saesneg Sine 2008, every 3-7 year old child in Wales follows the statutory Foundation Phase curriculum. The curriculum follows a developmentally appropriate pedagogy, and encourages children to engage by learning through experiences. Welsh Government hopes that each child becomes a life-long learner by taking the formality out of early years education. The Foundation Phase has seven ‘areas of learning’, and one of those is ‘Welsh language development’ (in English medium schools and settings only). The paper that follows takes qualitative and quantitative data from a broader evaluation of the Foundation Phase which was commissioned by Welsh Government in 2012. An assessment on how the Welsh language is used whilst implementing the Foundation Phase is presented, along with a discussion of any issues that arose. The paper will take a closer look at how Welsh and English medium schools and settings develop bilingual individuals, according to Welsh Government’s hopes for a ‘Bilingual Wales’

Y Gymraeg yn y Cyfnod Sylfaen

Mae’r Cyfnod Sylfaen (CS) yn gwricwlwm statudol ym mhob ysgol gynradd y wladwriaeth yng Nghymru ers 2008. Mae’r bedagogeg yn ddatblygiadol, ac yn annog y plant i ymddiddori drwy ddysgu drwy brofiadau. Mae’r papur hwn yn rhan o werthusiad ehangach o’r CS a gomisiynwyd gan Lywodraeth Cymru yn 2012, ac mae’n ystyried un o’r saith maes dysgu sy’n rhan o’r CS; Datblygu’r Gymraeg. Darganfu nad oedd gwahaniaeth arwyddocaol yn sut oedd y CS yn cael ei weithredu mewn ysgolion a lleoliadau cyfrwng Cymraeg a Saesneg. Ond, yn gyffredinol, datblygir y Gymraeg yn ffurfiol mewn gweithgareddau boreol ar gyfer y dosbarth cyfan (e.e. amser cylch) sy’n mynd yn groes i weledigaeth Llywodraeth Cymru o gydblethu’r iaith ym mhob agwedd ar y CS. Mae’r papur yn ystyried sut mae ysgolion a lleoliadau yn mynd ati i ddatblygu unigolion dwyieithog, yn ôl gobeithion polisi Llywodraeth Cymr

Evaluating the foundation phase : key findings on pedagogy and understanding

The Foundation Phase (introduced in 2008) provides a developmentally appropriate experiential curriculum for children aged 3-7 in Wales. The Welsh Government commissioned independent evaluation (led by WISERD) aims to evaluate how well it is being implemented, what impact it has had, and ways in which it can be improved. The three-year evaluation utilises a range of mixed methods at a national and local scale. This is one of five papers focused on practice. It draws on 239 classroom and setting observations, 341 practitioner interviews, 604 school and setting survey responses, 37 Local Authority interviews and four non-maintained organisation interviews

Evaluating the foundation phase: key findings on literacy and numeracy

The Foundation Phase (introduced in 2008) provides a developmentally appropriate experiential curriculum for children aged 3-7 in Wales. The Welsh Government commissioned independent evaluation (led by WISERD) aims to evaluate how well it is being implemented, what impact it has had, and ways in which it can be improved. The three-year evaluation utilises a range of mixed methods at a national and local scale. This is one of five papers focused on practice. It draws on 239 classroom and setting observations, 341 practitioner interviews, 604 school and setting survey responses, 37 Local Authority interviews and four non-maintained organisation interviews