Welsh school rebuked because pupils speak too much English

A primary school in Wales has been placed in special measures after inspectors found the children were speaking too much in English.

Ysgol Pen-y-Garth school in the Victorian resort town of Penarth, south Wales, is the only Welsh-speaking school in the area, but children were observed talking to each other in English during lessons.

Inspectors from Estyn, the Welsh education and training board, found many of the 331 children at the primary school "turn to English naturally" and as a result did not "celebrate their Welshness".

Officials also condemned the school over its teaching standards, which were "too inconsistent".

The school will now be monitored every four to six months and will be given specific areas to improve on.

A report said: "At times, work that is incorrect is marked as being correct and given positive comments."

It said children turned to English too often at the school and that teachers should place more focus on pupils speaking Welsh while working independently and during their leisure time.

Welsh culture and traditions

"A majority of pupils turn to English naturally with their peers in lessons and informal situations," it added. "There are few opportunities for pupils to celebrate Welsh culture and traditions, for example through the expressive arts. Teachers also do not influence pupils consistently enough to speak Welsh when working independently and during their leisure time.

"The quality of teaching is inconsistent across the school. In the best practice, teachers provide interesting tasks that engage pupils’ interest. However, too often, teachers’ presentations are too long, they over-direct learning and are not lively enough."

The report added that although the school offered a "broad curriculum", pupils were still "not given enough opportunities to celebrate their Welshness".

The Welsh government wants to increase the number of people who speak the language to one million by 2050, and have 40 per cent of schools Welsh-medium by the same date.

But recent census data showed the number of Welsh speakers in the country had decreased by 1.2 per cent, from 19 per cent in the previous 2011 census to 17.8 per cent in the 2021 census. The largest drop in people using the language was seen in schoolchildren.

Threatened by social media

A study by Swansea University suggested the Welsh language is being threatened by social media after researchers found that nearly 70 per cent of Welsh speakers used English "often" or "always" on social media, with the vast majority using it more than Welsh.

However, teachers have shown it is possible to adapt the language to address modern issues. Welsh nouns and professions are gendered, which means those who use non-gendered pronouns have encountered difficulty with using the language.

Tutors working for Dysgu Cymraeg, a government-funded Welsh language programme, included non-binary identities in lesson materials for new learners as a way to help solve the issue.

Tomas Hopkins, of the programme, said last month: "It's extremely important the Welsh language evolves and is inclusive. The language dies if it gets stuck in a box that stays with the old ways. This is just a natural step for the language."