THE ambition to have one million Welsh speakers by 2050 has led to many initiatives to enhance the use of our nation’s mother tongue in schools.

This year the South Wales Argus Schools & Education Awards is seeking to shine a light on innovative projects that inspire a love of the Welsh language and we want readers to send in nominations for people and establishments that are making a real difference.

The Welsh Medium Teacher of the Year/ Athro Cyfrwng Cymraeg y Flwyddyn category, sponsored by Newport City Council, will go to a teacher who inspires and engages pupils to learn the Welsh language, or help them learn through the medium of Welsh.

We’ll also be celebrating the Best Welsh Lanugage Initiative /Y Fenter Gymraeg Orau, a category sponsored by Coleg Gwent.

In its policy and strategy report ‘Cymraeg 2050: our plan for 2021 to 2026’, Minister for Education and the Welsh Language Jeremy Miles said the journey towards one million Welsh speakers by 2050 had ‘captured the imagination of people the length and breadth of Wales’.

“Our vision is outward-looking and inclusive,” he explained. “We want to create bilingual citizens who are confident to use Welsh in all aspects of everyday life. Put simply, we want everyone in Wales to feel like the language belongs to us all.

“We’re stronger by celebrating our bilingualism as an integral part of Wales, contributing to our identity as a country within the United Kingdom and across the world.”

The Cymraeg 2050 Strategy, published in 2017, set out the Welsh Government’s vision of seeing the Welsh language thrive as one of its National Wellbeing goals. It wants there to be one million Welsh speakers by 2050, along with a doubling of the daily use of Welsh.

The strategy’s target to have an additional 40 nursery groups by 2021 has been met, creating 620 additional places, and there are encouraging transition rates between pre-school and Welsh-medium primary education - from 86.4 per cent in 2015/16 to 88.1 per cent in 2019 to 2020.

Meanwhile the percentage of Year 2 children (usually aged seven) assessed as using Welsh as a first language has increased from 22 per cent to 22.8 per cent; while this does not meet the target of 24 per cent, there are encouraging signs in younger cohorts, where 23.8 per cent of reception-aged children are taught in Welsh.

The Welsh government has had less success meeting targets for the education workforce, with 2,789 Welsh-medium primary teachers in the 2019 to 2020 academic year compared with Cymraeg 2050’s 3,100 by 2021. There’s also a deficit in secondary school teachers communicating in Welsh, with 2,339 rather than the desired 2,800.

The Welsh language is seen as integral to the national mission of education reform, which is seeking to raise standards, reduce the attainment gap and deliver an education system that enjoys public confidence and is a source of national pride.

A vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language in Wales is one of the seven goals of The Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act, which aims to ensure public bodies think about long-term strategy and planning. One of the indicators that this goal is being met is the percentage of people who can speak Welsh.

South Wales Argus: Enter the South Wales Argus Schools & Education Awards

Family values and excellent customer service

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THE Sheppard family has been offering immense style and sophistication for seven decades and is renowned for the excellent customer service that the business has been built upon.

Over the years, people have learned that George Street Furnishers is a name that they can trust, associating it with high quality furniture and great value-for-money prices.

There’s also a new hot tub and sauna department that’s already proving popular with customers.

“We offer a relaxed atmosphere for you to browse through our three floors of quality furniture at our store in Newport,” says director Martyn Sheppard. “We are leather specialists and have extensive bed and carpet departments that are manned by highly-trained and caring staff who are on hand to offer any assistance in guiding you to make the right choice for your needs.

“Great service, massive ranges of product and great prices go without saying, but we like to reward our customers by inviting them to special loyalty days - we show our gratitude by Extra Discounts and an opportunity to win some great prizes.”

So, if you’re looking to refurnish a room in your home, why not choose a well-established independent business that has years of experience and a long list of happy customers?

George St Furnishers, 19- 24 George St, Newport NP20 1EN. 01633 214241.  www.georgestreet.co.uk

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