The Development of student teachers’ Welsh Language skills
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Information about the partnership
The Cardiff Partnership provides three programmes of ITE:
- PGCE secondary (11-18), with pathways in music, drama, art & design, physical education, history, religious education, geography, Welsh, English, modern foreign languages, mathematics, biology with science, chemistry with science, physics with science, information communications technology and computing and design and technology)
- PGCE primary (3-11)
- BA (Hons) primary education with QTS (3-11)
All programmes are full time and all are offered bilingually. The BA (Hons) primary education programme is a three-year course, the PGCE primary and secondary programmes are one-year courses.
In 2021-2022, there were 315 students following the BA Primary programme, of whom 47 took the course through the medium of Welsh. There were 190 students on the PGCE Primary programme with 43 studying through the medium of Welsh. There were 260 students following the PGCE Secondary programme, of whom 45 undertook the course through the medium of Welsh.
The Pontio provision consists of two bespoke groups of Welsh speaking student teachers who choose not to train in the Welsh medium sector. A tailored Welsh programme is offered for these students, allowing them to develop their Welsh skills at their own pace, building competence and confidence in their Welsh journey towards improved fluency. These groups are ‘bridging groups’, targeting Welsh speakers in need of further support in their professional and personal language skills.
Context and background to the effective or innovative practice
Welsh Language Development (WLD) is a key feature of all PGCE and BA ITE programmes in the Cardiff Partnership. All PGCE students receive 25 hours of Welsh support, rising to 36 hours contact time in BA Primary. These programmes have been jointly planned with Welsh University tutors and school-based Welsh-speaking staff and Welsh Co-ordinators. Students are placed in differentiated language groups according to levels of Welsh language proficiency, from Beginners to Pontio and Gloywi groups. WLD sessions include cultural awareness, y Cwricwlwm Cymreig, developments of Welsh language skills and use of effective pedagogy to develop thel pupils’ use of Welsh. All students produce a bespoke WLD portfolio, guided by the Welsh tutor, tracking progress, personal Welsh development and use of Welsh in a pedagogical context.
Links to school-based practice are strengthened by allocation eight hours of Research and Enquiry per Clinical Practice (school experience), where students produce reflective logs, focusing on aspects of Welsh in their individual placement settings. Welsh Co-ordinators support students in developing their knowledge and understanding of Welsh in their school context.
All students complete a pre-programme self-assessment of Welsh skills, enabling tutors to group students according to competence and ability. Welsh tutors actively target Welsh speakers for Gloywi and Pontio groups, aiming to maximise the numbers of students on Welsh medium pathways. Every year, a small cohort of PGCE students are identified as Welsh speakers who choose English medium pathways, and these students form the Pontio (Bridging) group. Reasons for Welsh speakers to choose an English medium teaching setting are complex and personal, and this bridging group aims to offer personal support to ensure that all students receive the appropriate Welsh language support in addition to personal support in developing confidence and competence as emerging Welsh medium teachers.
Description of nature of strategy or activity
During the academic year 2021-22, nine PGCE Primary and eight PGCE Secondary students chose the Pontio Welsh Language development group. In 2022-23, 13 PGCE Primary and five PGCE Secondary students are following the Pontio Welsh Language development element of their programme, indicating a rising number of Welsh language students wishing to bridge their language skills.
Pontio students traditionally have a good grasp of the Welsh language but wish to complete their training through the medium of English. Early identification of these students is paramount. Admissions alert Welsh tutors to Welsh speaking students with a Pontio profile before the programme starts, and this enables tutors to target students on an individual basis to discuss their Welsh skills, confidence levels and possible pathways to the Welsh medium pathway. The Pontio group is supported in a bespoke context so that the pathway towards working in the Welsh medium sector is kept open. This intervention is designed to address the shortage in the Welsh medium workforce as identified by Welsh Government, EWC and headteachers in our partner schools.
Welsh Development takes place in a very fluid and informal context in the Pontio setting in university. Students and tutors discuss needs which are identified via oral and written work. Each session, particularly for primary students, focuses on language resources and methodology for the classroom. Each session also includes language work at students’ own level in all skills. The students are taught in small groups to foster a supportive environment where the tutor understands the student teachers’ needs, motivation and language ability well. The focus of the sessions is on promoting confidence and oral fluency through regular opportunities to engage with the tutor and one another through the medium of Welsh. For many student teachers this is an opportunity to reactivate lapsed language skills.
Students track their personal progress in Welsh language skills and pedagogy at three key assessment points each year, allowing them to record standards and set targets. This allows them to focus on core aspects of their language development and play an active role in improving their use of spoken and written Welsh.
Invited speakers contribute to the Pontio provision. Following discussions in Welsh medium recruitment meetings with partnership headteachers, it is acknowledged that school-based staff have a key role to play in supporting this bridging group and supporting their journey towards Welsh medium sector. A secondary headteacher is invited to meet the group to discuss the opportunities available in Welsh medium secondary schools. Presentations also include interviews with staff who have learnt Welsh and are now working in the Welsh medium sector. The importance of role models as aspirational figures is vital in building confidence and showing that other teachers have successfully followed the path from English medium Welsh medium teaching.
Fellow students from the Welsh medium sector are also invited to contribute to the Pontio sessions. This allows students to gain an understanding of the linguistic expectations offered in the Welsh medium sector, and the range of support offered in this sector.
All Pontio students are offered the opportunity to attend a Welsh medium placement but tend to lack confidence in making this leap in their Welsh. However, the PGCE programme includes a three-week enrichment experience at the end of the programme. Pontio students are encouraged to attend a Welsh medium school (primary or secondary) to gain experience of teaching and learning through them medium of Welsh, without the pressure of assessment and formalised planning. These activities offer a scaffold moving towards the Welsh medium sector, allowing students to grow in confidence throughout their Welsh journey.
What impact has this work had on provision and learners’ standards?
With developing confidence and competence, some Pontio students choose to participate in Welsh medium enrichment activities. This is a clear step forward in their confidence and use of Welsh as a teaching medium.
Students track their standards as part of the Fframwaith system, which shows a developing confidence of the Pontio students in developing their Welsh language skills. This feeds into the pan-Wales Fframwaith Standards, leading to future development of Welsh skills as NQTs.
The standards for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) are tracked as part of the Professional Learning Passport (PLP). All Pontio students have produced a full portfolio of evidence of skills (reading / writing / listening / speaking) and evidence of effective strategies to develop pupils’ Welsh skills.
Feedback from Pontio Students notes the following points, emphasising the impact of this group on personal language skills and a sense of belonging:
‘y cyfle i ddyrchafu fy Nghymraeg a’i defnyddio o fewn fy ystafell ddosbarth i helpu cenhedlaeth y dyfodol’
‘Rydw i wedi mwynhau y sesiwnau gyda’r tiwtor, mae hi’n gwneud y grwp teimlo fel teulu’
‘Rydw i wedi mwynhau’r sesiynau yn fawr iawn. Mae’r tiwtor yn rhoi’r cyfle i ni glowi ein iaith wrth creu awyrgylch gyfforddus a cyfeillgar’.
‘Mae’r tiwtor wedi help fi i datblygu fy sgiliau Cymraeg a codi fy hyder yn siarad Cymraeg’.
‘Dw i’n wedi dysgu llawer o pethau newydd achos dw i’n wedi grwrando i pobl yn siarad cymraeg yn rhugl’.
The above quotations show the value of the personal provision on these developing Welsh speakers, and the importance of this provision in developing confident and competent Welsh speakers and teachers of the future.
How have you shared your good practice?
Through the work of the partnership’s Welsh medium Recruitment and Marketing group, this practice is shared with Welsh medium secondary headteachers, and the regional consortia.
The partnership’s work with the Central South Consortium is supporting improved links from QTS to Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) and ongoing WLD professional Development.
Possible next steps have been identified to further develop the impact of the Pontio provision:
- Contribution to the partnership’s ‘Tom and Emma’ podcast as part of the Research Bites series to promote the opportunities offered through the Pontio provision.
- Further collaboration with schools, possibly taking Pontio students to a Welsh medium school setting during the ITE induction period, so that students are better informed about the sector prior to committing to training through the medium of one language or another.
- Provide opportunities for Pontio students to engage with some aspects of the provision through the medium of Welsh alongside Welsh medium students, including preparation for applying for teaching posts.