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School closures and the Welsh language

Given the current furore in Gwynedd, I am pleased to see that the Welsh Conservatives have called for the introduction of community and Welsh language impact assessments before a decision is taken to close schools in Wales.

The strategy recognises that closing a school, especially in a rural community, has implications on the whole community.

When a school closes that decision is taken by the minister for purely educational reasons, but in reality the decision has implications for the whole community. For some children the closure of their school means they have to attend a new one in a far more Anglicised area.

Carrying out community and Welsh language impact assessments at the time of a proposed closure would mean this would be fully considered before any action was taken. In some communities, especially in rural areas, the closure of a school can have a huge impact on how much Welsh children are then exposed to.

This should be thoroughly welcomed across rural Wales as a positive policy which takes into account the community, cultural and linguistic role played by schools across our nation.

Comments

Anonymous said…
There is absolutely no evidence that the closure of a school affects the Welsh language. Gwynedd County Councillors need to be praised for the courageous way that they are tackling the issue of surplus school places. The easiest option in an election year would be to do nothing. Adopting this policy would, however, not be in the interests of the majority of children in the schools of Gwynedd. The Welsh language will flourish in Gwynedd and sensible responsible politicians should not play politics with the issue of surplus places. As a Labour Party member and former Education spokesperson for the WLGA I congratulate the present leadership of the County Council for deciding that the education of of Gwynedd's children is far too important an issue to play politics with. Conservatives should support local democracy and allow those elected by the people of Gwynedd to produce the policies that they believe are in the long term interests of the county and its people.Schools will always close because of falling rolls. It isn't a policy adopted lightly by any LEA. A great deal of work goes into the plans to produce viable schools for the future by both officers and elected members. Those who claim that school closure is not the right policy are misleading the public.
March 02, 2008 4:48 pm
Professor Dylan Jones-Evans said…
Good evening, Jeff and thanks for responding.

Of course, the reason that there is little evidence of this effect is that there have never been school closures on this scale within rural Wales before, and certainly not within “Y Fro Gymraeg”.

I sympathise with your viewpoint as a former WLGA Education spokesperson over this matter but the situation in Gwynedd is somewhat different to what has happened previously as we are discussing not only educational priorities but those of the local culture and that of the welsh language.

As a native of the Llyn Peninsula, I can tell you quite categorically that small village primary schools are not only an educational necessity but are ones that sustain a unique cultural heritage through their everyday activities. In many respects, these teachers within these schools are the saviours of the welsh language far more than any quango or Assembly committee in Cardiff Bay.

The same councillors who made a decision to stop a marina development in Pwllheli because of the threat to the welsh language are, paradoxically, happy to close the very centres which maintain the language and, more than anything else, help to ensure that the children of incomers to the area become active bilingual participants in the local community and its culture.

Of course, as you say, local democracy should be supported in this issue and the electorate of Gwynedd will be given the opportunity to pass their judgement on the current policies in just over two months time.

Then, the people will have spoken over this matter, one way or the other.
March 02, 2008 6:40 pm
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