Welsh courses for the education workforce - new portal
Information about Welsh courses for the education workforce is now available in a brand new online portal: Education Workforce | Learn Welsh
Created by the National Centre for Learning Welsh, the portal will help education practitioners find a suitable course, enabling more and more people to learn Welsh or strengthen their language skills. The development follows the announcement by the Minister for Education and Welsh Language that Welsh courses will be available free of charge to the education workforce from September 2022 onwards.
A wide range of courses is available from the National Centre and its partners: the National Sabbatical Scheme; Education Consortia; and Local Authorities.
Courses include:
- A choice of community-based courses in both virtual and face-to-face classrooms. These are available at five learning levels.
- The National Sabbatical Scheme’s intensive courses, available at four learning levels and delivered via different models by University Wales Trinity Saint David, Bangor University and Cardiff University.
- Online self-study courses, including short courses for primary and secondary school leaders, teachers and assistants, and an extended Entry level course for beginners, which is equivalent to 120 classroom hours.
The National Centre will work with its partners to keep the portal up-to-date with all the latest courses.
This is the first time for all courses to be presented in one place, with an opportunity for prospective learners to also use a new digital resource called the ‘Learning Wizard’. The Wizard asks a series of questions, before providing a choice of relevant courses.
The Minister for Education and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles, said, “Growing the workforce who can teach through the medium of Welsh is key to achieving our aim of a million Welsh speakers by 2050. We want to see more of the current education workforce learning Welsh and I’m very pleased at the introduction of this portal.
“It meets the need for clear and comprehensive information about the range of Welsh language training available, making it easier than ever for the education workforce to find a suitable course.”
Efa Gruffudd Jones, Chief Executive of the National Centre for Learning Welsh, added, “This is the first time for detailed information about courses for the education workforce, run by the National Centre and its partners, to be brought together in one place. We hope more people will learn Welsh, and enjoy using their Welsh to educate children and young people as a result of this new portal, which is a fantastic shop window to the wide provision available.”
Arwyn Thomas, Chief Executive of GwE and Sponsor of the Regional Strategic Leaders Group for Welsh, said, “The education workforce across Wales welcomes this exciting development, which gives an opportunity to every education practitioner to develop their Welsh-language skills. There are so many opportunities for the education workforce to learn Welsh, and this new portal will be a great help.”
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