PEMBROKESHIRE COLLEGE students have been congratulated after completing a challenging three-day expedition in sunny Pembrokeshire.

The group spent three days carrying all their own kit while navigating across the county using maps and compasses.

Simon and David have now successfully completed their Silver Awards, while Mason and Makenzie are close behind, with just one more expedition to complete before securing theirs.

There was also a birthday celebration along the way, with Mason spending his special day out on expedition.

A Pembrokeshire College spokesperson said: “What an achievement. Three days in sunny Pembrokeshire, carrying all their kit and navigating with maps and compasses, and the hard work has paid off. Congratulations to Simon and David, who have now completed their Silver Awards. Mason and Makenzie are almost there too, with just one more expedition to go.”

New pilot scheme aims to strengthen Welsh-medium childcare and support the next generation of Welsh speakers

CHILDCARE workers across Wales are set to receive expanded Welsh language training as demand for bilingual childcare continues to grow.

The National Centre for Learning Welsh is launching a new pilot scheme aimed at strengthening Welsh language skills across the childcare sector and increasing the number of settings able to offer Welsh-medium support.

The scheme builds on the Centre’s existing work with the childcare workforce, which has been running since 2017. More than 5,000 childcare workers have already benefited from Welsh language training through the programme.

With childcare identified as a key priority for the new Welsh Government, the pilot is also designed to support the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Act by helping to create stronger foundations for future Welsh speakers.

The new scheme will focus on increasing workforce capacity across Wales, including in nurseries, childminding settings, out-of-school childcare and Flying Start provision.

It will include a Learn Welsh programme for childcare students in further education colleges and apprenticeships, as well as Learn Welsh tutors working directly with childcare settings, nurseries and individual childminders.

Tutors will also work with playworkers in out-of-school childcare provision in specific areas, while Welsh language training will be made available to Flying Start workers who support young children and families in targeted communities.

Deputy First Minister for Wales, with responsibility for childcare, Sioned Williams, said the Welsh Government was committed to expanding Welsh-medium childcare as part of its wider childcare plans.

She said: “We are delivering a transformational childcare offer that will be the most generous in the UK, giving every child the best start in life.

“Investing in childcare is one of the most powerful things we can do for our economy, for living standards, and for children’s futures.

“We are working with providers and partners to expand Welsh-medium childcare as a core part of our universal offer, so more children can access it from their earliest years, strengthening the pathway into Welsh-medium education throughout Wales.

“Reaching at least one million Welsh speakers by 2050 and ensuring every child has the opportunity to become a confident Welsh speaker are central to this Government’s vision.

“This new pilot scheme from the National Centre for Learning Welsh will build the Welsh language skills of our childcare workforce, helping to create the Welsh speakers of the future from the very earliest stage of their lives.”

Jane O’Toole, Chief Executive Officer of Clybiau Plant Cymru Kids’ Clubs, welcomed the pilot and said it would help more children and families use Welsh naturally through play.

She said: “Out of School Childcare settings are well placed to make Welsh part of children’s everyday experiences.

“By investing in playworkers and childcare professionals, this partnership will build sector confidence and capacity, supporting a Wales where Welsh belongs to everyone.”

Dona Lewis, Chief Executive of the National Centre for Learning Welsh, said the early years were a crucial stage in a child’s language journey.

She said: “Those working in the sector play a key role in nurturing and supporting the bilingual skills of the future.

“This new pilot scheme will draw on the Centre’s expertise in language learning and acquisition, along with its long-standing partnerships, to build capacity within the sector, ensuring more children and families have opportunities to use Welsh in their everyday lives.”

CARMARTHENSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL failed to properly assess the Welsh-language impact of plans to close Ysgol Llansteffan before moving to publish a statutory closure notice, the Welsh Language Commissioner has found.

The adjudication follows a complaint by Cymdeithas yr Iaith over the council’s handling of the future of the Welsh-medium school, which is due to close formally on August 31, 2026.

In correspondence with Cymdeithas yr Iaith, the Commissioner said the council had accepted that its original Welsh Language Impact Assessment was insufficient.

The Commissioner did not uphold every part of the complaint. Cymdeithas had argued that there was insufficient capacity in other Welsh-medium schools in the Carmarthen town area, and that some pupils could be pushed out of Welsh-medium education. However, the Commissioner said it was not within her powers to investigate school-place data in that way.

But she did find that the council’s original assessment failed to deal “conscientiously” with the effect that closing the school would have on the community of Llansteffan.

Cymdeithas yr Iaith had argued that it was unreasonable for the council to describe the language impact of closing what it called the most important Welsh-medium institution in the village as “neutral”. The group said the decision ran counter to efforts to strengthen rural Welsh-speaking communities.

The Commissioner found that Carmarthenshire County Council had failed to comply with Welsh Language Standards 88, 89 and 90, which require public bodies to assess the impact of policy decisions on the Welsh language.

Her adjudication says the council later revised its Language Impact Assessment during the course of the investigation. However, the Commissioner made clear that such consideration should have formed part of the decision-making process from the outset.

The Commissioner said: “To comply with the standards, it is essential that consideration of Welsh language effects forms an integral part of the policy-making process from the outset, rather than being separate from the decision itself or addressed at the end of the process.”

She added that the council’s process flow chart should include a clear requirement for the Welsh-language effect of a proposed school closure to be considered from the very start.

The Commissioner does not have the statutory power to overturn the school closure decision itself. Her role is to determine whether the council complied with the Welsh Language Standards and to require future compliance.

Speaking on behalf of Cymdeithas yr Iaith in Carmarthenshire, Ffred Ffransis said the decision confirmed that the council’s process had been flawed.

He said: “The simple truth of the matter is that the Cabinet of Carmarthenshire County Council in November 2025 took the decision to issue a Statutory Closure Notice for Ysgol Llansteffan based on a defective Language Impact Assessment.

“The fact that they took later steps to amend and mitigate does not compensate for the harm done by this injustice to the pupils and the local community.

“We have already been informed that one young family has put their house on the market to move to an area which has a school.

“We shall be drawing the attention of the Chief Executive Officer, Wendy Walters, to the lack of a strategic approach across departments.

“There is an application to build affordable homes in the village, but attempts to revive the community by attracting young families are being undermined by the closure of the school by another council department.”

The council’s Cabinet decided on November 17, 2025, to issue a closure notice for Ysgol Llansteffan using the shortened process available for schools with fewer than ten pupils. Cymdeithas says the number of pupils had risen from eight to 17 during the process.

The full council later agreed to close the school after considering the objections report at the beginning of March 2026. Cymdeithas says councillors were not told at that meeting that a complaint had been made about the original Language Impact Assessment.

Parents have already had to register their children at other schools for the next academic year.

A legal challenge to the closure decision is understood to be due to be heard in August, shortly before the school’s formal closure date.