THE WELSH GOVERNMENT has promised a new focus on delivery as it seeks to secure the future of the Welsh language and reach its target of one million Welsh speakers.

Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language Anna Brychan told the Senedd on Tuesday (July 7) that the Government would now move from “ambition to action” after years of discussion about how best to strengthen Cymraeg across Wales.

At the heart of the plan is a commitment to build a clearer Welsh-medium education pathway, from childcare and the early years through to post-16 learning.

Ministers say the Welsh Language and Education Act will be implemented in full, with the aim of ensuring every child has a fair opportunity to become a confident and independent Welsh speaker.

An urgent review of Welsh in Education Strategic Plans is already under way. Its findings will shape a new national framework designed to ensure that half of all children in Wales begin their education journey through the medium of Welsh by 2050.

The Welsh language will also form part of the Government’s planned childcare offer, which will provide 20 hours of funded childcare each week for every child aged between nine months and four years.

Ms Brychan said the aim was to make Welsh-medium provision available from the earliest stages of a child’s life, while also expanding opportunities for teenagers and young adults to continue learning, working and living through Welsh after the age of 16.

The announcement will be closely watched in west Wales, where Welsh-speaking communities remain a vital part of local identity but where concerns have been raised for many years about housing, migration, school reorganisation, transport, employment and the long-term sustainability of the language in daily life.

The Welsh Government says work has already begun with local authorities to decide how areas with a higher density of Welsh speakers should be formally designated, with the aim of strengthening everyday use of the language in those communities.

Ministers are also looking at further legal and non-legal measures to support Welsh-speaking areas in the long term.

However, the Government says its plans are not limited to traditional Welsh-speaking heartlands. It says the language must also grow in areas where there are currently lower or medium levels of Welsh speakers.

A cross-government response is being developed following the second phase of the Commission for Welsh Communities.

Ms Brychan said responsibility for the language could not sit with one minister or department alone. She said housing, health, transport, the economy, local government, culture and sport all had a role to play in meeting the target.

The Minister also confirmed that Welsh language standards will be extended to new sectors, including UK Government bodies.

She said she is writing to major technology companies to press them to ensure new digital developments support the Welsh language, amid growing concern that artificial intelligence and online platforms could either help or hinder minority languages.

Work is also under way to standardise and record Welsh place names, while options for protecting them in law are being explored.

Ms Brychan said: “People from all parts of Wales are proud of our language and want to see it thrive.

“Cymraeg belongs to us all, and we should move away from seeing ourselves as ‘Welsh-speaking’ and ‘non-Welsh-speaking’ Welsh people. We are all somewhere on the same journey, and we all belong.

“The existing goodwill and ambition provide us with a strong foundation, but the challenges are real and the coming years will be critical.

“Our focus now is on turning ambition into action and securing the strongest possible future for the Welsh language in our schools, our communities and our workplaces. We have already started this work within our first 100 days.”

She added: “The future of the Welsh language depends on people as well as policy. I encourage everyone to use whatever Welsh they have, to support one another in learning and using the language, and to play their part in building a Wales where the Welsh language belongs to us all.”

The Welsh Government’s long-standing ambition is to reach one million Welsh speakers by 2050. The latest announcement signals that ministers want to put education, childcare, community planning and digital policy at the centre of that effort.

For many communities, the key question will now be whether the Government can turn those commitments into practical change, including enough teachers, childcare staff, post-16 courses, affordable housing and local job opportunities to make Welsh a living language for the next generation.

EDUCATION is “the key to unlocking our nation’s potential”, according to the new minister responsible for Wales’ schools.

Anna Brychan, who was appointed education and Welsh language minister last month, now has responsibility for school standards, improvement and attainment, Welsh medium education, early childhood education, and curriculum and assessment arrangements.

She also has responsibility over policies to protect and promote the Welsh language.

Setting out her priorities for the seventh Senedd term, the Caerdydd Penarth MS highlighted raising educational standards, workforce support, and strengthening skills.

She said: “This government has made education a national priority, to raise standards in our schools and ensure the best conditions for learning and teaching. The education system is currently failing too many of our children and young people.

“A lack of talent is not the problem, neither is a lack of commitment. We have children and young people who are full of potential, and we have an able and dedicated workforce.

“The problem is that the whole system hasn’t always worked together to support and unlock the potential of our learners, nor do we share data and understanding of what is needed to ensure progress in every school, in every area, consistently and powerfully.”

“We want the education system to function as one connected system: to support our children from early years right up to the point where they start working.”

Concluding her speech, Ms Brychan pledged the Welsh Government will build “an education system that works for all learners, in Welsh and English – in our two national languages – and above all else, for Wales.”

Helen Jenner, who is Reform’s deputy leader and shadow minister for education, voiced “concerns” about the minister’s statement and the lack of detail regarding teacher retention.

Ms Jenner, who was a teacher herself in London, told the Siambr that she can “understand” why so many are leaving the profession.

She said: “We’re losing experienced teachers faster than we can replace them. That concern is only amplified by our shared ambitions for bilingual and Welsh-medium education.

“The challenge is not simply finding teachers; it’s finding teachers with the language skills needed to deliver those ambitions. Every experienced bilingual teacher who leaves the profession is not easily replaced.

“If we’re already struggling to retain the workforce we have today, how can the government realistically hope to deliver the workforce it will need tomorrow?”

Concluding her statement Ms Jenner said: “Every one of us here can remember a teacher who changed our lives. The problem is that experience takes years to build, but only a moment to lose.

“If this government fails to address workload and behaviour in detail, Wales will continue to lose our best teachers, and when teachers leave, it is not the ministers who pay the price, it is our children.”

Ms Brychan responded: “I’ve said often that I’m of the opinion that this is the most important professional role in our society – and I’m sure that some people here will disagree, but that is my view – and that we then need to retain that experience within the classroom.

“I can also assure [Ms Jenner] that we will be working with teachers and local authorities, and with unions in the social partnership that we have, to look at how we can proceed with the detailed work on reducing the workload, and tackling, to all intents and purposes, the conditions that teachers are working in.”

Labour’s Lynne Neagle, a former education minister, congratulated Ms Brychan on her appointment and said the role is “without any shadow of a doubt, the very best job in government.”

Questioning the minister on why the Plaid government has chosen to delay the response to the independent Welsh pay review body report on teachers’ pay, Ms Neagle noted the previous Labour administration had “made a commitment” to consult before the school holidays to “protect time for our teaching staff.”

She said the delayed response “will likely lead to teachers not being paid in September”.

Ms Brychan confirmed she had received the report but told Ms Neagle it is “sensible” to “take time to consider the recommendations”.

She added: “Previous governments have also found that they would need to take proper time over the summer, before coming to a firm conclusion about that.”

Ms Neagle also quizzed Ms Brychan on mental health in schools, saying she is “very proud” of the previous Welsh Government’s record on the issue.

She told the Siambr: “It is essential to ensure that young people have consistent, high-quality access to school counselling.

“And if I might say, politics can never ever come before the mental health of children and young people.”

In response, Ms Brychan said: “Mental health will be a priority for us in schools as well.

“We know it is a significant factor, and any factors that influence or hinder learners from making the progress we want them to make, we want to see them making, we will make sure that the support is there to support them.”

Sam Rowlands, the Conservative spokesperson for education and families, asked Ms Brychan where she would like to see Wales in the PISA rankings come the end of this Senedd term.

He said: “The reality is that we continue to see Wales at or near the bottom of UK education rankings, and consistently doing poorly on international PISA rankings, with too many young people still leaving school without secure literacy and numeracy skills.

“That’s a longstanding issue and one that requires urgent attention and clear accountability.”

The minister responded: “Our education system isn’t where we would like it to be. I think there is agreement on that among the workforce and broader society, and that is why we are focused on these fundamentals and are deliberately setting targets whereby we can hold ourselves to account”.

With PISA results due to be published again in September, Ms Brychan committed to take the “most meaningful information” she can from the report, adding: “It’s about more than just numbers. There’s a lot of data that we can use there, and we can use that meaningfully in order to inform our numeracy and literacy plans.”

Mr Rowlands went on to question his opposite number on the Welsh Government’s position on mobile phones in schools.

Referencing a survey published on Tuesday 16 June by the Welsh Conservatives, he shared findings which suggested mobile phone restrictions have positive impacts on “reducing distraction, improving behaviour, tackling bullying and supporting learner wellbeing.”

Mr Rowlands pushed Ms Brychan to confirm whether the Welsh Government intends to “take a more consistent, national approach to mobile phone use in schools” or if it will leave the decisions to the discretion of individual schools.

Noting there currently is no national directive or guidance, Ms Brychan told Mr Rowlands that the intention is to move to statutory guidance from September.

FINANCIAL backing of this year’s Eisteddfod in Pembrokeshire, to the tune of £73,000, with a potential budget of up to £200,000, has been approved by senior councillors.

The 2026 Eisteddfod, running from August 1-8 at Llantwd, north Pembrokeshire, holds particular historical significance as it marks the 850th anniversary of the first recorded Eisteddfod, held in 1176 at Castell Aberteifi.

With this year’s Maes located close to the original site, the event is expected to be a landmark occasion for the region and for Wales as a whole.

The National Eisteddfod is the largest cultural festival in Europe and one of the most prominent events in the Welsh cultural calendar, attracting approximately 175,000 visitors annually.

The festival celebrates Welsh language, literature, music, and the arts, with a diverse programme of competitions, performances, exhibitions, and community activities.

The Eisteddfod proclamation took place in Narberth last May, with hundreds attending.

At the June meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet, members were asked to approve Pembrokeshire County Council to lead and deliver Pentre’r Garreg Las at the National Eisteddfod 2026.

Cabinet was also asked to approve the current financial commitment of approximately £73,751 (+ VAT), noting that further costs will be finalised as the programme develops, and endorse collaborative arrangements with Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire County Councils.

A budget for up to £200,000 for the promotion of the event is also being pencilled in; members hearing it was hoped this figure would be a ceiling of potential costs, with hopes the council’s part could be lowered by external funding.

A report for members, presented by Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Safeguarding and the Welsh Language Cllr Alistair Cameron, said: “The National Eisteddfod is Europe’s largest travelling cultural festival, attracting up to 170,000 visitors annually and providing a nationally significant platform for the celebration of Welsh language, culture and identity.

“As lead authority, Pembrokeshire is responsible for the overall coordination, planning and funding of the Pentre. This includes the development of the overarching concept, the curation of a coherent thematic programme, and the management of key relationships with partner authorities, stakeholders and delivery partners.”

It went on to say: “While initial site, infrastructure and concept costs have been identified at approximately £73,751 (+ VAT), it is recognised that the full delivery of Pentre’r Garreg Las, as a flagship offer led by Pembrokeshire, will necessitate a broader major events budget estimated in the region of £200,000. The funding for this is coming from the current major events budget with additional funding coming from the initiative fund reserve.”

The report said efforts will be made to maximise external funding opportunities in order to mitigate the net cost to the council.

Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services Cllr Rhys Sinnett said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for Pembrokeshire to showcase  the best of this county,” adding: “The last time it was here was 2004, we get to see this opportunity maybe every 20 years, it’s down to us to make the best of the opportunity, overall it’s a fantastic story for us as a county.”

A full budget breakdown is expected at the July Cabinet meeting, members agreeing to back the recommendations.