Welsh-speaking teachers urged to come home to help language

An appeal for Welsh-speaking teachers in England to return to work in Wales is one way schools have responded to concerns about recruitment.

Politicians have warned plans for a million Welsh speakers by 2050 will fail without a big increase in staff.

The Welsh government said it was taking action, including financial incentives and grants, to help schools recruit.

One group of schools got a grant to hold an online jobs fair for Welsh-speaking teachers over the border.

Trystan Edwards, head of Ysgol Garth Olwg in Church Village, Rhondda Cynon Taf, who is chairman of the group said it was important to be positive and innovative in the face of the challenge.

"The hope is to build on the success of the initiative by holding similar events in the future," he said.

Two teachers who have already made the move said others working in England and beyond were a potential resource to fill jobs in Welsh schools.

Biology teacher Sian Bradley spent 15 years in London after graduating but said she was ready for "a different type of challenge".

A former pupil at Ysgol Glantaf in Cardiff, she started working in the science department in the school in September and said getting more confident teaching in Welsh was the biggest challenge.

She believes the appeal may work with others who were drawn to "the London life" but "would love to come back".

"I think it's just about making them aware that they are welcome and there are opportunities here because there are a wealth of opportunities, but it took me a long time to find out about that," she added.

Amanda Williams moved to the school as head of music after staying in London after university.

She has had to get to grips with the new curriculum being rolled out in Wales, but said "now is a perfect time to join".

The Welsh government has acknowledged that increasing the supply of Welsh and Welsh-medium teachers in secondary schools needs to "substantially increase" to meet its 2050 target.

The 2021 targets as part of the strategy have already been missed - there were 391 secondary school teachers who teach Welsh as a subject, short of the aim of 600.

There were 2,004 secondary teachers teaching subjects in Welsh in 2021, whereas the target was 2,200, on the way to the 2050 target of 4,200.

Dr Anna Bryant, director of teacher education at the Cardiff Partnership for Initial Teacher Education, said recruitment to primary courses in Welsh and English was positive.

However, recruitment to almost all subjects at Welsh secondary level is a challenge, the Cardiff Metropolitan University academic said, but a number of programmes are happening to try to change this.

These include boosting Welsh language skills among prospective and current teachers.

One head teacher said it was becoming "increasingly difficult to recruit for Welsh-medium posts".

Trefor Jones, head of Ysgol Brynhyfryd in Ruthin, Denbighshire, said: "Whether that's down to a lack of people in the system interested in teaching or whether it's people feeling that they're happy in the posts that they're currently in."

The Welsh government said increasing the number of teachers "who can teach Welsh and through the medium of Welsh is vital to realising our ambition for a million Welsh speakers by 2050".

A £5,000 incentive for those studying to become Welsh-medium secondary teachers and a £5,000 bursary to keep teachers in the workforce are among the initiatives.