Welsh-speaking teacher targets fall short

The Welsh government says having a "sufficient education workforce" is key to hitting its target of one million Welsh speakers

An attempt to increase the number of Welsh-speaking teachers is failing, the latest figures have shown.

The Welsh government hopes to recruit almost 400 additional teachers every year to help achieve a target of one million Welsh speakers by 2050.

But roughly the same number leave the profession annually.

The Welsh government said it did offer incentives such as bursaries to encourage people to study through the medium of Welsh.

Recruiting more Welsh-speaking teachers is one of the main ways it hopes to achieve more Welsh speakers.

The government said about 225 additional secondary school teachers were needed annually, with 153 primary school teachers, making a total of 378 new recruits.

Latest figures showed 396 Welsh speaking teachers were trained between 2022-23 but 395 left the profession.

"In terms of a million Welsh speakers it's major stumbling block," said Meirion Prys Jones, former chief executive of Bwrdd yr Iaith, the organisation that promoted the Welsh language.

"Unless we have the teachers and the capacity, then I don't think we can see the numbers increasing."

Llinos Jones, headteacher at Ysgol Bro Myrddin in Carmarthen, said Welsh and English medium sectors were finding it difficult to recruit.

Meirion Prys Jones said Welsh teacher numbers were a "stumbling block" to encouraging more speakers, while headteacher Llinos Jones said other professions offered more flexibility

She said other sectors were "much more flexible" which could "impact people thinking about going into the profession".

"The Welsh government are running quite a lot of schemes [to recruit]... there are a lot of incentives out there, and we have got to carry on if there will be a difference in a few years' time."

The Welsh government said having a "sufficient education workforce" was key to implementing its Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Act 2025 towards reaching one million Welsh speakers.

"We provide incentives for new teachers, funding to local authorities and fund the National Centre for Learning Welsh for the education workforce to develop their Welsh-language skills.

"We continue to work with the teaching profession and partners as we develop the Strategic Education Workforce Plan."