Although Welsh was deemed as good, in January 2020 the SMT identified the need to improve Welsh oracy across the school and promote the use of Welsh outside of the classroom. As a result, a range of strategies have been developed to support the consistent promotion of Welsh in everyday activities. Younger pupils are exposed to Welsh daily through the use of Fflic and Fflac with pupils leading their learning using the Helpwr Heddiw model. Pupils ask and answer questions with each other. Staff are integral in introducing incidental Welsh into routines and everyday activities, for example when eating snack, morning and home time routines and at playtimes. Parents are also encouraged to develop their Welsh oracy skills by attending Dewch i Drio events. These events are run by Criw Cymraeg and aim to introduce basic language patterns to parents so they can support their children's use of Welsh at home.
As pupils progress through the school, they take on further responsibility for using Welsh language around the school. Criw Cymraeg play with them at break and encourage pupils to use Welsh language outside of the classroom. All staff use incidental Welsh and plan for opportunities to use Welsh across the curriculum. ‘Star of the week’ pupils take a Ddraig Coch (red dragon) home and are encouraged to write about their weekends using familiar Welsh language patterns in a diary which takes the language beyond the school environment.
The oldest pupils have the opportunity to become members of Criw Cymreag. This group is led by a very enthusiastic HLTA. Criw Cymraeg aim to make speaking Welsh ‘Cwl’ (cool). They use a wide range of approaches such as sharing the ‘phrase of the moment’ on social media, challenging staff to remember to use Welsh, presenting assemblies to the whole school, and sharing good practice with other schools. Their example has influenced many pupils who now encourage both peers and adults to speak Welsh. This has had a significantly positive impact on Welsh language skills across the school. The school also has Welsh Ambassadors who meet and greet visitors. The headteacher uses Welsh in assemblies, when communicating with parents and endeavours to find opportunities to reinforce language patterns introduced via the phrase of the moment.
An online language app has been instrumental in promoting high levels of engagement when developing pupils’ oracy, reading and writing skills. There are weekly certificates for pupils and staff who engage well. Older pupils have the opportunity to use the app in school but many pupils and staff also choose to use it at home. Through friendly competition pupils are developing a broad vocabulary base.
Thematic use of Welsh is also a key driver in developing opportunities for pupils to use Welsh in a range of learning contexts, including forest schools and PE sessions. Staff are becoming more adept at planning for Welsh language to be delivered through their themes rather than discrete lessons. Pupils develop vocabulary using games and daily oracy sessions. For example, they have enjoyed using their Welsh language to talk about famous people, write raps and perform as TV presenters. The use of ICT has also promoted and developed the use of Welsh oracy as pupils video themselves or each other and offer valuable feedback through self and peer assessment.
When out of school, many pupils are keen to use their Welsh language skills during school visits and residential stays.
