Introduction

Qualification Wales acknowledges that the viability of qualifications in Welsh can be a challenge for awarding bodies, as the number of learners taking qualifications through the medium of Welsh can sometimes be low or fluctuate over time.

Additionally, where demand from learners has been identified, it can be a challenge to respond in a timely manner for those learners, with Welsh-medium provision put in place long after they have progressed through the system.

The Welsh Government has a projected target for 70% of all learners at the end of statutory education being able to speak Cymraeg (which equates to around 25,000) by 2050.

It is likely that the number of learners wishing to take Welsh-medium qualifications will increase and it is unlikely that the current supply of qualifications will be adequate to meet future demand.

Facilitating and encouraging the use of Welsh (Cymraeg) for assessment and examination is something we call the Cynnig Cymraeg - The Active Offer.

This resource pack was commissioned by Qualifications Wales and created by IAITH -the Welsh centre for language planning. The pack aims to support all recognised awarding bodies in delivering the Welsh Language Commissioner's own Cynnig Cymraeg (Welsh Offer) for public bodies, and to do so proactively. In these resources, we refer to this as the Active Offer.

Promoting and facilitating

Taking the lead from the health and social care sector in Wales, Qualifications Wales has created a resource pack that will support all awarding bodies in proactively delivering the Cynnig Cymraeg - Active Offer.

The resource pack provides guidance for awarding bodies on how the Cynnig Cymraeg - Active Offer can be delivered alongside a learner’s qualification journey and includes examples of good practice and links to additional resources and contacts.

The resource pack encourages awarding bodies to provide learners with targeted information about Welsh-medium and bilingual qualifications, and to do so without them having to ask for it.

​It also encourages awarding bodies to proactively promote and advertise Welsh language or bilingual qualifications by highlighting their availability and encouraging their take-up.

Resource pack

The pack is broken down into sections and is designed to be a dip-in, dip-out interactive resource - allowing you to choose an access information that best suits your needs.

The resources include the following:

  • an introduction to the Active Offer – including its benefits for you and learners
  • ways in which you can overcome challenges associated with making Welsh-medium and bilingual qualifications available and encouraging uptake​​
  • how the Active Offer is already being delivered by others
  • ideas and practical steps you can take to deliver the Active Offer ​
  • useful links to additional resources, support and guidance 

There are also three learner profiles that demonstrate the extent to which the Cynnig Cymraeg - Active Offer is delivered can impact on a learner’s experience when taking a qualification. ​​

The full resource pack can be accessed by clinking on the individual links below: