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TWF AND ONWARDS:IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND THE WAY FORWARD
DRAFT RESPONSE TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE RESEARCH REPORT TO BE APPROVED BY THE BOARD
Background
One of the main priorities in order to increase the number of Welsh speakers is to increase the number of families that transfer the Welsh language to their children.The Welsh Language Board has identified work in this field as a priority - see The Future of Welsh – A Strategic Plan (2005); Strategy for the Welsh Language (1996) and The Welsh Language Mission and Vision for 2000-2005, in order to put the work of the Board in the language transference field in its context.
Experts in the language planning field emphasise that successful language transference is more vital to the survival and use of a minority language than any other factor.
[to attempt to revive language] via stylish efforts to control the language of education, the workplace, the mass media and governmental services, without having safeguarded [intergenerational language transfer] is equivalent to constantly blowing air into a tire that still has a puncture.
Joshua Fishman (Ref. Reversing Language Shift, Multilingual Matters, Clevedon 1991)
According to the 2001 Census figures, where both parents speak Welsh the language is transferred to 82% of the youngest children, but where only one of the parents speaks the language, that figure falls to 39.8%.During the 2001 Census, there was potential in homes where there were at least one adult able to speak Welsh, and with children aged 3 to 4 years, for those homes to transfer the language to over 5,000 additional children.That is, 26% of children aged 3-4 could be able to speak Welsh rather than 18.8%.
Establishment of the Twf Scheme
In order to increase the number of families that transfer the language to their children, the Board decided to act directly to target them. During 1998/99 a pilot scheme on language transference was held in Carmarthenshire jointly with the Mentrau Iaith in the county and local midwives and health visitor.Materials were produced, and the Mentrau and the professional health workers presented the message about the advantages of bilingualism to children, to groups of parents.At the same time, information about the advantages of rearing children bilingually was included in the ‘Bounty’ packages in Wales (a pack of information leaflets and samples that are distributed free to every mother who gives birth in hospital).
This pilot scheme was evaluated and found to be effective, and the Board secured additional funding from the National Assembly for Wales to establish a 3 year plan to encourage language transference within the family throughout Wales. The work was put out to tender in order to implement the scheme between May 2001 and March 2004 and between 2004 – 2007. The scheme was launched publicly under the title 'Twf Scheme' in March 2002.
The Board commissioned an initial evaluation of the Twf Scheme at the beginning of 2002 and a report was published based on the work during October 2002 (copies in the publications section on the Board’s website). Also a survey was commissioned to measure the “Effectiveness and Efficiency of the Twf Scheme in encouraging parents to transfer the Welsh language to their children’, and the report on the survey was published in December 2003. All these reports are available on the Welsh Language Board website.
As a result of these reports the conclusion was reached that more thorough research was needed and over a longer period which would assess the work of the Twf project on language transference and identify what elements of the work were the most successful.
Draft Response of the Welsh Language Board to the recommendations of the ‘Twf and Onwards’ report
Following a tendering process, a research team from the Nursing, Midwifery and Health Studies, University of Wales, Bangor, was contracted to carry out detailed research work to assess the effects of Twf:‘Twf and Onwards:Impact Assessment and the Way Forward’.This work was carried out between April 2005 and March 2008. The final report was submitted to the attention of the Welsh Language Board at its meeting in Caernarfon on 20 June 2008. The following paper declares the Welsh Language Board’s draft response to the recommendation of the report submitted at the Board’s meeting in June 2008.
Number / Recommendation / Draft response of the Board / Action Points to be considered by the Welsh Language Board / Timetable / Responsibility / Further Implications1 / To explain the public health role of health visitors and midwives in respect of supporting transference of the Welsh language within families in Wales. / To accept the recommendation / To commission health experts to persuade health bodies to give more consideration to the work of the Twf project (Rec. 1-4)
To include Twf / Language Transference in the Welsh Language Board’s “10 Promises” project (Rec. 1) / December 2008
April 2009 / The Welsh Language Board
The Board’s Language Schemes Team
2 / To request statutory directives from the government and professional bodies to maintain standards for health visitors and midwives as they go on the register in respect of their role in supporting transference of Welsh in families in Wales. / To accept the recommendation / To ask the Welsh Unit of the NHS in the Government to send a circular to public health bodies regarding steps to increase the emphasis on language transference (Rec. 1,2)
To include Twf / Language Transference as a regular item on the agendas of monthly meetings of the Welsh Language Board with the NHS Language Unit in the Assembly Government (Rec. 1, 2) / October 2008
October 2008 / The Board’s Community Development and Language Schemes Team
The Board’s Language Schemes Team / To discuss this at political level with the junior health minister (Welsh Language Board)
3 / To note and maintain opportunities in the health visiting and midwifery curricula to present and improve awareness of language and the training programmes of the Twf Scheme. / To accept the recommendation / To put pressure on, and hold discussions with Higher Education establishments offering training to midwives and health visitors regarding adding introduction of Twf / Language Transference to the statutory language schemes and to the curricula of health visitors and midwives (Rec. 3)
To hold discussions with the NMC (Nursery & midwifery council) regarding placing Twf /Language Transference on the curricula in Wales (Rec. 3)
To continue to give presentations at Universities/Colleges to students on midwifery/health visitor courses (Rec. 3) / April 2009
April 2009
Continuous / The Board’s Children and Young People Team
The Board’s Children and Young People Team
Twf Health Officers / The Welsh Language Board to offer this as a consideration when drawing up a National Strategy for Welsh Education and Training.
4 / To establish a new role in health care bodies for health visitors and midwives who have been designated for the Twf Scheme. / To accept the recommendation / To commission health experts to persuade health bodies in order to promote the Twf / Language Transference agenda. (Rec. 1-4) / December 2008 / The Welsh Language Board
5 / To establish uniform guidance for Twf officers, health visitors and midwives to develop information and recommendations for action for their client group. / To accept the recommendation / To create a practical resource for midwives/health visitors to use so that they are reminded of the Twf scheme as they carry out their work.
To produce clear guidance for midwives and health visitors regarding how they should present the messages of Twf to parents in practical terms. / March 2009
March 2009 / The Welsh Language Board
The Welsh Language Board
6 / To establish operational methods for Twf officers, health visitors and midwives to develop strategies to turn intentions into actions. / To accept the recommendation / To provide training for Twf field workers on how to ask sensitive and difficult questions, in order to find out whether parents speak Welsh with their children, turning intention into behaviour.
To develop the provision for parents which children aged 0-6 months, before they reach the age to attend ‘Ti a Fi’ groups in order to support parents to turn intentions into behaviour.
To increase the provision of groups the provide support for parents such as ‘Amser Twf’ and ‘Siarad Babi’ in order to turn intentions into behaviour. / October 2008
October 2008
October 2008 / Cwmni Iaith
Twf Field Officers
Twf Field Officers / A need to set this down more clearly in the agreement with Cwmni Iaith
7 / The Twf Scheme to co-operate with designated health visitors and midwives to reach Welsh/English families and other families on the basis of local demography. / To accept the recommendation / To hold a discussion with midwives/health visitors to request the permission of parents to transfer their information to Twf Field Officers.
To hold a discussion with midwives/health visitors to offer support and information about language transference in the home.
To look further at the data available to realise this. / December 2008
Continuous
March 2009 / Twf Field Officers
Twf Field Officers
The Welsh Language Board
8 / The Twf Scheme to target difficult to reach groups, such as parents from low socio-economic groups, fathers to be and other members of the extended family. / To accept the recommendation / To collect data regarding possible communities/areas for Field Officers to target.
Twf to extend its activity in family centres in disadvantaged areas.
To draw up a wider strategy to deal with the language use of lower socio-economic groups.
Twf to co-operate with the Mentrau Iaith and Merched y Wawr and other agencies in order to present Twf's message to social organisations attended by members of the extended family.
The Board accepts that Twf has done a considerable amount of work in targeting fathers.The next step is to distribute a resource relevant to fathers when they go on paternity leave.
Twf to include a section specifically for fathers on the Twf website (twfcymru.com).
To hold discussions on marketing methods that are suitable for the extended family (e.g. grandparents). / October 2008
December 2008
December 2008
December 2008
December 2008
March 2009
October 2008 / The Welsh Language Board
Twf Field Officers
The Welsh Language Board
The Welsh Language Board and Cwmni Iaith
The Welsh Language Board and Cwmni Iaith
The Welsh Language Board
The Welsh Language Board and Cwmni Iaith
9 / To consider improving the monitoring and evaluation systems of the Twf scheme in order to provide a more thorough evaluation method. / To accept the recommendation / Monitoring systems have been developed during the research period.Already regular reports are received on progress against targets.Information is collected from response cards from parents and extended families and an evaluation form is completed following presentations.As a result of the recommendation, to further develop the method of measuring progress and to review the present system with the Agent and further refine the process. / March 2009 / The Welsh Language Board and Cwmni Iaith
10 / The Welsh Language Board to develop appropriate advertising campaigns to raise awareness and improve knowledge among the public in general regarding:
- the advantages of transferring the Welsh language in the home
- the advantages of bilingualism
- the advantages of a Welsh medium education
- the advantages of transferring the Welsh language in the home
- the advantages of bilingualism
- the advantages of a Welsh medium education.
11 / The Twf Scheme to improve the ways of working with early years partners to raise awareness and improve knowledge among parents regarding:
- the advantages of transferring the Welsh language in the home
- the advantages of bilingualism
- the advantages of a Welsh medium education.
To hold discussions with partners in order to reinforce the task of integrating Twf messages to parents into their work programmes.
To hold a conference to raise the awareness of early years partners of the messages of Twf and to discuss how best to promote those messages. / December 2008
October 2008 / The Welsh Language Board
Twf Officers
12 / To develop the knowledge of parents about the advantages of using Welsh in the home. / To refuse the recommendation / The Welsh Language Board is satisfied that this work is already taking place to a satisfactory level through a network of Field Officers working locally with prospective parents and the parents of babies aged under 6 months.
13 / To develop the confidence levels of parents and their ability to transfer the Welsh language in the home. / To accept the recommendation / To find sources of funding to implement ‘Your Welsh is Great’ in specific areas in Wales.
To co-operate with Language Centres to hold ‘Welsh for the Family’ courses / October 2008
Continuous / The Welsh Language Board
The Welsh Language Board and Twf Officers / To submit the schemes to the Welsh Language Board as schemes that could be funded.
To co-operate with parents in areas that are being targeted by the Government as disadvantaged areas.
14 / To work in partnership with other bodies to take part in community development activities to ensure that the focus of the message reaches the structural level as well as the level of the individual. / To accept the recommendation / This is happening with partners such as the Mentrau Iaith, Language Action Plans and Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin, concentrating on reaching the structural level.
The Board’s CountyForums is drawing partners together to discuss methods of co-operating.
To hold a conference to raise the awareness of early years partners of the messages of Twf and to discuss how best to promote those messages.
To hold discussions with partners so that they increase the community activity in the field and to draw up a specific programme for each partner. / October 2008
December 2008 / Cwmni Iaith
The Welsh Language Board
15 / To improve the operational ability and effectiveness of the Twf Scheme in order to increase the face to face contact with parents. / To accept the recommendation / This has already happened since the research project commenced in 2005. Regular statistics are submitted to the Board by Cwmni Iaith, which report quantitatively on the number of face to face contacts that are taking place.During 07 – 08 15,632 face to face discussion sessions were held with parents against a target of 8,500.
To consider ways of reporting on the number of occasions on which Field Officers have discussed Twf messages with an individual parent. / March 2009 / The Welsh Language Board and Cwmni Iaith