The Welsh-medium capacity building grant gives secondary schools the opportunity to find innovative ways to tackle short-term staffing problems, increasing numbers of Welsh-speaking teachers and teaching assistants.
Open this week for applications, schools can apply for the grant, for use from September 2025, with £900,000 available for the next academic year.
Ysgol Rhydywaun in Aberdare received the grant in 2024 to train teachers already teaching at the school, to teach subjects outside of their usual specialism.
This enabled the school to teach two extra A Level subjects, Psychology and Criminology, meaning students were able to continue their studies in Welsh at the school, with more subject options available.
The grant has also enabled the school to collaborate with other schools in the area to develop enrichment activities, specifically in Maths.
Headteacher Lisa Williams, said:
At Rhydywaun, the education workforce capacity grant has ensured a high quality of provision and resources for our pupils and successful professional learning opportunities for our staff.
Through the grant we have been able to ensure that we are proactive in recruiting and retaining teachers and developing expertise within the profession. As a result, there has been an improvement in pupils' performance and academic achievement.
Last year, 55 grants were awarded to Welsh-medium or bilingual secondary schools across Wales. Examples of ways that schools use the funding include:
- opportunities for young people leaving education to undertake gap year work experience or apprenticeships as teaching assistants in Welsh-medium schools
- collaboration across schools to deliver professional learning, particularly in shortage subject areas
- undergraduate student placements giving them experience of being in a classroom and to consider teaching as a career
The Cabinet Secretary for Education, Lynne Neagle said:
Developing a teaching workforce to teach Welsh, and delivering education through the medium of Welsh, is essential in creating more Welsh speakers. This grant is just one of the innovative schemes we have in place to achieve this.
I am determined to ensure we support learners to reach their full potential and provide teachers with the professional development opportunities they need to continue to raise standards in our schools.
The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language, Mark Drakeford added:
We want to build a Wales where all learners have a fair opportunity to speak Welsh. Our Welsh Language and Education Bill sets out the next steps as we continue to work together towards reaching a million Welsh speakers.
Grants like this are helping to make sure we have the workforce in place to achieve this ambition.
The Welsh-medium capacity building grant is one of a number of schemes to enhance the Welsh speaking teaching workforce in Wales.
These include:
- Cynllun Pontio - supporting Welsh speakers in primary schools or those teaching in schools outside Wales to become secondary school teachers in Welsh-medium schools
- Iaith Athrawon Yfory Incentive Scheme - a £5,000 incentive to students who are studying to teach through the medium of Welsh or to teach Welsh as a subject.
- The Welsh in education teacher retention bursary – a £5,000 bursary for secondary teachers who have taught Welsh or through the medium of Welsh for three years since 2020 and continue to be employed in their fourth year of teaching
- Continuing to develop alternative pathways to teaching, including expanding the Open University programmes and other alternative models, including a recently accredited Cardiff Met school-based programme.
A range of free courses for practitioners to develop their Welsh language skills delivered by the National Centre for Learning Welsh, including a Sabbatical scheme.