1. Sustainability through Integrated Planning: Reflections on the future of Welsh in education policy in Wales Dr Catrin Redknap Welsh Language Board, Cardiff, Wales catrin.redknap@byig-wlb.org.uk

2. Aim: To consolidate the status and role of Welsh-medium education within a national education policy framework Involves: Shift from inconsistent and fragmented development to holistic and strategic long-term planning

3. Challenges: Managing the mainstreaming of the lesser used language in the context of structural and capacity constraints Balance between (i) the institutionalisation of language planning and (ii) collective responsibility for language promotion

4. Juxtaposition: Aim of normalising Welsh-medium education within a national, official framework v Need for a dedicated, specialist framework and collective involvement

5. One Wales: A Progressive Agenda for the Government of Wales (June 2007): We will create a national Welsh-medium Education Strategy to develop effective provision from nursery through to further and higher education, backed up by an implementation programme.

6. Successful growth of Welsh-medium education in Wales But... Piecemeal and ad hoc despite strategic planning by individual local authorities and providers Recognised need for improved planning on the basis of linguistic continuity, to respond to demand from parents; understanding of relationship between availability and demand

7. Protagonists: Expected role of Welsh Assembly Government in providing central strategic direction

8. Collective catalysts for growth: parents, contribution of early years Welsh- medium provision (Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin) Promotion of the language as an expression of cultural identification (Urdd Gobaith Cymru)

9. Growth of the sector through language legislation as opposed to education legislation 1993 Welsh Language Act; Welsh Language Board. Strategic overview of Welsh-medium education and training Promoting Welsh-medium education (i) through partnerships and (ii) within the languages wider social context

10. Potential reconfiguration of roles Normalisation v Neutralisation Institutionalisation of Linguistic Recovery (Benjamín Tejerina Montaña) Anonymity v Specificity (K. Woolard)