Table of Contents
2. OUR WELSH LANGUAGE POLICY PRINCIPLES 1
2.3 VISITORS TO OUR PREMISES 2
2.6 LETTERS, E-MAILS AND DOCUMENTS 3
3. OUR PUBLIC FACE AND PRODUCTS 3
4. WELSH LANGUAGE ACTION PLAN 5
Our Welsh Language Policy sets out our general guiding principles in relation to providing Welsh language services in Wales. It is supported by our Board of Trustees and recognizes our achievements to date. When new organisational policies, practices or initiatives are introduced we will make sure they facilitate and further what we promise to do in this Policy. Our fundraising strategy includes a commitment to support the implementation of the Welsh Language to this end.
The Welsh Language Measure 2011 placed a duty on public bodies to provide services in Welsh. It has created a new Welsh Language Commissioner with enforcement powers in order to protect the rights of Welsh speakers to access services in Welsh. This will ensure that the Welsh language has official status in Wales. There are duties on bodies to use the Welsh language, and these rights can be enforced to enable Welsh speakers to use the language in dealings with public sector organisations and the services they provide.
Integral to the delivery of our services will be the raising of a meaningful awareness of the Welsh language and its business potential in general.
We have adopted the Welsh Language Act principle that the Welsh and English languages should be treated on a basis of equality. Both languages will enjoy the same status and validity.
This Policy sets out the steps we are taking to implement that principle in ou work. In dealing with our clients, we are trying to:
- adopt the same aims and professional standards in providing a service in Welsh and in English, whereverpossible,
- enable our clients, wherever possible, to use Welsh as freely as English in dealing with us, and ensure that clients are informed up-front that they have a choice of language when seeking information andadvice,
- make our clients aware of the need to consider the use of Welsh intheir families and to understand the Welsh culture and Language
We are taking this commitment seriously, and adopting a pro-active approach to language choice in our services, wherever possible. In contact with clients, this means being upfront in offering language choice, and trying our best to deliver it.
This will involve us in consolidating the use of Welsh in our day-to-day work.
Anyone visiting our premises are welcome to address their enquiries through the medium of Welsh or English. A bilingual notice is displayed in our buildings both offices and refuges that make it clear to visitors that they can deal with the organisation in either language recognising that some staff are bilingual.
We will ask visitors whether they would like to deal with someone in Welsh.
Welsh-speaking members of staff is/are available to deal in Welsh with any face-to- face enquiries, as required, either on the spot or through arrangement.
Material on doors, walls, noticeboards, display racks, shelves and tables and communal areas and corridors will be visibly bilingual. This includes fixed and temporary signs and notices, posters, literature and so on.
If others want us to display their material, we will ask them to provide it bilingually.
We welcome telephone calls from clients in Welsh or English.
When we answer phone calls we will answer with a bilingual greeting and where we can we will ensure that the caller’s preferred language is used. This may mean transferring the caller to another worker that can speak Welsh.
In the event that a Welsh-speaking person is not available to take a call, then arrangements will be made for a Welsh speaker to return the call as soon as possible.
Our voicemail service contains a bilingual message, and clients are welcome to leave messages in Welsh or English.
We will encourage the rest of our staff to answer the telephone with a bilingual greeting and use bilingual messages on their personal voicemail.
We will always try, wherever possible, to provide support in the language preferred by clients. This will be via a member of staff. We will establish up-front whether clients would like to talk to a bilingual support worker.
Information that is given to a client at their first support meeting with be available in both languages, and subsequently provided according to the client’s preference. Should others need to become involved we will try to provide language continuum, but that may not always be possible. The client’s preferred language will be relayed during referral as a matter of course.
We welcome letters and other written correspondence such as e-mail in Welsh and in English. Correspondence will be replied to in the language used by the client in accordance with response targets.
The response times for letters and e-mails that need to be translated might on occasions be greater than those sent in one language only. Standard letters and grouped letters will usually be sent out bilingually. If the chosen language of the recipient is known (e.g. through marketing material, previous meetings or conversations, telephone calls and e-mails) correspondence will be sent out in the recipient’s language of choice unless it has been agreed otherwise.
The approach above applies to all types of written correspondence. Translation arrangements are in place to assist staff.
- GROUP WORK AND FACILITATED SESSIONS
Those attending workshops or group work will be asked if they would like to contribute through the medium of Welsh or English and where possible we will run workshops cater for the language required. This will be in some cases related to the availability of staff who are bilingual and the number of participants.
Where there is a mixture of Welsh and English Speakers the organization will look to provide translation facilities, or ask people to let the event organizers know their preferred language in advance so that translation facilities can be arranged when needed.
Although simultaneous translation facilities may be used in the plenary session, decisions will be made on an individual basis as to whether or not workshops will also contain simultaneous translation services. Decisions will be based on logistics, demand and cost effectiveness.
Welsh speaking members of staff will be present at events to welcome attendees and deal with any queries.
Our normal practice will be to provide papers and other information in Welsh and English, including our presentations.
Where we can, we will use Welsh ourselves from the platform, podium or floor, and will encourage others to do the same when arrangements are made and via the person chairing the event.
Our corporate identity is fully bilingual. Our name, contact details, logo, slogans and other standard information will appear in Welsh and English on all material which displays our corporate identity. This includes our stationery and material such as business cards, identity badges, publications, advertisements, website, and signs.
- Signs
Our permanent and temporary signs inside and outside our premises will be bilingual. This is existing practice. Other signs, in common areas and outside our premises, belong to the property owner and are beyond our control.
- Website
Our website is and will be bilingual. Our opening page will state that clients are welcome to use Welsh or English in dealing with us where possible. When we place bilingual information on our website, both language versions will be placed at the same time.
- Publications and visual material
Our normal practice will be to publish bilingually the material we make available to the public and clients, with the Welsh and English versions together in one document. This will include general corporate publications, topic leaflets, guidance, forms, advertising literature, reports, and questionnaires. This is current practice and will continue.
If the Welsh and English versions have to be published separately (for instance, where a single document would be too lengthy or bulky), both versions will be of equal size and quality – and our normal practice will be to ensure that both versions are available at the same time and are equally accessible.
Each version will note clearly that the material is available in the other language. The above will also apply to material made available electronically on our website, including static and interactive forms, and material.
When we distribute forms on behalf of other organisations, for instance local authorities, we will ensure that we do so in accordance with their bilingual policy.
- Marketing and publicity activities
When we organise or attend an event, and display our material, we will display any Welsh versions of our material too. Any display boards or exhibition text will be bilingual.
- Public notices and advertising
When we place an official notice in the press, on our premises and on our website, such as notice of a public meeting, it will be bilingual.
Our staff recruitment adverts will be bilingual.
- Staff & the Workplace
Each year we monitor and assess the number of first language Welsh Speakers and those that have Welsh as a second language who work and/or volunteer with is and record the Welsh language skills required for new posts created. This is assessed annually and reported to the Board.
We will also support staff members who wish to improve their Welsh language skills, and enable them to receive training independently.
- Community
At WWDAS, we believe it is important that we are part of the community and to this end we involve ourselves in Welsh meetings and activities where possible.
West Wales Domestic Abuse Service This policy is shared with all our staff and members of the public.
We also encourage our contractors or third party that deliver services on our behalf to comply with this policy.
WWDAS will regularly review the implementation of our bilingual policy with a view to making improvements where we can through the use of an action plan and annual report.
We welcome your comments or suggestions on where we could do more or improve the current policy; should you have any comments, please contact:
Michelle Pooley
Chief Executive Officer
West Wales Domestic Abuse Service 42 Portland Road
Aberystwyth
SY23 2NL
Tel: 01970 612225
Introduction
As part of our ongoing commitment to the Welsh language, WWDAS has created our Welsh Language Action Plan which will be reviewed in 2025 when we have a full year of data due to changes in our CRM in December 2023.
This plan outlines a proposal to improve and increase the use of the Welsh language at WWDAS, both in our support work and our education work, with both service users and other professionals, members of the public and each other.
The Language Skills Framework
Using the following framework below we can assess language skills based on types of communication tasks (reading, writing, speaking, and understanding) which our staff are able to undertake in Welsh.
Language Skills Framework
Level 0
No current level of Welsh language skills
Level 1: entry
can say place names / Welsh first names or Welsh signs correctly
can greet and introduce others in Welsh
can show linguistic courtesy by opening and closing a conversation
can give and receive personal detail
Level 2: foundation
can understand the essence of conversation in Welsh
can convey basic information e.g. simple admin or routine tasks
can give an receive instructions and directions
Level 3: intermediate
can converse partly in Welsh but turns to English in discussion and to give detail information
can describe people and locations
Level 4: advanced
can contribute effective in meetings with in own area of work and argue for or against a case.
can deal with people in most situations in Welsh but turns to English when dealing with complex situations
Level 5: proficient
can deal effectively with complex discussion and questions in Welsh
can adjust the style of language to suit all situations and needs
Welsh Language Speakers in Ceredigion
The 2021 census data has just been released, giving us an insight into our community and its ability to use Welsh.
The below table gives the number and percentages of Welsh speakers in Ceredigion. Ceredigion as a whole is 45.3% Welsh speaking. This is down by 3% from the 2011 census.
| Age | Number of Welsh Speakers | % of group are Welsh speakers |
| 3-4 | 600 | 52.2 |
| 5-15 | 5530 | 74.9 |
| 16-19 | 1940 | 46.9 |
| 20-44 | 8590 | 43.1 |
| 45-64 | 7700 | 40.6 |
| 65-74 | 3720 | 37.4 |
| 75+ | 3630 | 43 |
| Total | 31690 | 45.3 |
While the largest percentage of any group are the age 5-15 bracket, this can be attributed to the Welsh language use in schools in Ceredigion (see below). Ceredigion is an older county with the largest age bracket being 50 to 64 years old. 47% of the county is over 50.
Welsh Language in Schools
Of the 41 Primary schools in Ceredigion, 36 are Welsh medium schools. The other 6 are English medium with significant use of Welsh. This includes the all age schools’ primary years.
Of the eight secondary schools (including the secondary years of the all ages schools), 2 are Welsh medium, 5 are bilingual and one is English medium.
Welsh Language Speakers in WWDAS
WWDAS currently employs twenty members of staff with varying proficiency in the Welsh language. Below is a table of our staff and their Welsh language skills. This includes Managers and Admin staff.
| Framework Level | Number of Staff |
| Level 0 | 3 |
| Level 1 | 6 |
| Level 2 | 2 |
| Lever 3 | 6 |
| Level 4 | 2 |
| Level 5 | 0 |
Welsh Language Support At WWDAS
In the last six months – from the dates of 1st October 2024 to 31st March 2025 2.73% (5) of our referrals were noted as speaking Welsh. This is not to say that there were not more referrals who spoke Welsh Of the 183 people referred to WWDAS, 142spoke English, 2 spoke another unspecified language and 1 spoke Bengali, 2 Declined to say. There are 20 people whose languages have not been noted down and 13 who have not been asked
Our new CRM now accounts for primary language which is an improvement on our old CRM.
The last National Survey for Wales that highlighted Welsh Language Confidence and attitudes was run in 2017-18 The Welsh Language: Confidence and attitudes report tells us that:
- 68% of Welsh speakers felt confident speaking Welsh.
- 72% wanted to speak it with other Welsh speakers and 36% worried they would be judged on how well they spoke it.
- Welsh speakers’ fluency levels were strongly correlated with their confidence when speaking Welsh.
- 95% of fluent Welsh speakers were confident speaking Welsh; however 21% of fluent speakers worried they’d be judged on how well they speak it.
- 86% of people felt the language was something to be proud of
- 67% thought more effort needed to be put into supporting the language
- 62% of those who couldn’t speak Welsh would like to be able to speak it, and 85% of those with some ability in Welsh wanted to speak it better.
What is also interesting and relevant to our work as an organisation is the fact that of the people surveyed women were slightly more likely than men to worry about feeling judged. As an organisation that works predominately with women, with women at the heart of the organisation, we need to look at how we play a part in the way Welsh speaking women feel about their ability and confidence in their Welsh language skills. To this end we have included an action plan that encourages Welsh to be spoken.
We have since the last policy update improved our data collection on the language of our services users. Our referral for now asks about language and differentiates between the languages spoken and language preferred and we have also improved the access details on our CRM so that more languages can be chosen.
Vision
- Committing to ensure that the Welsh language standards underpins the way we deliver services to people in Ceredigion (and beyond). We want people to be able to access services through Welsh naturally, regardless of their ability or age.
- Enhancing the bilingual culture of WWDAS and the community providing opportunities to work in Welsh, and increase staff use of Welsh and confidence in learning and using Welsh both professionally and personally.
- Working with partners and the community to help increase the use of Welsh and halt the decline of Welsh speakers in Ceredigion (and Wales as a whole).
The Four S’s
Our plan can be broken down into four sections:
- Staff
- Support
- Schools
- Social.
Staff
Our aim is to improve both the number of Welsh speaking staff at WWDAS and to improve the proficiency and confidence of Welsh learners at WWDAS.
| Outcomes | Indicators |
| More staff to speak Welsh | Increased number of Welsh speakers recruited Increased numbers of staff learning Welsh. Increase in job adverts/recruitment information posted in Welsh. |
| More staff feeling comfortable speaking Welsh | Increased proficiency of Welsh speaking staff (increase in level of proficiency as indicated above) |
Support
Our aim is for more services users to be able to access support in Welsh, from the point of referral to their feedback on exit if they want or need it.
| Outcomes | Indicators |
| More Service users getting support in Welsh. | Increased number in Support Sessions in Welsh |
| More service users requesting support in Welsh | increased number of Welsh forms used. Increased number of offers for support in Welsh. |
| Improved data collections | Changes to modus Changes to the referral forms |
Schools
For more support for schools in Welsh, both in education settings and in support settings.
| Outcomes | Indicators |
| More Schools requesting Welsh language support | Increased number of star in schools sessions in Welsh. Increased number of information requested in Welsh |
| More Welsh support for CYP | Increased number of support sessions for CYP in Welsh Increased number of requests for support in Welsh |
Social
For all public facing information to be bilingual.
| Outcomes | Indicators |
| Information about WWDAS that is seen by the public – signs, publicity, social media is all bilingual | Increase in social media posts in Welsh and English. Increase in signage in Welsh and English |