Investigating effects of Covid-19 on Welsh language education
The lockdown periods of the Covid-19 pandemic were challenging for a wide range of people and sectors, including schools.
Teachers and pupils had to adapt quickly to new systems of working from home and learning and teaching remotely.
One of the additional challenges facing Welsh-medium schools at the time was extending support to children from non-Welsh-speaking homes.
Following the first lockdown period in 2020, researchers at Aberystwyth University's School of Education set out to look in more detail at the impact the pandemic had on pupils' education.
Working in partnership with several other universities in Wales and with financial support from the Welsh Government, three different studies were undertaken.
The aim of the first study was to examine how schools responded to the demands of distance and combined learning, identify good practice and consider lessons to be learned for schools as well as for training new teachers in the future.
The second study looked at the impact that closing and gradually reopening schools had on learners, especially those who are considered disadvantaged.
The focus of the third project was to evaluate the impact of Covid-19 restrictions on learners in Welsh-medium education, and specifically those from non-Welsh-speaking homes.
As part of this study, researchers spoke with teachers, pupils, parents and carers to hear about their direct experiences.
The conclusions and recommendations of their research, which began in October 2020, were presented to Welsh Government in May 2021.
Since then, researchers at Aberystwyth School of Education have continued to study the different effects of Covid-19 on Welsh-medium schools, focusing on pupils from non-Welsh-speaking homes and how best to support them.
In August 2023, they published a report looking specifically at the impact on pupils from non-Welsh-speaking homes who had transferred from primary school to a Welsh-medium secondary school during the pandemic.
This report was commissioned by the Wales Covid-19 Evidence Centre and the findings and recommendations were shared with the Welsh Government, the Welsh Language Commissioner and the Welsh Education Consortia amongst others.
But there was further work to be done, according to Dr Siân Lloyd-Williams Director of Research at Aberystwyth University's School of Education.
“Having carried out these initial studies, it was clear we needed to continue the work so that we could evaluate, identify and measure the impact of our recommendations on supporting non-Welsh speaking families," she said.
"We set out to organise a series of workshops, bringing together representatives from the local education authorities, teachers, parents and others to hear their experiences and gather evidence. As a result, we have co-created a special booklet that teachers can use to support pupils from non-Welsh-speaking homes who attend Welsh-language schools."
Entitled Partner, Promote and Provide, the booklet was launched at a training event for teachers on 16 January 2025 and can be downloaded from the University's website as a PDF or hard copies can be sent on request.
Another member of the research team at Aberystwyth School of Education, Dr Rhodri Aled Evans, said: "This is an example of effective and purposeful collaboration between academics and practitioners on the ground. We hope this booklet, together with the recommendations of our previous studies, will be a valuable resource for the education sector and beneficial for teachers, pupils and families alike."
The Director of Education for Ceredigion County Council, Elen James, said: “It has been extremely valuable to collaborate with the University’s researchers to create dedicated resources that offer practical help on how to further improve the experiences of Welsh-medium pupils from non-Welsh speaking homes. This work is important and an excellent starting point for further collaboration. We look forward to developing the project further in the future.”
The co-creation of the booklet was also supported through AberCollab, a programme set up by the University’s Department of Research, Business & Innovation to foster research collaborations and partnerships.
Useful resources
- Accessing Welsh during the COVID-19 pandemic: challenges and support for non-Welsh speaking households. Thomas, E. M., Lloyd-Williams, S. W., Parry, N. M., ap Gruffudd, G. S., Parry, D., Williams, G. M., Jones, D., Hughes, S., Evans, R. A. & Brychan, A. (2021). Cardiff: Welsh Government.
- Report for Health and Care Research Wales: Progressing from primary to secondary education during the Covid-19 pandemic: qualitative study of the experiences of Welsh-medium pupils and their non-Welsh speaking parents. (2023). Siân Lloyd Williams, Enlli Môn Thomas, Rhodri Aled Evans, Lowri Jones, Delyth Jones, Rhian Tomos, Natalie Joseph-Williams, Abubakar Sha’aban, Adrian Edwards.
Get in touch
As a University, we’re always keen to share our knowledge and expertise more widely for the benefit of society. If you’d like to find out more or explore how you can collaborate with our researchers, get in touch with our dedicated team of staff in the Department of Research, Business and Innovation. We’d love to hear from you. Just drop an e-mail to: